Page 23 of Catching the Coach
SOS.
Not even five seconds later, my phone rings. Kara. I accept the call.
“Speak to me,” Kara says, not even bothering with a hello.
“Well, hello to you too.”
“Psh, we don’t need to bother with formalities when you text me SOS. Now, what’s up.”
I pick at my blanket. “So, I was texting Kessler,” I start
“Hold on a second.” I hear her shifting her phone. “Say that again, I had to make sure I actually called the right person.”
“Oh shut up.Anyways, like I said, I was texting Kessler.” I pause trying to figure out how to get the words out.
“Aaaand?” Kara prompts impatiently.
“I-” I sigh. “Shit, I like him,Kar.”
Kara snorts. “Ya think? You guys were practically eye fucking each other at practice the other night. You know, when you weren’t avoiding him like the plague.”
“I was not avoiding him, I was busy,” I state matter of factly.
“Yeah, busy avoiding him.”
“Whatever, anyways back to the problem.”
“And what exactly is the problem?”
“The problemisKara-” I start, trying not to shout since Hudson is just down that hall. “I don’twantto like him. He’s a baseball player, and he’s gone for like what? Half the year?”
Kara interrupts me, “Not really, but we can figure that out later.”
“Whatever,” I say continuing my rant. “And then there’s the media, I don’t want them digging into my life. What if they.” I stop and lower my voice. “What if they dig into my past? And not only that, but he’s incredibly sweet and kind.”
“And fucking hot,” Kara adds.
I snort. “And fucking hot, I don’t know what to do with that. He practically begged me to give him a chance and show me he’s different. And as much as it goes against everything I’ve ever said, I want to. I want him to prove me wrong.”
“Still not seeing the problem. Well, besides the media part, but we can figure that out,” she says like it’s no big deal.
“Kara, I’m just. I’m scared.”
“Oh, honey,” she says softly, all notes of teasing gone from her voice. “It’s perfectly normal to feel like this. Especially since you’ve shut down any interest in the past.”
“So why can’t I shut this one down?” I pout.
Kara chuckles. “Because you actually feel the same. It’s easy to shut someone down you don’t feel the same about. But now, you have feelings too.”
“It’s really annoying that you’re making sense.”
“I know, It’s a gift.” She pauses, then asks, “So, what are you going to do?”
I sink down lower into my pillow. “I don’t know. That’s why I called you! Make a decision for me. I don’t wanna.”
Kara laughs. “You know what you need to do.”
“Hide my feelings and deny everything?” I ask hopefully.
