Page 39 of The Chemistry Coach
Daisy laughed.“Maybe a little.I like to show off my skills sometimes.You guys should get that; it’s a huge part of your job.And I don’t get to do it as often.”
She shifted in her seat to face him again, and his body revolted at the loss of her touch.He wondered if he’d ever get used to the awkward positions she insisted on sitting in.Comfortable, she picked up her napkin phone numbers and used them to fan her face.Those goddamn phone numbers.Connor was torn between wanting to punch Hazy for suggesting such a dumb bet, and flushing the napkins down the fucking toilet.His little crush was stupid.He should keep it professional.If she weren’t being paid, she wouldn’t be spending time with them.Going crazy over a woman wasn’t like him.He needed to snap out of it and get his head on his shoulders.He was there to bond with his teammates, not flirt with their pretty team-building coach.
All of them getting caught up in her was a sort of bonding, but that was beside the point.
Daisy caught him glaring and pulled the napkins to her face so he would meet her eyes.“This might be way off base, but your teammates here are positive I have everything I need,” she fanned the phone numbers in front of her face.“Right here.”Her eyes sparkled with mischief.“But I’m not sure that’s the case.”
“Is that so?”Amusement tugged at his lips, but he managed to school his expression.
She nodded, eyes wide, her grip on the napkins tight enough to tear them in half.Connor could only hope.
“Well, I guess it depends.”Connor tore his gaze from her and settled it on his ecstatic teammates.
“On what?”
“On what you want.”His heart rate picked up.He was going to end up on that fucking stage with his dumbass teammates.
“It’s pretty clear what I want.I’ve been asking all night.I want you to sing a karaoke song.And I want you all to do it together, and I get to choose the song.”
Hazy and Lover objected.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
“Hey now, that wasn’t the deal.”
Daisy’s Cheshire Cat grin sent them into a tailspin.This fucking woman.“It’s a new deal.You guys played your hand way too soon.You gave me the answer as soon as Connor took a single step away from the table.Betrayal doesn’t go unpunished around here.Your loyalty is to each other.Not to me.Or the fans.Or even the fucking goalie.”She stared them down.“Understand?”
When they all confirmed they understood, her mood lightened.“Okay, maybe a little to the goalie.”Her joke (but not really a joke) cut the tension, and they chuckled.
Connor needed her exact terms if he was going to make an ass out of himself.“What’s your offer, Daisy?”
“You three sing a song of my choice, together, and I get to take a picture.”
Lover’s face blanched.“No picture.”
She frowned at him.“One picture.No video.And I’ll pinky promise it never gets posted anywhere.”
Hazy asked, “Why do you want a picture?”
Daisy’s commanding demeanor turned shy in the blink of an eye.Connor missed the confident version of her that had been with them all night.He opened his mouth to tell her she didn’t need to explain, but she beat him to it.
She focused on the table as she admitted, “I love the Freeze.Have since they existed.I follow the fan pages and watch every game.I rotate through your jerseys on game days.I could recite your stats off the top of my head.The photo is for me, so when you guys get your game back and don’t need me anymore, I can remember this happened.It’s real.”
Lover smiled through his groan.“Well, fuck.Now I have to agree to a picture.”
“If you all agree, I’ll hand over this stack of phone numbers to Connor.”
He hated her sudden shyness.He wished he could hug her and reassure her they’d always need her, but he couldn’t guarantee he’d be around in a few weeks.Connor didn’t have to consider.
“Deal.”
They shook on it, and Daisy climbed over him again to go choose a song.He could have moved, but he was weak, and if her climbing over him was the only way she’d be straddling him, he would take what he could get.
They watched her talk to the MC for a few seconds, then she returned with a pep in her step.“You guys know “Bye Bye Bye,” right?By NSYNC?”
Hazy and Connor hung their heads but confirmed their knowledge.
Lover, on the other hand, furrowed his eyebrows.“NSYNC?You know I was born in 2004, right?”
