Page 46 of Behind the Bench

Okay, that’s not what I thought she was going to say.

“I’m not going to strip with you standing there. I’m a big girl, I can get dressed by myself.”

She doesn’t move a muscle besides the eyebrow she now raises at me. “I know you can, but I don’t trust you to put this on. Besides, you grew up changing in a locker room full of women, don't act like this is weird. And need I remind you that I saw you passed out in nothing but a bra and thong in your bathtub on your twenty-second birthday?”

Gee, how could I forget?

“So now, strip and get dressed so we can have one more margarita before Hunter gets here to pick us up.”

Throwing my hands up in the air, I give up and start undressing. “You are infuriating sometimes!”

She tosses me the jumpsuit and I quickly get dressed. Nothing like a margarita to get my ass moving.

I pull the last strap over my shoulder and throw my hands out wide. “Happy?”

She looks me over, assessing my outfit. “Yes, I am. And for the record, you look fabulous. I wish I had an ass like that. It’s totally unfair to the rest of us,” she says while pointing to my butt in the mirror that's behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see what she means and she’s got a point. My ass looks great in this thing. Hockey butt for the win. “Learn how to skate and then do a million down and backs on the ice and you can have an ass like this.”

“Eh, that’s too much work. I’ll stick with my squats and yoga.”

We make our way to the kitchen and refill our glasses with the rest of the pitcher of margaritas we made before getting ready.

Sadie’s phone buzzes, and she quickly glances at it before flipping it over.

That’s weird.

My curiosity gets the best of me and I nod at her phone and ask, “Was that Hunter?”

“Oh, nope. Just a dating app I joined to pass the time while I’m visiting,” she says while looking anywhere else but at me.

A knock on our door interrupts me before I can take our conversation any further. I don’t believe her for one second and I make a mental note to pester her with questions tomorrow when she’s hungover. Hopefully she won’t be thinking clearly and will spill the beans.

“That must be Hunter,” Sadie says while looking more than relieved for the change of subject. “I still have to put on some mascara, can you let him in and tell him I’ll just be a minute.”

Downing the rest of my margarita I tell Sadie I got it and make my way to the door.

The knocking continues as if Hunter is getting impatient, even though it has barely been ten seconds since he knocked the first time. “I’m coming, I’m coming! Don’t get your panties in a twist!” I yell while jogging to the door.

I pull the door open and I think I may have pulled a muscle from how fast my jaw drops. Because standing there with his hand up, ready to knock for a third time, is none other than Coach Lincoln Scott…and he looks freaking delicious.

Hunter couldn’t find a parking spot, so he dropped me off at the door to collect the ladies. I’m not too thrilled with the idea of showing up uninvited, but Hunter practically threw me out of the car, so here we are.

Standing at Ellie’s door, I suddenly feel extremely nervous to be in her space. My hands clench and unclench at my sides, trying to work out the nervous energy. My throat suddenly feels dry, making it hard to swallow. I take a deep breath, attempting to steady myself. With a deep breath, I lift my hand and knock. No one answers so I try again.

Raising my hand to knock for a third time, the door swings open, andHO-LY SHIT. Ellie is a damnvisionstanding before me.

“You’re not Hunter,” Ellie says, stepping aside to let me into her apartment.

“Very astute observation.” I wipe my shoes off on the welcome mat and can’t help but chuckle. Written in lime green lettering it sayshope you brought margaritaswith a giant margarita next to it.

Ellie doesn’t seem to appreciate my sarcasm by the look on her face but chooses to ignore it. “What are you even doinghere? And where’s Hunter?” she asks, glancing over my shoulder to look down the hall.

I open my mouth to respond but am interrupted by Ellie’s roommate. “Oh hey, Lincoln Scott. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Sadie. I’ve heardsomuch about you.”

Nope. I definitely don’t like the sound of that. I reach my hand out to shake her hand when she throws her body at me. She wraps her arms around my middle and gives me a giant squeeze.

It’s at this exact moment I realize my bladder is about to burst. I think she may have squeezed a little bit right out of me.

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