She mesmerizes me.
“I didn’t know you were out here.” Yasmin offers me an apologetic smile. She’s standing in the doorway, her hand gripping the doorknob.
It’s just like that night in the gym. Like she doesn’t know if she wants to stay or go.
She might be unsure, but I’m not.
“No need to apologize. Stay.”
Yasmin seems to mull it for a moment before finally nodding her head and closing the door behind herself. A soft thud echoes in the night, sounding almost final. Yasmin crosses the small porch until she’s standing at the very edge of it by the railing, her arms wrapped around herself.
“You should have worn a jacket, it’s still cold.”
“I just needed to…” She stops, as if she’s looking for the right word.
“Breathe?” I offer softly.
Yasmin turns to me, her wide eyes locking with mine, an unexpected understanding passing between us.
“Something like that. What about you? Any specific reason why you’re freezing outside?” A teasing smile tips her lips. “Needed to cool down after I beat your ass? Twice, if I may add.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “You have to gloat, don’t you?”
Emmett can think it’s beginner’s luck all he wants, but the girl has some serious moves when it comes to the PlayStation controller, I’ll give her that.
“This is the only chance I’ll get, so yeah, I have to gloat.”
“Of course you do,” I say dryly, but there is no stopping the chuckle that escapes me.
Slowly the laughter dies, and comfortable silence stretches between us. Inhaling deeply, I close my eyes and resume my position against the wall.
If you told me a few weeks ago we could just stand and enjoy the quiet together, I’d tell you you were full of shit, but somehow we are.
There is the faint sound of the game they’re still playing inside, music coming from one of the nearby houses, an owl hooting somewhere in the night. Still, even with all that it’s somehow peaceful.
I embrace the feeling open-heartedly, reveling in it.
Yasmin sighs heavily, making my eyes fly open. Her head is tilted back as she watches the stars illuminating the dark night sky. Her arms are wrapped around herself as she rubs at her forearms to keep herself warm.
She must feel me watching her because she whispers, “I think I should go, it’s getting late.”
I have no idea what time it is, but it’s probably been hours. We played the game until the food came, and then we played some more, joking and throwing insults at one another. At some point, Maddox came down from his cave and connected some shit so more of us could play at the same time.
“Did you drive?”
She nods her head. “I was at Bright Haven when Callie called.”
“Bright Haven?” My brows furrow in confusion. The name sounds familiar, but I’m not sure from where.
“The community center, I volunteer there.”
Community center, right.
And, of course, she volunteers. I’m not even surprised. She’s completely selfless and always on the move.
I take a step forward, closing the distance between us. Although she’s on the taller side, she has to tilt her head back to be able to look me in the eyes.
“Do you ever take a moment to breathe? To just be?” I ask her softly.
“I’m doing that now, aren’t I?”
“You know what I mean.”
We stare at each other for what seems like a lifetime. From up close like this I can see a few gold speckles surrounding her right iris. They’re so small they’re barely noticeable.
“If I stop for too long, all the things I’ve been trying to keep at bay will catch up to me, and that’s the last thing I want, so I keep moving forward, hoping they’ll stay where they belong, forgotten in the past.”
“How bad can it be?”
“You know one of my secrets, you tell me.”
I don’t have to ask her to explain what she means. I know who she’s talking about. Her father. My fucking coach. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the two are one and the same. What happened between them to make their relationship as strained as it is? Is he the reason she’s so closed toward football players? Or is there something more? And the most important question of them all, how bad could it be if the truth got out?
“I should go back inside and say goodbye.”
Yasmin tries to walk around me, but I stop in front of her, blocking her path. “You’re not so bad when you stop scowling at me all the time, Hernandez.”
Something flashes across her face, but it’s gone before I can decipher what it was. Her lips tip upward. The smile is small, but it’s there. For me. “You’re not so bad either, Cole.”
This time, when she tries to walk inside, I let her go.
Chapter Thirteen
NIXON
Hands wrap around my forearm, pulling me back. “I’m not letting you slip through my fingers now.”
My whole body stiffens, going on alert, but I relax as soon as I recognize the voice.
“Something you wanna tell me, Cals?” I look down at her.
“There are a lot of things I want to tell you, but first you’re buying me coffee.”
I lift my brows but let her drag me after her. “No Hayden to bully into doing your bidding? Or did you finally come to your senses and decide to leave his grumpy ass?” She swats me over the head. By now I should see it coming, but she manages to surprise me every time. “Ouch, what was that for?”
“Being an ass, per usual.”
I rub at the back of my neck. “If you keep at it, you’ll give me a concussion.”
“Maybe you should try to be less of a smarty pants, and I wouldn’t have to.”
“Of course it’s my fault.”
“Of course it is,” she agrees readily. “Where were you this weekend?”
Her tone may be casual, accompanied by an innocent bat of her eyelashes, but I don’t let it fool me.
“Around.”
“Not at the house.”
“There is more to around than being at the house.”
“True.” Her fingers dig more into my forearm. “So where were you?”
I plaster my most charming smile onto my face. “What? Keeping tabs on me now, Mom?”
Callie gives me a look that conveys her thoughts without her having to voice them—I see what you’re doing, and you can’t fool me. “I’m just curious. Usually you’re at the house, if you’re not hooking up with somebody. But even then, it’s just that, a hookup, ending with you doing a walk of shame in the middle of the night to sleep in your own bed. So, color me curious.”
I force a laugh out, although she hit a little too close to home. Ignoring her non-question question, I ask instead, “Married life is so boring you have to live vicariously through me?”
“I’ll give you married life.” Callie shoves me away and stumbles in the process, almost ending on her ass. We both laugh as I catch her.
“You were saying?”
“I love my life, thank you very much. And Hayden keeps me up long into the night, so I know you didn’t come back home.”