Page 39 of Thunderstruck
“You’re insanely fast.”
Scoffing, he runs a hand through his sweaty hair and shakes his head. “Apparently I’m not.”
“I’m pretty sure you can run circles around the rest of the team.” I glance up and realize the coach is watching us. Face heating, I shift so I’m facing Bean and start wrapping his leg, not caring if he’s not actually hurt. “Don’t listen to him.”
“Did you know he played on six different champion teams?” Bean watches me work, a deep furrow in his brow. “Everyone says he’s brilliant, and maybe he is, but I wouldn’t know because the only thing he’s taught me is how pathetic I am.”
“You’re not pathetic, Bean.” I pause, waiting for him to meet my gaze. I can’t have a serious conversation with him while calling him Bean. “What’s your actual name?”
That gets a smile out of him, which helps me relax a bit. Maybe he’s not too downtrodden. “Wyatt.”
Smiling, I return to my taping as I talk. “Wyatt, if your coach doesn’t respect you and the effort you put in, nothing he says against you is worth your time. You know you’re fast, and you know how much your team relies on you.”
Wyatt grabs my hand, stopping my movement. “Thanks, Rizzo. You’re right. Um…” He swallows. “I know I was a jerk for shouting at you the other day, but maybe you and I could—”
“How does that feel?” I tug my hand free, knowing my face is bright red right now. I stand up, hoping that conveys how much I don’t want him to finish his sentence. I knew this would happen eventually, that one of the guys would finally work up the courage to ask me out, but I hoped it would take longer.
I’m terrible at saying no, and already the guilt of turning him down is building in my stomach and leaving me queasy. And he hasn’t even asked me yet!
Wyatt stands as well and tries to wiggle his foot, with little success. He gives me a sheepish smile. “Uh, you probably need more practice. I’m happy to be your dummy. We could grab dinner and bring it to my place so you can—”
“Oh, um.” Gah, this would be so much easier if he wasn’t such a nice and friendly guy! “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Wyatt.”
His expression falls. “Oh.”
Sweet merciful heavens, he looks like a kicked puppy, and my resolve is slipping. “We work together, Wyatt, and that’s a boundary I can’t afford to cross.” But maybe I could do it this once. It would be work. I can make sure he knows that, and there won’t be any harm in getting to know him better, right? Especially after that verbal beating he got today, he probably needs a win. “Maybe—”
“Paxton!” The sharp call of my name makes me jump.
I peer around Wyatt’s shoulder to see Cole jogging toward us. Most of his expression is neutral, but his eyebrows are pulled low. “Yes?” I squeak. I can’t decide if I’m grateful for his interruption or annoyed. We didn’t talk much this afternoon after I picked him up to come to practice, so it’s hard to know what kind of mood he’s in today.
Cole glances at Wyatt, who clenches his jaw, before turning his attention back to me. “What happened to Mel?”
“She went to check her phone.”
“I was hoping she could help with my knee. It’s feeling loose today.”
“Oh.” With the tape still in my hand, I hold it up and shrug. “I could help. Apparently I need the practice.”
Cole glances down at Wyatt’s obstructed ankle and suppresses a chuckle. “Clearly. Bean, you probably won’t want to stay away from Coach for too long and give him more reasons to shout at you.” He clapsWyatt on the shoulder and gives him a raised eyebrow look that instantly sours Wyatt’s mood.
Grumbling something under his breath, Wyatt tears a couple strips of tape from his skin and heads back into the fray, leaving me alone with Cole.
I narrow my eyes at him. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Chuckling, he folds his arms, which has the effect of making him look bigger than he already is. Yes, I trauma-dumped on him last night, but that doesn’t give him the right to butt into my affairs. I’ve already used him more than a good friend should by borrowing his car, and I don’t know how to feel about him stepping in to save me from attention.
“For your information,” he says, “I was serious about wanting Mel’s help. But I may have delayed coming over here until I noticed you were uncomfortable.”
“I wasn’t…” I stop when he raises an eyebrow at me. Apparently he’s really expressive with those eyebrows when he chooses to be anything other than stoic. “Okay, so maybe I didn’t know how to let him down easy.”
“All you have to do is say no.”
“That’s easy for you to say!” Crouching down, I slap the end of the tape onto the side of Cole’s thigh and pull it down to his shin on the opposite side, doing the same in the other direction to make an X below his knee. It takes a lot of concentration to avoid letting my fingers stray over his muscles. This man’s legs are huge. “How’s that? And I can’t not worry about hurting someone’s feelings, so rejecting him feels cruel.”
Cole tests his step and nods. “That’s great, actually. Not the cruelty part. My knee. Bean’s feelings will be fine, and you have every right to say no when this is your job.”
“His name is Wyatt.” I don’t know why I’m advocating for him, but whatever.
