Page 10 of Dear Coach's Daughter
5
HUNTER
Don’t read anything into this.
That’s all she said before leaving me last night without another word and a raging hard-on that took ten minutes and a lot of unsexy thoughts to get it under control.
That was two days ago.
I’m all padded up and in the locker room with the other guys waiting for Coach to come in and give his pregame speech. It's the first game of the season, and it's my first time starting. I should be focused on what’s ahead of me, but I can’t stop thinking about how Brownie’s lips tasted like cherry lip gloss and champagne.
My phone buzzes in my bag with a text, I’m tempted to ignore it, but I need any form of distraction. It’s a number I don’t recognize.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: You aren’t the only one who can get information from Doretha.
Brownie.
I plug in her name as the new contact, and another text pops up before I can respond.
BROWNIE: If you when tonight, I'll invite you to my place for some post-game lasagna.
BROWNIE: It’s my Nonna’s recipe, so you won’t want to miss it.
ME: I’ve never been more motivated to win a game in my life.
She responds with a blowing kiss emoji, and the biggest smile spreads across my face. Caldwell and Ramirez don’t miss it and pounce.
“This girl has your head all twisted,” Caldwell says.
“Maybe it’s a good thing.” Ramirez shrugs. “Then maybe it will help him not to think about the pressure for tonight’s game.”
Caldwell elbows him in the ribs.
“What? What did I say?”
They are both right. Brownie does have my head twisted, but I wouldn’t change it for a moment. She’s the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. Is it possible to already be falling in love with her after only kissing once?
As much as I want to ponder that question, Coach walks in, and it's time to put my game face on. Tonight could be the start of something for me in my career.
Jace’s behavior in the press has been pretty bad since the call to suspend him for the first eight games was made. He hasn't owned up to his mistake, and the team had to step in when he got drunk and got in a fistfight at some club. He's a free agent next year, and a few of the players have talked about how the manager is considering letting him go. If I can prove myself, they might keep me on.
It might ensure some longevity to stay here and see where things could go with Brownie. It’s hard not to want to make plans with her in mind.
BROWNIE
“What are you doing?” Taylor asks. “It looks like something exploded in here.”
I’ve spent the better part of the afternoon recreating my Nonna’s lasagna recipe from scratch. I don't remember her kitchen looking like this when she cooked, but she was a much better cook than me.
"I decided to take your advice and forgetting what I thought about football players and their wandering dicks. So I’m making Hunter my Nonna’s lasagna.”
“Wow, you are really going all out for this football player.”
“I want to impress him.”
“If that kiss was really anything like what you described, you could pour ketchup overcooked noodles, and he'd eat it happily."
“You bite your tongue. If my Nonna were alive and heard you say something as blasphemous as ketchup on spaghetti sauce in a Moreno kitchen, she’d—”
