Page 53 of Coach Me
Beck puts that stupid smile on his face. “She sends you pictures.”
Shit. When he asked me in the locker room where Miles and Lucie were, I should have known he’d come to bug me as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
“She sends me pictures of Miles, you asshole. Don’t be weird.”
“Well, that’s just adorable on her part. You’re being weird with your dry-ass responses. Let me see ’em again.” Beck tries to grab my phone, but I pull it back. “Would it kill you to show a little bit of personality around Lucie? It could work to your benefit.”
“I don’t need it to work for my benefit. I need her to be my nanny.”
Beck chuckles. “I like how you said that.My nanny.It feels very possessive—you should try that with Lucie.”
I count to ten in my head before letting out a deep breath. “Go away.”
“Don’t be so grouchy, Dad.”
I’m going to kill him. “Beck.”
The fucker just laughs. “I told you I’d be back.”
After Lucie and Miles left, the rest of the game felt never-ending. Like some cruel fucking joke, my patience on entertaining Beck’s shit is rather low right now.
“Right, and I told you to drop it.”
“I’d drop it if I weren’t your friend, but, alas, here we are. Don’t think Jordan hasn’t mentioned your little warning to some of the guys.”
“Motherfucker.”Of course he did.
“I’m just saying—as your friend—you were with Kate for years and never once did you get territorial.”
There’s no point in arguing with him. He’s right. Therehave been several things I’d never felt the need to do or say with my ex. Our hookups started out of convenience. We’re both very career-driven people, so while the attraction was there, it just never felt like it should be more. That is until a broken condom said otherwise.
Things with Kate felt like settling. That’s not a dis on her—she settled with me too. We were simply a situationship, and got married out of obligation, hoping it would work out for the best.
There were never these thoughts of making sure I have an extra hat in my travel bag in case she needed it during the game. I’d never once seen a color and immediately thought of her. There wasn’t this pull to be around Kate. From the start, our marriage felt contractual.
Maybe that makes me an asshole, but I think Kate would agree with everything. If anything, Kate treated every part of these last five years as if it were the second job that she didn’t want to have.
“I’m asking you—as my friend—to drop it. I can’t date her, it’s off the table now. Just let me deal with that and quit reminding me of how badly I’m handling it.”
“Dex, come on. You deserve?—”
“Fuck off, Beck.”
Shit, now the confirmation of me being an asshole is coming from the look on Beck’s face.
“Fine. Be an unhappy dick for the rest of your life.” Beck gets up and walks to the back of the shuttle before I can even say anything.
Fuck, today really went downhill. I’ve got to pull myself together. I don’t know what will make this whole Lucie situation better, but something’s got to give.
Finally returning to our hotel, I unlock the door to oursuite. I desperately need sleep, but I can hear the TV. I feel like Lucie would have answered my text if they were still up.
I take roughly three steps deeper into the suite before my heart nearly stops beating in my chest.
Cuddled up on the couch are Lucie and Miles—dead asleep. Miles has his head resting on Lucie’s shoulder as her arm drapes around him. They look so peaceful, so at home and natural. My only saving grace is that Lucie’s no longer wearing my shirt.
And in that moment, it hits me—this attraction is one-sided. I knew that on some level, but accepting it kind of fucking sucks.
Walking up to them, Miles jostles in his sleep for a moment. I hold my breath, hoping he doesn’t wake up. I don’t know how long they’ve been asleep—could be ten minutes or an hour—but I know for damn sure that if he fully wakes up there will be no getting him back down, and I’m too tired to deal with a wired kid.
