Page 108 of Wild Love
I raise my brows, waiting for her to elaborate.
She sighs. “If I tell you, you have to promise to never mention it again. Ever.”
Charli trots in and lies at her feet.
“We’ll see.” I’m not promising anything until I know the details.
“When I was in high school, I had a close relationship with my track coach.”
Adrenaline starts coursing through me. I don’t know where this is going, but I already know I’m going to be pissed.
“He was good to me. He stayed late and came in on weekends to help me improve. He was young, in his midthirties, and all the girls thought he was hot. We called him Coach Hottie. God, we were so young and naive.” She stares into her lap.
I stay quiet, grinding down on my molars.
“One night after the last track meet of my senior year, he asked me to come to his office. Up until the very minute it started, I convinced myself that any romantic vibes I was getting from him were just my overactive teenage brain. Once he started undressing me, I don’t know; I can’t explain it. I was horrified and realized how stupid I’d been.”
My jaw feels like glass, and rage like I’ve never felt before builds in my chest. “The fucker raped you?”
“No.” Her voice hardens. “I stopped him before it went that far, but I was so ashamed. I totally flirted with him and was inappropriate, so I don’t blame him for thinking I wanted him, but you have to believe me when I say I never thought it would go anywhere.” Tears fill her eyes. “After my mom died, I was lost for a while. I didn’t even realize how lost I was until that very moment when I was confronted with how far I’d go to feel that type of attention from someone. Anyone. He made me feel special. I thought that he saw something in me. I was an okay runner at best when I started. Without him, I’m not sure I ever would have won any races. He even helped me get into Valley. My dad didn’t know anything about applying for colleges or financial aid, and he was still a mess too.”
“Of course I believe you. What happened was not your fault.”
“I know.” Her voice is too quiet, and she still doesn’t look at me.
“Bullshit.”
“Okay, fine, I’m working on it. I know that he was wrong, but what I did wasn’t right either.”
“And so you quit because you didn’t feel like you earned it?” I’m starting to get a feel for Dakota, who she is inside, why she’s so adamant that she prove herself with the Wildcats internship, and her desire to always be on an even playing field with her peers.
“I know it doesn’t make sense. I won those medals fair and square. I trained my ass off, but would I have done all of that if he hadn’t taken a special interest in me? And did he only do that because he wanted to sleep with me? I’m so embarrassed that I let it go that far. I didn’t want anything that he’d been a part of or that reminded me of how dumb I’d been. I thought when I got to Valley, I could put it behind me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t deserve any of it.”
I sit with her in the chair, pulling her into my lap and smoothing a hand down her ponytail. She’s still slick with sweat and sticks to my bare chest. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
“Thank you.”
“I want to kill him. I hate that you quit something you love. I don’t even have to know you broke the state record to know you deserved it. You give your all to everything.”
“It turned out okay. I stopped running altogether for a while, then when I realized that just made me more miserable, I picked it back up. I still run almost every day, or I did until recently. I can’t seem to pry myself out of bed as easily these days.” Her lips tip into a half smile.
A memory floats back to me. “That was the prick we ran into when we were out running by your dad’s house.” I clench my hand into a fist.
“Yeah, that’s the first time I’d seen him since I graduated. They’ve been trying to get me to come back and be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and I just can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t want to face him.”
“As your husband, I will happily drive to Kansas and beat him with my hockey stick.”
“As my slam piece, I’m going to need you to play it a little cooler.”
“I’d run through hell and back for you, wifey.”
“I know.” She cups my cheek. “How about showering with me instead?”
34
Dakota
I’m assignedto tours at the arena with Reese for our second to last week at the Wildcats. We’re a good pair—him with tons of history about the team and me with experience leading groups. It’s good to be away from my desk, and I have very little time to overthink everything going on.
