Page 58 of Wildcat
I don’t directly answer his question, but the excitement and anticipation I feel waiting for his reply is a clear signal that I’m doing this. Bring on the insanity.
When the lobby is starting to thin out, my phone pings again, and I read the text with an ear-to-ear smile on my face,Meet you outside on the southwest corner (opposite direction of the parking garage).
I know which way is southwest,I fire back. Or I think I do. I would have found him.
I head outside, hugging my arms to my stomach. A jacket didn’t go with the outfit.
On the corner, I wait, clutching my phone in my hand. It’s much quieter on this side of the arena, and I’m a woman in a midriff shirt standing alone.Not your best laid plan, Leo.
No sooner than I curse him, a black truck with tinted windows pulls to the curb. The window rolls down and Ash smiles from the driver’s side.
“Miller, nice to see you. Couldn’t get enough of us?” He revs the engine.
Leo leans over from the passenger seat. “He’s mostly safe. Hop in.”
The new car smell hits me as I slide into the back seat. Ash pulls away from the arena, going the opposite direction of the popular bar.
“I thought we were going to Wilds.”
“Jack is having a party at his place.” Leo glances over his shoulder to meet my gaze. “You cool with that?”
“Wild’s will be packed tonight. Always is after the first game of the season,” Ash says from the driver’s seat.
“I have to drop off something, but we can go somewhere else after that if you want,” Leo reassures me.
“Sure. I’m game for whatever.” As the coach’s daughter, I have a feeling I’m much safer in a house full of Wildcats than at some bar.
My phone pings with a text from Leo,You look gorgeous.
“So, Scarlett,” Ash says and glances in the rearview mirror. “I heard you just got back from London.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I lived there for two years right after high school.”
“That’s dope, although unfortunate that you made my boy here wait two years to meet you.” His attention turns to Leo. “That was what, your second year with the team when Coach Miller became the head coach?”
“Oh, I never would have dated him two years ago,” I say before Leo has a chance to answer.
Ash busts up laughing and Leo’s mouth falls open.
“That was in my skinny, drugged-out, rocker guy phase,” I tell him with a small lift and fall of one shoulder.
“Sounds… hardcore,” Ash says, still laughing.
“Not really. Most of them were wannabes that drank hard seltzer and dabbled in E while living in big apartments their parents paid for. Not exactly the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll lifestyle the Internet sold me.”
“I think I like you.” Ash shakes his head.
He drives us to Leo’s house, except he pulls into a house across the street. The garage door opens and Ash parks inside a massive four-car garage. Most of the space is filled with workout equipment, but there’s a killer Mercedes SUV and a golf cart.
“Is there a golf course nearby?” I ask as I step out of the truck.
“Nah, it’s just for driving around the neighborhood,” Ash says. “I’m going to drop my stuff inside. I’ll see you guys at Jack’s.”
Leo meets me at the back of the truck and tilts his head in the direction of his house. “Ready?”
He takes my hand as we cross the street. I wasn’t sure what agreeing to hang out tonight meant for us, but I know I like the feel of his strong fingers clasped around mine.
“I assume there’s no roommate?”
