Page 61 of The No Try Zone
For one blissful second, I consider lying. I cross over to my desk and toss my phone as it pings again.One pissed-off person at a time, Erin.“Yes.”
“You love her?”
The question startles me, and I jerk my head up to look closer at him. “Lennox, why did you come up here? You okay?”
He waves my concern away. “I’m fine. Answer the question. Do you love her?”
I don’t answer. Because I can’t. Because…fuck.
Lennox chuckles. “Aye, Coach. It’s a bugger of a feeling, innit?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You got someone, Campbell?”
He makes a dismissive snort, but his cheeks flush even deeper. “We’re not talking about me. How are we fixing this?”
It’s my turn for the dismissive sound. “There’s no ‘we’ here.”
“Ah, but there is.” He rubs his hands together gleefully. “Give me the full story.”
I stare at him. “Absolutely not.”
“Absolutely yes.”
“No.”
“Coach, respectfully, whoever you were talking to wasn’t helping you.”
“My sister.”
“Well, she’s shite at this.”
“And you’re so much better?”
“Better than her, and clearly better than you.”
I shake my head. He’s my player. This is insane. Right?
He snaps his fingers and pivots to the cabinets I’ve never bothered with, his knees cracking as he squats to open the doors. “Jackpot,” he says, turning to brandish a bottle of Scotch. “Not the good stuff, but it’ll do.”
With a resigned sigh, I take a seat on the couch and accept the drink he puts in my hand.
“I kin yer not a big drinker, so drink it or no, but this seems like a time to at least have it at the ready,” Lennox says.
“How do you know that?”
“That you’re not a drinker? Come on, Coach – everybody knows that. It’s no big secret, is it?”
I shake my head. “I’m just surprised.”
He raises a bushy brow as he settles onto the couch. “You being married to Sam is the secret. Except it’s obvious to anyone who bothers to look.”
“That’s not – we’re not – I mean –” I nearly choke in my hurry to deny it, but once I clock the look on Lennox’s face, I realize I’ve got no chance.
“You done?” he asks with a smirk.
I look down at the Scotch in my hand and seriously consider tossing it all down in one go. Instead, I meet his eyes and nod. “I suppose I am. Wanna tell me who else is as observant as you?”
He shrugs. “Dunno. I don’t make a habit of gossiping about my coach.” His smirk morphs into a grin. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want all the details, though. Your secret’s safe with me.”
