Page 49 of The Silent Count
Okay, so maybe I wasn’t the most subtle about my feelings toward Lea prior to us getting together. In my defense, it was already hard enough to keep the secret that she and I were pen pals, so each glance was just a substitute to hold me over until I could be with her the way I wanted to.
“If anyone on the team was going to date my daughter, I’m happy you’re the one she picked, son.” Coach gives me an earnest look, but it quickly fades when he snickers under his breath. “I’ve been thinking too… y’all want to know the best part about the two of you getting together?”
Lea and I share a sideways glance. I’m pretty sure we’re both still trying to wrap our heads around what’s happening here. The fact that he is this… understanding, even without knowing the background of how Lea and I got together, doesn’t seem real.
Coach Sterling holds a hand over his mouth to conceal his laugh, catching his breath before he finishes his statement. “Now I don’t have to give that damn ‘don’t date my daughter’ speech to any other players. If only I’d have realized that sooner, it would've saved me a whole hell of a lot of time worrying about this shit.”
“Are you…” Lea pauses like she’s trying to gather the right words. “So… let me make sure I’ve got this right… you’re cool with this? Fortune and I being together. Like…together together.”
“Together together… going steady… dating… boyfriend and girlfriend… partners. I don’t know what term you kids are using these days, but whichever one y’all decide on, I’m cool with it.”
“You’re okay with it…” Lea echoes back, but I know she’s saying it to assure herself rather than asking a question. “Just like that…”
“Why not?”
“I—” She bobs her head up and down, processing.
Part of me wants to reach and grab her hand to make a beeline out of here before he changes his mind.
“Does this also mean I’m not getting kicked off the team?”
Coach rolls his eyes playfully. “I’m not going to punish you, kid. But I meant what I said the other day. The higher-ups are watching and I want to see you zeroed in during practices. Giving it your all for games.” I nod, urging him to continue. “It’d be a damn shame if you had to sign with another team, and the two of you had to be long distance.”
“I understand. I’ll make you proud.”
“I know you will.” There’s something about his tone that implies he’s not just talking about football, but with Lea as well.
Like he knows I’ll be the one to treat her right and take care of her. Even without him knowing all the details, he understands that this isn’t some frivolous fling we are partaking in. There’s an underlying acceptance that the both of us are in this for the long haul, which just might be why Coach is as understanding as he is right now.
Makes sense considering we’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other outside of work and during holidays. If Lea is his family, that means he is going to be mine too one day. I think Coach realizes it’s smart for this to start off on the right foot to save ourselves from the awkward Thanksgiving arguments and such.
“The two of y’all can get weepy and give me your apologies later…” he starts again, and Lea and I both hold back a laugh. “But right now, I want to figure out how all of this started and how it’s gone under my nose for so long.”
I turn to look at Lea, and she’s already got a loving smile growing on her face. I tip my chin at her as a way of saying why don’t you start, and she sucks in a deep breath before turning back to her father.
“Well… it all started around three and a half years ago…”
Coach leans back in his chair with a glint in his eye as he listens to his daughter recount the story from start to finish.
TWENTY-ONE
FORTUNE
Lea doesn’t knockbefore bursting through my front door after a long day at work. After our meeting with Coach, she had to rush down to the stadium to meet with some sponsors for a tour, and we haven’t been able to talk since. I twist my head, watching as she drops her purse onto the floor and kicks off her black heels without missing a step.
My mouth drops open as I watch her strut toward me with a fiery heat in her eyes. She keeps her gaze locked on mine as she pulls down the straps of her dress and slides her arms out of them. Her stride doesn’t falter as she reaches behind her back to unzip her dress. The white material falls to the floor, and she steps out of it.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re celebrating,” she says the words like I should’ve known already. “Now take off your shirt.”
She won’t have to ask me twice. I reach for the back of my shirt and pull it over my head, reluctant to take my eyes off Lea for even a second.
“I still don’t think we should share the details with any teammates or the media until after the season is over.” She drops to her knees in front of me and spreads my legs to make room for herself before reaching for the zipper of my jeans.
She wants to have this conversation now? While pulling down my jeans and boxers to break my cock free?
“Whatever you want.”
