Page 90 of Only in Your Dreams

I don’t even know why I’m in here, or what I plan to say when he comes in. But I can’t sit on this. If this conversation doesn’t go the way I need it to, if I catch even a whiff of a motive, this is over. I don’t care if I have sleepless nights for the rest of my life. I’m not going back to his place.

Sharp whistles go off outside, calling the end of the game. Within seconds, the sounds of players making their way to the locker room fills the space. I lean against the closed door of Zac’s office, unable to stomach sitting inside alone. Rip off the denim jacket and hang it on the doorknob.

“Hey, Mels. You okay?”

I lift my head to see Brooks and a few other coaches trailing him into the office space, all giving me curious looks. I find the pockets in my sundress and stuff my hands in them. Change my mind and cross my arms instead.

“I need to talk to…” I nod at Zac’s office door, unable to say his name.

“He’ll be a while. He’s out doing post-game interviews,” Brooks says. Whatever he sees in my face causes a crinkle in his brow. “Anything I can help with?”

“No, thanks. I’ll wait.”

He zeroes in on the denim jacket I’ve hung on the doorknob. “Who do you talk this out with?”

“Talk about what?”

“About this… secret relationship. I know about it; I can be an outlet for Zac. Who’s doing that for you?”

I shrug, shooting a tight smile at a coach giving me and Brooks a curious look over his shoulder. “The whole point is keeping this from Parker, which means keeping it from Summer, given how close they are. I guess that means no one.”

Brooks nods, like it’s the answer he expected. “Alright, girlfriend. Let’s go to my office. Come on.”

He leads me a couple of doors down to an office identical to Zac’s, and ushers me into one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“I know it’s not ideal, considering I’m Zac’s friend. But it’s not fair that only one of you gets to talk things out with a third party.” He sinks into the chair next to mine. “I promise I’ll stay as diplomatic and unbiased as possible.”

I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “I was going to speak to Zac about it tonight…”

“Good. Whatever it is, you should. And if you’d feel better just sitting here in silence while we wait for him to wrap up the presser, that’s fine by me. But you can talk to me, too. If you want to.”

I consider him. He mentioned back at camp that he’d gone through a terrible breakup as well. That his last girlfriend left him for a former teammate when he left the NFL.

“Did you ever try to date again—after your breakup with Naomi?”

Brooks shakes his head. “I haven’t wanted to. The breakup, what happened with my career… it left me in a pretty bad place. Even now, I don’t think my head’s right for a relationship.”

“Why not?”

Brooks tips his head thoughtfully. “I’ve got a lot to be grateful for. My parents, my sister, my friends. My dog,” he adds with a laugh. “I played long enough that I’m not hurting for money. But if you ever asked me what I wanted out of life, it wouldn’t be this. Zac’s a great coach. He’s smart, patient. He’s got this natural way of making others see their own potential and motivate them to be better. He was meant to do this. I’m not, and I know it. It’s been a year since the injury and I’m still not over it. I miss playing. I’m not at my most happy, and I’m not doing much to help myself. I’d be a terrible partner.”

“It sounds like you need a playbook,” I say without thinking.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh,” I say, flushing. “It’s this idea Zac had. I wrote out the ways I was going to work on myself, so that I could take back control of my life after Connor. Like a playbook for my life.”

Brooks’s gaze drifts to the far wall, where he stares for a moment. “Of course, that’s something he’d come up with. It’s not a bad idea, you know.”

I watch Brooks run his fingers along his hair. “If I ask you about something, can you keep it between us? I swear, I’ll speak to Zac about it too. But for now?”

“All this stays between us, Mels. Besides,” Brooks cocks his head, “I’m pretty sure that if I ever tried to spill your secrets, even to him, Zac would straight up wallop me. And I’ve never seen him turn a fist on anyone.”

I nod, staring down at the jacket in my lap. “When you told Summer to take me shopping,” I watch understanding dawn on Brooks almost at once, “I assume Zac asked you to do that?”

He leans forward, pressing his elbows on his knees. “This is a hypothetical scenario, right? Because if that really did happen, he’d also have sworn me to secrecy.”

I chuckle. “Yes. Totally hypothetically, would Zac be the type to ask his friend to orchestrate a shopping spree for…”

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