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A gasp escaped her, her eyes widening slightly before she realized it was just me. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me. I didn’t think anyone else was here.”
“You shouldn’t leave the doors unlocked, Juliette,” I told her as I let go of the trim, letting my arms fall to my sides as I closed the distance between us in the locker room. “You’re lucky it was me that came in and not someone else.”
“Maybe I was waiting for someone else,” she threw back at me, tilting her head to the side as she put her free hand on her hip.
I shook my head as I reached her. “Nice try, baby. I already know I’m your favorite.”
Juliette dropped the elbow pad on the bench before she lifted her arms and linked them around the back of my neck, pulling me flush against her body. My legs pressed against hers, urging her backward until her body was pressed against the wall. “You’re right. It’s only you, Mac.”
“Good response,” I replied, a smile dancing across my lips before they collided with hers. My hands found her hips and my leg was in between hers. My tongue slid along the seam of her lips and Juliette parted them, giving me access as she tilted her head back. The kiss deepened, her fingers fisting the hair at the nape of my neck as my tongue tangled with hers.
The door to the locker room banged open. Juliette jumped, a gasp escaping her as I lifted my mouth from hers. A ragged breath escaped her and my eyes quickly searched hers.
“Ah, shit, I’m sorry,” a gruff voice broke through the silence as I pulled away from Juliette. I slowly turned around, my stomach sinking as I met his gaze. “I was just looking for Jul—iette?” His eyebrows drew together as he looked at the two of us. “Mac?”
Realization dawned on him. Juliette sidestepped me, putting some distance between us. It didn’t even matter at this point. We were already caught red-handed.
And I was officially fucked.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
JULIETTE
My eyes widened and I stared at my father as he glared back at Mac for a moment. This was the exact thing he was terrified of happening, and I couldn’t help but partially feel the same way. My father tended to be overly protective, even if we didn’t have the same relationship we once did. I wasn’t sure how he would react to finding out that the guy I was seeing was someone who was a bit off-limits. The fact that he found out this way was most definitely the worst-case scenario.
Mac was frozen in place. I wanted to reach out to him to console him, but I was also frozen. I wasn’t sure how to act.
“Hey, Dad,” I said slowly, forcing a smile onto my lips, attempting to act like he didn’t just walk in on one of the guys who plays on his team pushing me up against the wall with his tongue in my mouth. “What were you looking for me for?”
My father slowly peeled his gaze from Mac and looked to me. “I had something I wanted to talk with you about, but I didn’t realize you were otherwise occupied.”
Mac stared down at the floor. “So, I think I’m going to head out.”
“That’s probably for the best,” I said, nodding in agreement as I awkwardly shifted my weight on my feet.
“No, you’re not going anywhere,” my father said at the same time.
Mac looked up at me, his eyes pleading for me to help him out. I couldn’t help the immense guilt that flooded me. Us getting caught wouldn’t really affect my life. Mac, on the other hand… It was hard to say what would happen to him, and I was the only one who would be able to influence my father into making sure Mac wasn’t traded immediately.
“Just go, Mac.” I nodded again, attempting to reassure him with my eyes and my expression. I let out a ragged breath with a million other sentences running through my mind, but I knew I couldn’t say them. I couldn’t tell him that I had this. I couldn’t assure him that things would be okay—not verbally, at least. I needed to assess the situation with my father first and see if it was something I was going to need to diffuse.
My father didn’t look happy. His eyes followed Mac as he sulked out of the locker room. A part of me wanted to scold my father for the way he was acting. He wasn’t behaving like an adult. He was acting like a child, or almost as if I weren’t an adult and he was trying to scare my prom date or something.
The door closed and Mac had disappeared. “That wasn’t really necessary.”
“Excuse me?”
I held eye contact with my father, refusing to back down. “All of the guys you coach are already terrified of you. You didn’t need to try to intimidate him even more.”
“I’m sorry, Juliette. I just walked in on one of my players kissing my daughter. Excuse me for being a little shocked, along with pissed.” He paused for a second, his jaw tightening. “You of all people should know he isn’t what you want. The life he lives isn’t what you want, Juliette.”
My eyebrows pulled together. “How can you say that when his life is exactly what I had envisioned for myself? He is living the exact life I want.”
My father’s gaze softened and he let out a sigh as he uncrossed his arms. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, Juliette.”
“What makes you think he’s going to hurt me?” I asked him, my head tilting to the side. “I get it—you don’t want anyone to break my heart, but I’m not a little girl that needs to be protected anymore.”
My father moved farther into the locker room and dropped down onto one of the benches. Leaning forward, he propped his elbows against his knees and locked his fingers together. His eyes were on the floor for a moment before he looked back up at me with regret washing over his gaze.
