He laughs over my shoulder as he hugs me, and I pull back and kiss him out of instinct. I’m so used to doing it—to laying claim to those lips of his—and as soon as I realized I’ve fucked up and broken one of our rules, I try to pull myself away, but I can’t because he keeps an arm around my waist and reels me back in.
“I think this is a good reason to break the rules a little,” he says on my lips, and then he kisses me whole, his palm splayed on my back. I feel him step forward and I know he’s going for the door to give us some privacy.
He pulls his mouth away and reaches over my shoulder, but then he immediately stops and snatches his whole body away from me.
I frown up at him, confused as he leaps away, only to realize his eyes aren’t on me, they’re on the open office door. And standing in the hall with her mouth ajar and her eyes wide is Coach Hamilton.
FORTY-FOUR
I don’t even know how to react when I see my head coach standing in the hallway and it’s obvious she has no idea what to say to this either.
I see her eyes shift from mine to Torres’ and when I look back at him, he’s giving her a helpless stare.
Her head does a small, incredulous shake, and then she turns away and marches down the hallway. Shit!
“Goddamn it!” Torres slams the papers down on his desk and I flinch, not only from the sound, but from the aftermath of what just happened. He stands straight again. “I have to go talk to her,” he says, charging for the door.
“No—I’ll go talk to her. I’ll tell her it was mutual—that it’s not what it looks like.”
“She won’t believe that shit, Amber! Fuck! How could I be so stupid?”
I ignore him and leave the office. If anyone has a chance of getting Hamilton to listen, it’s me. I’m the student. I’m not a victim, and she needs to know that.
I rush to her office, but the lights are off. She’s not here. Where the hell did she go?
I turn down the hallway to check if she’s near the locker rooms, only to find Melanie and Foster in deep conversation. They spot me as I round the corner, and frowns seize both their faces.
I ignore them and go for the exit of the tunnel, but Foster calls for me before I can get out of their sight.
“Hey, Lakes. Come here a sec. Let me ask you something,” she says.
“I—I’m sorry, Coach. I really have to be somewhere.”
“It’ll only take a second, Amber. Come here.” She gestures for me to come urgently. Melanie has her arms folded and a brow cocked, as if she wants nothing to do with whatever Foster has to ask.
I sigh, glancing over my shoulder at the exit, but reluctantly walking to Foster.
“You like it here, Lakes?” Foster asks.
“Yes,” I answer, nodding. “I do.”
“Why?” Melanie demands, and I look her way with a frown.
“Because I enjoy running for Bennett, and I like the academics too.”
“Have you not realized yet that you don’t belong here?” Melanie snaps. “I just—for the love of God, you have come to this team and you’ve ruined it. I’m so glad I’m leaving this year so that I can’t see this team be sabotaged anymore!”
“What?” I gasp. “Melanie, how can you say that? I have never done anything wrong to you! You’ve hated me ever since you saw me!”
“Yeah, because Bennett’s women’s track has always been a laid-back thing and then you came and made it a competition for everyone. No one wants to race anymore because they feel defeated by you.”
“That’s not true!” I snap.
“Have you ever considered transferring elsewhere, Lakes? Like NC A&T, maybe?”
“NC A&T?” I repeat, and I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “So, you’re asking if I, a black student, would transfer from a predominantly white school to go to a predominantly black school?”
“Well, if you want to put it that way,” Foster says, shrugging, and then laughing as she side-eyes Melanie.
Melanie smirks and folds her arms again.
“Why is it that you think I should do that? Because you think girls like me aren’t good enough to go to Ivy League colleges? Is my skin not bright enough to run on the same track as you? To drink from the same water fountains? To share the same locker rooms? To have basic human fucking rights?”
Foster’s eyes grow wide and then I see a flash of anger run through them. “Listen here, you dumb little black bitch! I only wanted to ask you a simple question! You should be glad you are even allowed to stand next to me and talk to me right now! The sight of you on this team makes me fucking sick and I’ll be honest, I don’t think you belong here. You don’t fit the fucking mold and you’re making us lose donations, and the sooner you realize that we don’t need you here, the better your life will be. Go somewhere you’ll fit in because I promise you, for as long as I coach for this school, I will never accept that you’re here.”