Page 46 of The Chemistry Coach
It might have been the cutest thing Connor had ever seen.Daisy needed to see it.He tiptoed into the kitchen and grabbed Daisy’s phone off the counter.She looked up from rinsing the dishes, and he pressed one finger to his lips.He tugged her around the kitchen island and into the living room.
She bounced from foot to foot, unable to contain her giddiness at the sight of them.When he handed over her phone, she snapped fifteen pictures of the boys, all from different angles.Then she shook them by their shoulders, gently rousing them from slumber.
They opened sleepy eyes, and Daisy ushered them to the stairs, where they disappeared into their shared bedroom.
Chapter 17
Daisy
Daisyhadn’tseentheConnors in over a week.They were out of town for a few games, and she was alarmed at how much she missed them.Every night she had picked up the napkin with Connor’s phone number on it, debating if it would be weird to text him.On the one hand, he’d given her the phone number, which indicated she’d be welcome to use it.On the other hand, what would she say?
If she texted, it would be evidence of her thinking about him.She set the napkin on her coffee table, where it had been sitting all week, and opened her laptop, going over the script for their next podcast episode.Valentine and Hazy had managed to get some points on a power play together.She and Roxie had screamed in excitement about it as they watched.It wasn’t the whole line with points, but considering all three of them had been in multi-game droughts, she considered it a huge win.
Daisy walked a fine line with the podcast.She needed to accurately report on the team, but also be clear she was rooting for them every step of the way.And she couldn’t reveal her working relationship with them, or any other inside information that might violate the terms of the NDA she had signed.The balance felt impossible to manage.Roxie would be there soon to record the episode, and Daisy was still editing her notes, putting in details about the previous night’s game and looking for anything that might give away her close relationship with the Connors.
Roxie knocked a few minutes early, and Daisy didn’t hesitate to answer.But it wasn’t Roxie.Hazy stood in her doorway, casual as ever.Her eyes bugged out of her head, and she examined herself, evaluating her state of being.She wore pink boy shorts that didn’t cover her full butt cheeks and a white band shirt with a stain on the front from her lunch.Her hair was greasy as fuck, and she didn’t have a drop of makeup on.
“Daisy!”He pulled her into a hug that she belatedly returned.
“What are you doing here?”
Confusion crossed his face.“Um, Beanie told me to be here at 3:00.”He checked his phone.“It’s 2:50, but it doesn’t seem like you were expecting me.I wanted to text you to confirm, but Beanie wouldn’t give me your number.”
“I wasn’t expecting you.And I never gave Connor my number.”
“Oh.”The bewilderment in his voice mirrored Daisy’s own thoughts.He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the elevator.“Do you want me to go?”
She kind of did, but she didn’t want to be rude, so she stepped aside and let him into her disheveled apartment.Before the latch clicked the door into place, another knock sounded.
Roxie let herself in.She dropped a duffel bag of equipment onto a dining room chair and started pulling off her sweatshirt before she noticed the two people staring at her.She was a deer in headlights when she saw Hazy.
“Aw, fuck.You’re early.”
And that’s when it clicked for Daisy.“Explain,” she demanded.Anxiety and frustration bubbled in her veins.
Roxie ignored the demand and finished stripping off her jacket, draping it over the chair.She sighed and reached out to Hazy for a handshake.
“Well, I guess Daisy isn’t going to introduce us.I’m Roxie.”
Recognition dawned in Hazy’s eyes, and he bypassed the offered hand to scoop her into a hug.“You have no idea how ecstatic I am to meet you.I have so many questions.”
Roxie laughed.“I’m sure you do.Connor told me a bit about the cabin trip.I’m ecstatic to meet you, too.Trust me.For different reasons, though.”
“Seriously, Roxie.What the fuck?”Daisy crossed her arms, aware she was being a brat.
Roxie stepped away from Hazy and helped herself to a soda from the fridge.She handed one to Daisy and Hazy.
“I need you to breathe.This is a little push to get things going.You would never ask them.”
“Yeah, because we have a professional relationship, Roxie.It’s unprofessional to ask clients for favors.We aren’t friends.”Daisy winced at the words as they flew from her mouth.They weren’t true.She hoped to maintain friendships with the Connors well after their working relationship ended.
“Fuck.That’s not what I meant,” she tried to backpedal.But the damage was done.He looked like Daisy had kicked his puppy.
Daisy expected him to walk away from her, and she braced herself for the incoming emotional damage.But he stayed rooted to his spot in her kitchen and said, “I know what you meant.You still didn’t have to say it.If you think we aren’t friends, you’re lying to yourself.You better never say those words in front of Lover.It would crush him.”
She stepped closer to him, needing reassurance they’d be okay.“I’m sorry.A lot is being thrown at me right now.”
“I can see that.”He squeezed her arm, seeming to understand what she needed, then addressed Roxie.
