“I remember everything, too. Your elation and happiness.”
I tilted my head to the side. Did he remember things the way I did? The almost kiss?
“Hopefully, we’ll get the chance to celebrate again as a school.”
“With you on board, I know we can.” He clasped his fingers on top of his desk. “You know, I had considered approaching you at the start of the year for the assistant coach’s internship but didn’t think something like that would interest you.”
“Are you kidding? I love St. Brigid’s.” I almost said, I love you, too, but managed not to blurt that embarrassing piece of information out. “I’d always imagined going on to be a physical therapist and working for one of the big sports teams, but maybe being a high school coach is where it’s at.”
He chuckled. “It has its rewards, but you have a bright future ahead of yourself. Don’t settle for anything less than your dreams.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Trying to get rid of me already.”
“Never, Brenda.” There was a rough edge to his voice that chased goosebumps up my arms. “You’re welcome to stay for as long as you want to. You can stay forever.”
I cleared my throat. “I don’t know about forever.”
“You’re a real inspiration to these girls. Having you here for the next few months will be good for them.”
I laughed. “I’m no Jackie Joyner Kersee. Actually,” I said, snapping my fingers. “There’s a movie about her life coming out this week. It documents how she was born to teenage parents and overcame financial hardship to become the world’s greatest female athlete.” A lightbulb went off in my head, and words I hadn’t meant to say flew out of my mouth. “You should totally come see it with me.” My fingers fluttered to my lips. “Not on a date or anything like that. That’s not what I meant.” At that moment, if the floor had opened up and swallowed me down, I would have been perfectly fine to disappear forever.
He chuckled, humor shining in his eyes. “How about we go ahead and make it a date?”
I leaned against the closest wall to stop my legs from giving way. “A date? As in you and me?”
He shrugged like it was no big deal. “We can grab dinner beforehand.”
Had I fallen into an alternate reality? Had Tanner really asked me to go on a real-life date with him? My skin blushed from the tips of my toes to the end of my hair. “What would people say?”
“They would say Tanner Gordon is one lucky son of a bitch to be on a date with someone as beautiful as Brenda Samuels.”
I pressed a hand against my pounding heart. “Are you flirting with me?”
He shrugged. “A little. So, what do you say?”
What did I have to lose? Going out with him would be like every Christmas morning I’d ever had rolled into one. “I say, yes.”
A wide smile lifted his lips. “It’s a date.”
“It’s a date,” I echoed.
A loud, impatient knock on the office door interrupted us. I couldn’t help but feel annoyed, or maybe I should welcome the distraction; otherwise, God knows what would have happened.
The door swung open, and Miranda strode in. When her eyes landed on my face, her lips twisted in disgust. “Coach Gordon, I have to talk to you about the level of training we need for the meet of champions. I feel like I’m being held back in favor of Liz, and now that her sister is your assistant, she has an unfair advantage. I need extra training from you.”
Tanner nodded, but from the way his cheek ticked, I could tell he thought she was full of shit. Miranda was an entitled country club brat used to getting whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it from Daddy-dearest.
He cleared his throat. “Ms. Halpern, no one is shown any favoritism. Liz is our fastest runner. You’re our second fastest runner. You’ve both received the same training and the same attention. You’re one of our wild cards and will get to race no matter what.”
“B-but.”
He held up his hand to stop her. “Coach Samuels is professional enough not to have favorites even if her sister is our star runner. If you think you can beat her, then show us you’re capable of it. And if I see you veer into anyone’s lane, I’ll suspend you and throw you off the team.”
She huffed and puffed. “This isn’t fair.” Acting overly dramatic, she stormed out of the office, but not before hitting her shoulder against mine on the way. I wouldn’t allow her childish temper tantrum to get in the way of my good mood.
After years of fantasizing, I was going on a date with Tanner. A date that could lead to some of my fantasies becoming a reality.Chapter Four - TannerBrenda had been my assistant for just under a week, and I could already see an improvement in my team’s performance.