Page 37 of Our Secret Moments

It still baffles me every day how she manages to put up with him. He’s good to her in all the ways that matter, – according to her – but he has a bad habit of not showing up when he needs to.

He always has some stupid excuse and lets her down. They’ve been together so long that I’m convinced she would let him break her heart piece by piece then let go of him. I’ve tried talking sense into her, as has everyone else, but she won’t give up on him. I’m terrified to find out what she’d let him do before she finally lets him go.

“That guy is a dick,” Wes mutters. I hum in agreement and Nora hits him on the top of his head. “Okay, ouch. I already have a headache. No need to add salt to the wound.”

I finish off what’s on my plate, downing another glass of orange juice before I let out a long sigh. “Well, you’re going to have to look as picture perfect as you can, Wesley, because we have to meet coach later.”

“Oh, shit,” he curses, sitting up out of my sister’s lap. “And we’ve got that thing at Ollie’s today.”

Catherine’s eyebrow quirks. “What thing?”

Wes opens his mouth, but I stop him. “Nothing. Just post-game stuff,” I say to her, smiling as she narrows her eyes at me further. I turn back to Wes as he rubs at his temples. “Get your ass up, Mackenzie.”

“I’m coming. I’m coming,” he mutters, finally getting up out of his seat and stacking the plates on top of each other.

After we’ve cleaned up the kitchen, listened to thirty different songs and made it back to campus, Wes is still complaining about his hangover. I don’t know how many times I have to tell him to pace himself when he drinks, but he never listens to me. He usually ends up in some random girl’s bed after they give himthe lookand then complains about it to me for a week.

“Don’t even breathe on me, man,” he murmurs as we walk towards his dad’s office. “I swear my brain is about to fall out of my skull.”

“You just never learn, do you?” I ask, nudging my shoulder into his.

“I was fine when I left the party. It’s your sister who doesn’t know when to stop,” he retorts. I still have no idea what they were doing last night in my dorm, but she was gone by the morning, so I didn’t even bother to ask. “One more drink turns into five with her. Who knew drunk karaoke could be so much fun.”

So that’s what all the noise was last night. I thought a deer was being murdered.

“Besides, she’s just distracting herself because Ryan didn’t show,” I say. Just thinking about that jackass makes me feel sick. “Did she say anything to you about him?”

Wes shakes his head. “Nah. He called her a few times, but she put her phone on silent. I didn’t want to poke any wounds, so I kept my mouth shut.”

“Thank you for keeping quiet for once in your life,” I say, ruffling his curls.

“Yeah, yeah,” he mocks. “Anything for you, Connie boy.”

As weird as it is to say, Coach Mackenzie’s office is one of the most comforting places on earth. Despite the stench from the locker room a few doors down, his office always smells like Vanilla candles – courtesy of Wes’s mom May – and everything always looks clean. He has a fresh line of trophies that we’ve won as a team and that he’s won with previous teams. He has a million pictures of Wes as a baby doing some dumb shit. Everything about this place just feels perfect.

After coming in here at least once a week for the past year, I should’ve known that he’d be able to suss out Wes’s not so subtle hangover.

“Son,” Mackenzie chides after we’ve been engaging in small talk for the last five minutes. Wes’s eyes shoot up. “Please tell me you’re taking this season seriously.”

“As serious as the plague,” Wes replies, grinning. Coach’s frown deepens. “Dad, it was Connie and Nora’s twentieth. What did you expect me to do?”

“I expect you to be more responsible. Considering he’s the birthday boy, it’s weird how he doesn’t look as beat as you do,” Coach counters.

“That’s because he’s a party pooper,” Wes groans.

I flick him at the back of his head. “Why do you love to talk about me when I’m right here?” I ask, visibly annoyed as I cross my arms against my chest. “But don’t worry, Coach. We’re going to be on a better track this season. I swear I’ll keep little Wessy here in place.”

Coach nods, his frown softening a little. As much as we give him a hard time, he’s always going to have a soft spot for us. I know I’m his favourite and Wes is close second.

“Good,” Coach says, “Because you’ve got a lot riding on this season, boys. All of you do, but you two especially. I know how hard you work and how you want to be drafted, but it takes a lot more commitment than you realise.”

“We know,” I reply.

“Do you? Because you don’t seem to be taking things seriously enough. I don’t want to sound like a grump, but I want what’s best for you and I hope you can pass on the message to the rest of the team at the briefing before tonight’s game,” Coach explains with a sigh. Wes and I both nod. “And this thing with Catherine is going to help you tons, so take that seriously too. She’s a nice girl and I hope you are being good to her.”

My mind instantly floods with thoughts of last night.

My hands all over her body.

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