Layla exhales, a smile lighting up her face. “That’s the best damn news I’ve heard in a long time. I hated seeing her sad.”
I scoff in offense, “You hated seeinghersad? What about me? We were friends first.”
She shrugs, “It was your fault to begin with, so I didn’t feel bad for you. Iris is the best. You don’t deserve her.”
I feel like I should be offended by that, but hell if she ain’t right. Iris is the best woman I’ve ever met, and the fact that she’s giving me another chance after I messed up that bad—
“I’m real lucky, that’s for sure.”
“Damn right you are.” She takes a long sip from her coffee, then lowers it with a sly grin. “Speaking of lucky… guess who I heard got fired yesterday. Right in the middle of cheer practice.”
I raise a brow. “Huh.”
I almost forgot.
“You know anything about that?”
“Maybe.”
“Nate!” she gasps, smacking my arm.
“What?” I laugh. “She threatened Iris. Said some fucked up shit about her and Alex. I wasn’t gonna let her get away with that. You know how Holloway feels about bullying. He was pissed.”
“Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“All I want is for Iris to be safe.” The words settle heavily around us, Layla nodding in agreement.
Until I interrupt the moment by saying, “I can’t wait to see her today. I hope she’s wearing one of those shirts that—”
Layla groans, “You’re gonna be useless today, aren’t you?”
I don’t respond, my mind already drifting. Iris wearing a hippie skirt, me taking the hippie skirt off…
“Alright, fine,” Layla says, loud enough that I remember she’s here. “Come on, my turn.”
I bounce the ball toward her. She sets her coffee on the floor and lines up like she knows what she’s doing. It bounces off the rim so hard it flies over to the bleachers.
I double over, laughing. “Oh, man! That was tragic.”
We spend the next several minutes catching up. I begrudgingly ask about Grant even though I hate that guy, and I tell her all about how Christmas went with Iris before everything happened.
Layla’s giggling about Sammy calling Iris Auntie, when one of the juniors from the team strides into the gym. “Hey, Coop, you need something?”
He stops in front of Layla and me, looking between us both before settling on me with an uncomfortable expression. I almost ask him what’s wrong before he says somethingthat sends us into shock. “Uh, Coach? Is it true that your girlfriend’s a dude?”
I don’t remember what I said to Cooper.
All I know is next thing, I’m tearing out of the gym doors with Layla right behind me.
Heads turn as we run past, hundreds of faces directed at us, and every single one of ‘em knows.
Something that wasn’t theirs to know.
My heart pounds as I run harder than I ever have playing football. All I can think is, please, God, don’t let Iris hear this from somebody else.
Layla stops, scanning the hall, her face gone pale. “Nate!”
Iris stands frozen at the entrance to the school, near the big trophy case, looking beautiful as ever, but she’s not moving.
