Bryan, my older brother, was the only other person who had really pushed me to be my best, and when I lost him, Coach cut me some slack that season, but he wasn’t so good about me letting my grief return over Layla.
And now he was worried I’d let Avery be the same kind of emotional distraction.
He got up without another word and went back to his office. I finished up in the locker room and headed out to my Jeep, only to find that Avery had stayed behind to wait on me.
“Wow, you’re late,” she said.
I guessed with Coach’s words and all of the conflicts in the locker room, I wasn’t that glad to see her. I didn’t want to give them any room to be right. “Was I supposed to be here sooner?” Aside from all of that, I didn’t want a girl who expected me to be where she wanted me to be at all times.
She gave me a look. “Of course not. I just meant that everyone else has been gone for a while.”
“Well, you didn’t have to wait on me,” I said. I felt myself growing frustrated, but I didn’t know why. I turned and looked over my shoulder, hoping Coach and the others weren’t watching me choose her over the game. I felt a sting in my gut that I couldn’t stop the thoughts, even though I didn’t want to agree with them.
“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.” She was so sweet and cheerful. “I missed you.”
I felt a tug in my chest that had always bothered me. “You just saw me, and we’ve talked. It’s not like you’ve had time to miss me.” I didn’t want her to be the type of girl to overdramatize everything either.
She’s not like that. She’s different.
“It must mean something because it’s true. I do miss you.” She reached for my hand, and I busied myself, putting my bag in my Jeep instead of letting her.
“It’s been a rough practice,” I said, keeping my hands on my bag.
She grabbed my hand with a worried look on her face. “What happened to your knuckles?” They were bruised, and one had a split that kept trickling blood.
“It’s nothing. I just punched Motor in the face and knocked him out.” She may as well know what kind of guy she was dealing with.
“Motor, is that the big guy?” she asked with a smile. “I’m sure whatever he did, he deserved it, right?”
Her response surprised me. “Yeah, and it’s true.”
She gave me a narrow look. “What’s true?”
“Big guys do fall harder.”
She giggled. “You’re not kidding. You really punched him out?”
“Yeah, and while I’d love to sit around and impress you with the story, I should get home and ice my hand and get some rest for the game tomorrow. I’m on everyone’s shit list right now.”
“Oh, well, I thought after our date that you’d want to go out again. I thought I could buy you a burger or something.”
“I’m not that hungry.” A burger would be nice, but I couldn’t be seen with her in town with everyone on my back. It would be more ammunition for them, and I knew it would upset Coach.
“Really? Wow, I’m always starved after practice.”
I looked at her lips and thought about kissing them and watching her eat. She was even sexy with a fork in her mouth, which was a look that most women couldn’t pull off. It made me want to put other things in her mouth too, but I wasn’t in the mood for anyone who was playing hard to get.
“I should go, Avery. I’m not good company, and I have a game tomorrow. I’m just going to go home and rest.” If I put my all into the game and proved I could do it, maybe Coach would get off of my back a little.
I hated looking away from her, but I knew if I looked at her much longer, especially that look of disappointment that I knew was my fault, I was going to cave, and I needed to do a little playing hard to get of my own for the sake of the team and the game.
She gave a slight nod. “Okay, sure. Call me.” She gave me a hopeful look, and instead of going in for a kiss on the cheek, she got in her car and shut the door.
It seemed like I was destined to sabotage my relationships, and I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t just have a normal one for a change. I didn’t want to be the kind of guy to let others dictate my life, but they could certainly influence it. I had people I couldn’t let down.
As she started the car and drove away, I got a sinking feeling inside that was only going to get worse without her.
Chapter 9
Avery
“Avery?”
My head came around from being lost in thought. “Yeah, I’m sorry.”
Abi sat across from me in the donut shop with an apple-filled and one coconut-cream in front of her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m just a little out of it, is all.” I waved it off and went back to looking at my phone.
“You seriously were just asleep. I called your name like four times, and you had your eyes closed and your mouth hung open like a beluga whale. It wasn’t your best look, but thank God, we’re the only people in this place.”
“Everyone else is probably still at the game.” My chest ached picturing Seth in his muscled glory playing harder than anyone I’d ever seen. “He looked good on the field, didn’t he?”
Abi sighed. “Yes, and we left to get donuts just when it was getting good.” She picked at the topping and wiped it on her napkin. “I think I’m going to have a sugar buzz by the time we go to the party tonight.”
“Party? What party?” I hadn’t even thought about the fact that after every game, there was a Win or Lose party.
“The victory party, duh. Look.” She held out her phone and showed me the score. “There’s no way they can catch them now.”
I looked at the score and smiled. Seth had probably continued to play a great game. And I was not there to see him finish it. I figured I could at least explain why. “He gave me the brush off.”
Abi’s eyes widened. “What? When?”
“Last night. I wanted to buy him dinner, so I waited for him to leave practice, and when he came out, he was just not that into me. I guess I’m getting too close too fast. He probably doesn’t even feel the same way I do. Do you think the kiss could have complicated things?”
“For you or him?” she asked. “Because you seem to be the one second-guessing things. Wasn’t it a nice kiss?”
“Yes, and that’s why I can’t believe he didn’t want to do it again. He didn’t even mention it. He didn’t even text me to say goodnight. And when we first started talking, he did that every night. I guess I’m not on his mind as much as I’d like to be. I at least thought we’d made that much progress.”
“You can’t be seriously thinking he doesn’t like you anymore. I think you’re overreacting, and listen, if you want him, you better go and get him. Guys can be clueless. I can’t tell you how many times my stupid brother had to be thrown hints by his girlfriends. Guys don’t see things the way we do.”
“You’re right. And Seth had the game on his mind. He’s the team captain and probably under a lot of pressure.”