Page 47 of The Coach

She pretends to faint on the couch, and Cassie rolls her eyes at the both of us, shoving Vic.

Then she turns back to me. “Just promise you’ll be careful. I know you care about him, it’s obvious, but don’t forget to look out for you, too.”

I nod my head, feeling grateful that my friends care so much about me. “I will. Just swear to me, this conversation stays between the three of us.”

They both fake zipping their lips and throwing the key away, and I laugh at their antics.

The laughter we shared is short-lived. My nails bite into the palm of my hand from where I’m squished between Ezra Hansley and Gabriel Katz. This is probably someone’s fantasy, but for me, it’s absolute torture as I watch my best friend squirm.

Cassie is directly across from me. To her left is Vic, who is charming every hockey player here—minus my brother—and to her right is Crew, who pushed Lincoln out of the way to sit there. I’d frowned at my brother for even trying, and he glared at his best friend.

I wouldn’t care, but Cassie was sweating.

From one look across the table, I knew that she was struggling to have normal conversation with my family without blurting out the secret I made her keep. It wasn’t her fault. Cassie was an honest person—almost to a fault.

Keeping secrets from my parents, who she respected a great deal, was not something that would go over well for her.

“So, Cassie,” my mom starts, directing her attention to her. Between where my mom sits at the head of the table and Cassie, there are three hockey players and enough food to feed… well, a hockey team. I could barely choke down the mashed potatoes I peeled for four hours that morning. “How goes your novel?”

Cassie’s skittish gaze meets my mom’s and jumps back to me. “Oh. Great.”

“You’re writing a novel?” Lincoln blurts, his eyes on her.

“Lincoln, don’t you start,” Mom chastises him, knowing far too well that he was probably already looking for an angle in which to tease my friend. “What’s your novel about?”

Cassie looks between me and my mom, her brow sweating. I can see it from here. I widen my eyes at her, giving her a gesture to talk about her book. Only her book.

Once Cassie gets started, she can’t shut up about it in the right company.

Then again, I highly doubt a room full of college boys is the right company.

“It’s about a woman. And a man,” Cassie says, taking a swift drink of her water.

“And what do this man and woman do?”

Mom’s questions seem to intrigue half of the table, and I watch as attention switches from random conversation to all focus on Cassie. Poor friend.

“Cassie?” Mom prompts when Cassie hasn’t said anything.

“It’s a secret!” she blurts, her face turning red, and my eyes widen at her volume. “I mean, I’m sorry.” She expels a little laugh. “I mean, they date in secret.” Her eyes, though turned toward my mother, grow in fear.

“Oh, that sounds intriguing.” Mom takes a sip of her wine. “Why is that?”

“Because…” I can see the wheels turning and wait with bated breath. “Because he’s her professor!” Cassie’s hand slaps over her mouth, and Vic laughs loudly. My head falls into my hand.

“Oh my,” Mom replies with a chuckle as the hockey players ooh and ahh over this new information.

Crew slings his arm around the back of Cassie’s chair. “You got something you need to tell us, little Cassie?”

Finally, her glare back in place, she lifts her head and gives him a look that shuts him right up. Lincoln scoots his chair back and leaves the dining room, and Cassie takes a drink of her wine and doesn’t stop until it’s gone.

“I can’t wait to find out what happens!” Mom says happily getting sucked into conversation with someone else, and I hunch down in my seat, willing my heart rate back to normal.

Okay… and this is why you keep secrets to yourself.

nineteen

TANNER

---