“You guys ready?” I ask my friends.
Drake licks the grease from the corner of his mouth and slides off the bench, giving Tucker some space to get up. Jamie follows suit, lifting our plates from the table. He’s a neat freak, and the only reason our house isn’t a total wreck.
“It’s been real, Coach.” Tucker waves. “Nice meeting you, Bex.”
“You, too.” She looks as though she wants to say more, pausing for a second. “Sorry, but which one are you? I get you guys confused.”
Tuck frowns.
Coach points at Tucker and Trent, followed by Jamie and Drake, introducing them. He must have assumed she already knew us.
Coach refocuses his gaze on his daughter. “You’re coming on Friday, honey. Once you see them play, I’m sure you won’t forget their names.”
She tips her head to me. “I already know this one.”
“That’s because I’m hard to forget,” I quip, provoking a slight smile from her lips. “Later, Coach.”
“Practice bright and early tomorrow,” he says.
I nod. “Bex, it’s been a pleasure.”
She smiles, a real one this time.
Progress, I think.
I leave Gio’s with the same stupid smile on my face, all because of the tomboy with no filter. At least now I have her number… and a date.
Chapter Three
Preston
I’m in the exercise room, halfway into my routine, minding my own business when Jamie approaches my bench. He shoves a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends, and glances down at me.
“Want some company?” He sits on the open bench next to me and plays with the seam of his mesh shorts. “We could take turns spotting each other.”
“Yeah, I guess.” I push the bar above my body once more, feeling the burn. “Think you can keep up? You looked like some washed up has-been on the ice earlier.”
Jamie rolls his eyes at me, and then helps me set the bar on the rack. “I just need to focus.”
“It’s all the drinking you’ve been doing with Tuck and Trent over at Delta Sig. They can get away with having a few beers, but you’re not like them. Stay away from that shit during the week. If you guys spent as much time practicing as you do chasing around sorority chicks, you’d be giving me a run for my money at MVP this year.”
He leans forward, balancing himself on his elbows. “I’ll be fine by the game on Friday. Stop worrying. You sound like my dad.”
I shrug. “I’m the captain of the team for a reason. Someone has to keep your ass in line.”
He holds out his hand to silence me. “Whatever. Don’t start with me. I’m not in the mood. I had two hours of sleep last night, before I had to get up for practice.”
After I wipe my face with my towel, I sling it around my neck. “I’m only looking out for your career. We can’t make it pro together if you’re too busy drinking and running around campus trying to get your dick wet.”
“Says that guy who has a crush on Coach Bryant’s daughter.”
I shake my head. “That’s never gonna happen.”
“She looked pretty into you last night. You could be tapping Bex right now. That eye-fucking I saw in Gio’s went both ways.”
Jamie follows me to a leg press machine. I stop next to one, waiting for one of our forwards to finish up with his workout.
Jamie stands beside me with his hands on his hips. “We should go watch Bex play sometime, maybe scout some of her teammates.” He winks at me. “We can always use new recruits.”
I fold my arms across my chest and smirk. “I was kind of hoping you would help me with Bex. I need you and the guys to make nice with some of her teammates, or better yet, her roommate. She said something to Coach about him having rules. I want to know what she means by that. It seemed like she was referring to his players and that being around us was somehow breaking them.”
“Why don’t you stalk her online like a normal person?”
I laugh at his ridiculous comment. “I looked last night. I couldn’t find her anywhere. I checked them all—Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It’s like she doesn’t exist.”
“Maybe she’s an Android,” Jamie jokes.
“You’re such a nerd.”
He shrugs, unaffected, a silly expression on his face.
I never knew much about Coach’s daughter, other than he had one. He kept her under his thumb, never letting any of us near her. Until last night.
Jamie shoves his hands into his shorts pockets. “I can take one for the team. I’m sure Tuck, Trent, and Drake will, too. What do you want to know about her?”
I consider his question. “Find out if she has a boyfriend. Where she hangs out. Who she’s friends with, other than her roommate. Whatever you can get out of her teammates.”
“I don’t think she has a boyfriend. I’ve seen her on campus before but never with any guys. She always hangs out with the same girl.”