Page 46 of The Coach

“What’s up?” he asks, sending a glance at me and Cassie before returning his gaze to Vic’s. She smiles sweetly at him and says, “Oh nothing, just wanted a glimpse of your pretty face.”

My brother’s cheeks are lit on fire by the comment, and I sag with relief into my seat. “Uh, thanks,” he sends a nervous glance over to Cassie, who’s not paying him any attention. “Did you need anything?”

“Nah, not yet,” she replies saucily, and he saunters back into the kitchen.

“What the hell, Vic.”

“Come on.” She waves a hand at me, sipping her nearly empty glass like nothing just happened. Apparently, her heart is not hammering in her chest. “Spill.”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair, closing my eyes as I think of what to say. I don’t want to tell anyone and break the promise Tanner and I made to each other. But… oh hell, I want to tell them so, so bad.

“Okay.” I scoot off my chair and sit on the floor in front of the couch, getting as close as possible and looking Cassie in the eyes before moving to Vic’s, making sure they see how serious I am. “But you cannot tell anyone. Swear it.”

“Mick, if you’re in trouble—”

“I’m not in trouble, but I could be if this got out.”

Vic looks at Cassie who glances back at her, and then they turn their attention back to me. “Tell us.”

I lick my lips, my nerves trying to take hold of me. “Okay.” I glance back toward the doorway and lower my voice. “I’m dating Tanner.”

“Tanner?” Cassie asks in a low voice. Victoria looks confused.

I close my eyes briefly before glancing at the doorway, then back to them. “The hockey coach.”

For a moment, it’s pure silence.

Then, my friends erupt in completely different reactions. Victoria throws her head back and laughs, whooping for me. “You get it, girl.”

Cassie frowns at me, her expression concerned, and she lays a hand on my shoulder. “Mick, that’s so not a good idea. You could get in trouble. He’s faculty.”

I open my mouth to respond, but Vic beats me to it. “Oh good hell, those rules are so old-school. Plus, they’re meant for younger students and professors, not someone in a master’s program and the hockey coach.”

I shush her, hoping no one can hear how loud she’s being. “It doesn’t matter. It could hurt me and him. If it gets out that he’s dating a student, it will kill his reputation.”

“Does he care?” Vic asks, lifting her glass to her mouth and frowning at it when she finds it empty.

“Of course he cares. He can’t lose all he’s worked for.”

She hums in her throat and looks at Cassie. “What are you thinking?”

I turn my head to her, too, and she ceases biting her thumbnail. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Get hurt, or get into trouble?”

She frowns at my question. “Either one. You wouldn’t have told us about him if you didn’t care about him. Clearly this is more than some fling.”

I think about our last night together, how he reassured me he would be okay with waiting to get more serious for the kids thing. But… that implied we were in this for the long haul. I don’t know why that didn’t dawn on me until right this moment, how I glossed over how monumentally huge that conversation was.

Tanner hadn’t hesitated in telling me he would wait until I was ready, in telling me that I was what he wanted. He didn’t allude to us getting married or moving in together, but it was still a big conversation.

Every time I’m around him, I’m so damn comfortable that even a life-changing conversation doesn’t seem so bad.

“It’s more than a fling,” I finally answer her, nodding my head. “Way more. He and I… we click.”

“How well do you ‘click’?” Vic asks with a wink, her fingers air quoting the word click.

I roll my eyes to the ceiling and heave a long, deep sigh. “We click hard.”

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