Page 32 of Wildcat
SCARLETT
Wednesday morningI get to the arena even before my father. I set three alarms and laid out my outfit last night like I’m a preschooler. I also promised myself I’d stop at Starbucks, but I pressed snooze one too many times, and here I am, coffeeless as I flip on the light to Anna’s office.
My dad’s assistant is organization goals. Once I got into her file system yesterday, I was blown away. She even has a checklist of her tasks every morning, which includes making coffee. She did not include the steps to make said coffee because I guess she just assumed any adult could figure out a coffee maker. Any adult but me.
“I’ve got this,” I say to myself as I enter the break room. “Filter, coffee packet, water. Filter, coffee packet, water. Filter, coffee—”
The smell of fresh, hot coffee fills the air. I inhale and my gaze goes to the carafe that is on and full of coffee. A yellow sticky note is stuck to the top. I pull it off and read the messy scrawl,Turn off the burner, turn on the warmer, look to your left.
I follow his instructions, knowing who wrote it even before I see the Starbucks coffee cup with my name on it. Nicely done, Leo Lohan. Nicely done.
I hold onto those pleasant feelings until Dad asks me to take the forms the players filled out yesterday to the equipment manager. I count through them one more time to make sure I have them all, but come up one short. Ah, Leo’s. But when I look at the clipboard, it isn’t there either. Weird. I watched him fill it out. I go through the forms three more times until I’m certain I’m losing my mind.
Anna’s desk is immaculate so there’s nowhere for it to be hiding. I get up and look around the room anyway. Somewhere near insanity, it hits me like a jolt of lightning. He wouldn’t. Though even as I try to convince myself that Leo wouldn’t have taken the paper just to make my life more difficult, I find myself in Dad’s office, asking where I can find the players.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, perfect,” I say. “One of the guys forgot to fill out a few things.”
“Check the therapy room. Just past the locker room.” He smiles, glasses perched on his nose. “And, before you give the forms to Lewis, fill out the travel preferences for yourself too, just in case you need to come to any of the games.”
“Need?” He’s already mentioned that Anna rarely travels with the team.
“Okay fine. In case I want you to. I like having you close. It’s nice seeing you everyday again.”
I have no plans to travel with the team, but I smile and agree to fill out the form anyway.
I stop off in the bathroom to give myself a pep talk and reapply my lipstick. I go with a fiery red and lean against the counter. “He’s just a guy. An insanely hot guy who was the best sex of your life. But that doesn’t matter because he lied and he didn’t call you.”
Laughter snaps me out of my pep talk, and I look up to find Lindsey smiling at me. “Bad combination.”
“No kidding.” I turn away from the mirror and rest a hip against the sink. “You survived picture day.”
“Just barely.” She adjusts her stubby blonde ponytail while looking in the mirror. “Thanks again for your help.”
“Are you kidding? It was the highlight of my week. I was actually hoping we could chat sometime. I’d love to hear about how you got here. I’m thinking of taking some classes or workshops.”
“Absolutely. I heard you were helping out your dad until Anna comes back.”
I nod.
“If you have time, come up to our office one day and I’ll show you around and answer any questions you have. Maybe I can convince you to take a few photos too.”
“I would love that.”
When we both fall quiet, I stand tall. “Well, I guess I better go. I need to confront a boy before I lose my nerve.”
Her lips twist into a grin. “Good luck.”
On my way to the therapy room, I silently go through my pep talk one more time. He’s just another guy. Just another guy. Just another guy. Just another… holy shit. When I spot him getting out of the ice bath, my mouth goes as dry as the Sahara. He doesn’t see me and I have several seconds to take in the glory that is Leo Lohan naked from the waist up, water dripping off him, muscles contracted, black shorts molded to his thighs.
I’m transported to that night in the pool and the hot tub and on the couch. His back yard saw a lot of action. My body heats and desire pools between my thighs. I might not be interested in a repeat, but erasing the memory of him is proving difficult.
I storm forward, ignoring the race of my pulse. When he finally sees me, he pauses, and a slow smile turns up his lips. A smile that tells me he knows exactly why I’m here.
“Scarlett. Good to see you today.”
“Cut the crap, Lohan. What did you do with the form?”
