23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
TEAGAN
Iwas fully prepared for Lane to freak out after Friday night and take a step back from me, so when she showed up on Saturday morning in the parking lot outside the stadium with a bracelet from Sophie, I was floored. Like a fool, I thought maybe we’d skate right past the awkward tension of almost hooking up and move on but based on the conversation I just had with her, I was wrong.
I don’t mind waiting for her to come around. After all, I’m a patient man.
But I also won’t take a back seat.
I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing when it comes to Lane, but I’ve never been passive a day in my life, and I’m not about to change now. Lane can take all the time she needs adjusting to the idea she and I are meant to be together. If she wants to be friends for the next year, so be it. Even if it means twelve months of cold showers and blue balls, I’ll friend the shit out of this thing if I have to.
My guess is something must have happened in the last twenty-four hours to change her mind and plant a seed of doubt. Hell, maybe I’m paranoid, but part of me wonders if Chance somehow got to her. With the way he acted at our game, I wouldn’t be surprised, and it has me once again questioning just what in the hell their relationship is, and why he’s yet to squeal to Coach.
Whatever the reason, her shields are up and stronger than ever, but I won’t let that get me down. Rather than allow her to strengthen them further, I need to attack. Complacency will get me nowhere. Instead, I need to work on finding a way through the armor around her heart, and I can’t do that sitting in my dorm room twiddling my fucking thumbs. Especially not when I’m on the cusp of a breakthrough, and if Friday is any indication, that’s exactly where I am.
Operation Friends-To-Lovers is working. It’s still the best shot I have at breaking down her walls and getting her to trust me, all without pissing off Coach.
I pull into the driveway of the Turner residence and take a steadying breath as I stare up at the large brick house with the perfectly manicured landscaping. Showing up here is a bold move. Even if Lane has told her father we’re friends, I have no idea what his reaction was, and I haven’t had a chance to ask. Yet here I am.
All I can do is pray he doesn’t kick my ass when he sees me standing here, waiting for his daughter.
I swing open my car door before I can second-guess myself and hop out at the same time Lane appears on her doorstep, a sweater wrapped around her slender figure as she stares at me with reproach. “Teagan, you shouldn’t have come.”
I grin. “Didn’t we settle this on the phone?”
“Yeah, I said I didn’t think it was a good idea,” she hisses.
“Right. And I said I’d be here in thirty minutes and to be ready.” My gaze flickers down the tight black leggings that showcase her curves then back to her face again, and I stifle a groan. “You ready?”
Her lips twitch, which I take as a good sign. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?” She blinks at me until I step onto the porch. “My father might see you.”
I shrug, feigning indifference even though my stomach tightens with my nerves. “We’ve been hanging out for weeks. We’re friends. He’s bound to find out at some point. Might as well be now.”
It’s true. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but if Friday night proved anything to me, it’s that Lane and I have everything it takes to leave the friend zone, and we’re closer than she’s willing to acknowledge, which is why she’s scared. Hell, we’re light-years ahead of where I thought we’d be.
More proof I’m right for her.
Lane exhales and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, avoiding my eyes. “I told him, but still . . . I don’t just hang out with guys, like, ever.”
I reach out, placing my hand on her stiff shoulders. “It’ll be fine. Trust me.”
“Teagan . . .” She exhales.
“Oh, honey, who’s at the door?” a female voice I can only assume is Lane’s mother calls out.
“Um, no one. Just a salesman,” she yells over her shoulder.
I arch a brow at her and my lips quirk. “A salesman? What exactly am I selling again?”
“Tell him we don’t—oh!” A woman with chestnut colored hair peeks around Lane, eyes wide as she takes me in.
“I’ve got it, Mom.” Lane tries to close the door, but her mother isn’t having it and blocks it with her forearm.
“What’s he selling?” she asks.
“Nothing.”
“But I thought—”
Lane turns and gently pushes her mother away from the door. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it under control.”
“Well, whatever he’s selling, sign me up,” her mother mutters loud enough so I can hear.
I burst out laughing, and Lane stops, mouth gaping beneath cheeks red as a sunburn. “Mom!”
“What?” her mother asks innocently.
I take that as my cue and step forward into the foyer of the Turner home, stretching out a hand toward her mother and clearing my throat. “Hi, ma’am, I’m Teagan Nichols, a friend of Lane’s from school.”
Lane crosses her arms over her chest. “He’s also one of Dad’s tight ends.”
“Ahh,” her mother says like she gets it now, and I wonder if she knows about her husband’s warning to the team, or Lane’s apparent aversion to socializing with football players, maybe both.
Whatever it is, she doesn’t seem to care as she takes my hand with a spreading grin. “Nice to meet you, Teagan. I’m Dolly. Come on in.” She waves me inside and Lane groans. “So, I’m confused. Are you also selling something?”
I chuckle. “Nah. Lane was just messing with me. You know, Lane, always a little jokey jokester,” I say, reaching down and ruffling her long hair with my hand until it tangles like a bird’s nest atop her head.
Lane swats my hand away while her mother watches on with amusement. “Interesting. So, you two are friends?” she asks, pointing between us.
“If you could call us that,” Lane says dryly at the same time, I reply:
“The best of friends.”
I rock back on my heels, a smile plastered to my face while Dolly laughs. “Well, that is just wonderful to hear.” She claps her hands together. “Lane could certainly use more good friends in her life.”
“Mom.” Lane scowls.
“Ed!” Dolly calls out, and I stiffen for a moment while Lane shoots me a vengeful look. “Ed, come here and say hi to one of Lane’s friends.”
Footsteps echo down the hall, and the next thing I know, Coach Turner rounds the corner, his eyes blinking with surprise when he sees me standing here in his foyer on a Sunday afternoon. Beside him, Sophie clutches his hand, but when her head lifts and her eyes lock with mine, she drops his giant mitt like a hotcake and dashes straight for me.
“Teagan!” She flings her arms around my legs and squeezes.
My hand finds the top of her hair, which is braided into a halo around her head. “Hey, Sweet Sophie.”
Beside me, Lane visibly softens while Dolly looks as though she might pass out from sheer joy, and Coach stares at me through narrowed eyes. The three couldn’t have more opposite reactions if they tried.
“Well, I see Sophie already knows you well.” Dolly glances between us, failing to hide her approval. “Just how much have you two been hanging out?”
Coach crosses his arms over his chest and lifts his chin. “Yeah. How much have you been seeing my daughter and granddaughter behind my back?”
“Ed,” his wife admonishes.
He turns on Lane, ignoring her. “You made it sound like you only saw each other in class.”
I clear my throat, and nerves dance in my stomach when I open my mouth to speak at the same time Sophie releases me and spins around.
“We get pizza at Slice!” she blurts, beaming. “Mom says we can only have it one day a week, even though Teagan has it three times.” Dolly chuckles while Coach’s brows rise. “And he came to the lake house the other night to play with me.”
Oh shit. I wince.
Stiffening, I glance at Coach to gauge his reaction.
His cheeks redden, and if the muscle flickering in the side of the jaw is any indication, he’s pissed. Really pissed.
Fuck, I’m screwed.
I rack my brain for something to say, something to make this sound better than it does, like I’m not trying to date his daughter, which in the grand scheme of things is exactly what I’m doing.
I step forward, but Lane places a hand out to stop me when she glances at Sophie. “Pizza once a week is plenty,” she says to Sophie. Then to her father: “We were talking on campus and I mentioned how Jason was doing me a favor by meeting me at the lake house after practice to go over the contract.” She shrugs. “Teagan didn’t like the idea of me and Sophie meeting him alone at night.”
Dolly clutches her hands in front of her chest, looking a little like she’s praying. Even Coach seems to relax a little.
He shifts on his feet and turns toward me, his arms dropping at his side as I clear my throat. “I have sisters, sir. I guess I’m kind of used to thinking about those things.”
“Well . . .” Coach nods in my direction while Dolly beams. “I appreciate it. That’s . . . smart,” he says, almost begrudgingly as he glances back at Lane. “Even though Jason has done work for us before, Teagan probably has a point. You shouldn’t have been meeting him alone. But all you had to do was tell me, and I—”
“Would’ve stopped watching game tape to come with me?” Lane smirks, her brows rising.
Coach gapes, shame sliding over his features.
“That’s what I thought.” Lane snorts but reaches out to pat him on the back. “Anyway, it worked out fine. Teagan was able to stop by and entertain Sophie while I got the contract signed. It’s all good, and I’ll have a roof in the next few weeks.”
“That’s lovely.” Dolly reaches out and squeezes my arm. “It’s so nice to know Lane has someone else looking after her best interests, isn’t it, Ed?” She glances pointedly at her husband, a warning in her tone.
I bow my head, swallowing over the guilt rising in the back of my throat. An image of Lane with the moonlight glittering over her bare skin just moments before she plunged into the water slides through my head.
If by looking after Lane’s best interests she means ogling her naked and imagining all the things I’d like to do to her, then, sure, I’m a fucking saint.
“It is,” Coach says, hesitating before he adds, “he’s on the team, you know?”
I inhale, more than a little relieved.
“Yes, he told me,” Dolly says.
Coach brightens and I have to blink to make sure my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. “Damn good player, too. A lot of talent. Lane and I were just talking about him a little while ago, weren’t we, Lane?”
Lane’s eyes widen and her cheeks flush.
“Were you now?” I drawl.
So maybe that’s where the sudden bout of doubt came from?
“You just came up in passing,” Lane waves it off as if it’s nothing.
“Well, to be fair, you asked me what I thought of him.” Coach rocks back on his heels, so serious I want to burst out laughing because if Lane’s squinty eyes are any indication, she wants to kill him.
“You were asking about me, huh, Turner?” I ask her, my tone smug.
Lane’s throat bobs before she shoots her father another scathing look.
“Teagan, why don’t you come in and have a seat?” Dolly asks. “Have some coffee?”
“I’d love to—”
“Oh, no, no, no, no.” Lane grabs my arm and steers me toward the door. “We’d better get going or we’re going to be late.” She pauses, then reaches out to Sophie. “Come on, Soph. Let’s get your coat and shoes on.”
“Oh, so soon?” Dolly asks in a sorrowful tone. “Where are you off to?”
“Uh . . .” Lane glances at me in question. “Teagan’s taking us to, uh—”
“It’s a surprise,” I say, having mercy on her.
“Do you need us to watch Sophie, dear?” Dolly asks, directing the question toward Lane, her knowing gaze so loaded with meaning, I snort as I glance away.
“No. We were planning on taking her.”
“Lane”?Dolly shoots her a look only a mother can give?“you can leave her with us once and a while, you know?”
“But I want to go,” Sophie nearly cries.
“It might be nice to just have some grown up time,” Dolly adds.
“Actually, Mrs. Turner,” I start.
“Dolly,” she interrupts.
“Right. Dolly,” I say, kindly. “Actually, the place we’re going to is definitely somewhere we’ll want to take Sophie.”
“Oh.” A flicker of something passes over Dolly’s face before she nods. “Well, if you’re sure.”
I glance at Lane. “We’re sure,” she says.
“In that case, the three of you have fun.”