Page 38 of The Coach

He stared at me, mouth open, disbelief and betrayal flickering in his eyes. At least he wasn’t spitting his drink this time. “How—when—did this happen?”

“I, uh… I had a crush on him from the moment I saw him. But the first time we got together was after that match in Gettysburg.”

“Dude! That was, like,monthsago!”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Wow.” Finn shook his head. “Who even are you?”

Ouch. Guess I deserved that. “I’m sorry, bro. I couldn’t tell you. If it was just about me, I would, but I had to think about him, too. His job was on the line.”

Looking away from me, Finn struggled to process the news. I got that he was hurt, but I hoped his good-hearted nature would prevail. It was the one thing in the world I could always count on. At last, he faced me again and said, “So why tell me now? What changed?”

Holding his gaze, I let out a long, shaky breath. “I’m telling him I love him today, after class. And I want my best friend to know it, too.”

He must have picked up on my insecurity. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just… We haven’t seen each other in four weeks. We kept in touch, but… lately he seemed a bit different. Kind of distant.” Over winter break, I clung to Blake’s calls like an addict, rereading his texts until the words blurred together.Hope you’re doing well. Busy day. Talk soon. Short, polite, and aloof. Not the Blake I knew. Not the man who had kissed me with such need that my legs almost gave out beneath me. Not the man who had held me in his bed, his voice low and full of promises.

“What do you mean?”

I mulled it over for a moment, then took my phone and opened my chat with Blake again. This time I let Finn take a better look. “We used to text each other all through the day, exchanging dozens of messages. He even called me when he could. Then the time between his messages got longer, while his texts got shorter. This last week he stopped calling me altogether. I don’t know what to think.”

“Uh-oh,” Finn said, scrolling through the texts.

“What do you mean, ‘uh-oh?’”

“I mean—wow, is this Coach’s dick? He’s hung like a fucking horse!”

“Finn!” I snatched the phone from his hand.

“Sorry, bro. But yeah, that doesn’t sound good.”

I sighed. “He… has a lot on his mind. I’m sure that being with his family, in his old city, has reminded him of some things he was trying to leave behind.”

“Well, good luck today. Otherwise, it’s gonna get really awkward in practice.”

“Thanks.” I took a sip of my coffee, then looked at him sideways. “So we’re cool? You’re not mad at me for not telling you sooner?”

“Oh, I’m super mad at you, dude. There’s gonna be hell to pay before you make it up to me.” Finn was trying his hardest to keep his expression stern, but the corner of his mouth quivered. “But yeah… we’re cool.”

“Fine,” I said, grinning. “Bring it on.”

Finn smiled, then his look became pensive. “Why does nobody send me any nudes?”

“I mean, I can send you one if it would make you feel better…”

“Thanks, but no thanks, bro. I’ve seen your junk enough times for a lifetime.”

“See, you’re too picky. You gotta be more open-minded.”

“More open-minded? Do I need to make out with you again to show you how open-minded I am?” Finn lurched at me, tongue flicking like a snake, pretending like he was about to kiss me.

“Dude, get off me!” I laughed so hard I could barely let the words out.

We slurped the last of our drinks and hurried outside, joking and laughing all the way back to campus. Practice was about to start and we wouldn’t be late this time.

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