I don’t get a single glimpse of Coach Lee until calc. I walk in with Grey and, without turning around from the whiteboard, he requests my presence in his office immediately after the last bell.
Perfect.
I can’t wait to get this over with.
But, of course, because the universe has the absolute freaking best sense of humor, I make it all the way down to Coach Lee’s office and the door’s shut. The blinds arehalf-closed, but I can see the outline of a person in the chair that faces Coach’s desk.
I don’t knock, just start running through all the things I’m going to say.
Thank you for the opportunity.
I really enjoyed my time on the team.
It was a great experience, but—
But. But. But.
But I can’t. But I knew this would happen. But I’m a liar.
Without preamble, the door opens and Coach Lee peers into the hallway, his guest still inside. “Come on in, Miss Rodinsky.”
I raise my chin, square my shoulders, plaster a smile on my face, and walk inside.
And there, sitting in his office, is someone I definitely wasn’t expecting.
Dad.
22
COACH FOLDS HIS FINGERS AND LEANS FORWARD,elbows set on paper piled into disheveled stacks across the dinged metal of his desk.
“Liv,” Coach starts, and I’m stunned by the use of my first name. He has never used my first name. Not on the field or in class. “I’ve been a coach for forty years. There have been a lot of firsts in that time. First win, first loss, first championship. First drug scandal, first serious head injury, first hazing incident… the eighties were a mess.
“Honestly, I expected you to be a firstanda last—that you’d fail the first practice and that would be my first and last day coaching a young lady. But what I forgot was that I don’t make the decisions. The talent does.”
A smile cracks his lips, and it has a level of mischief to it that surprises me.
“I forgot my own core belief until it was staring me in the face. I mean, you’re greener than a fresh dollar bill, but at least 20 percent of the time, you look like an actual quarterback. Imagine what you could be if I had had the chance to properly coach you from freshman on up?”
I steal a glimpse at Dad. These words are meant for him more than me, but his stoic cop face is in place and I have no idea what’s going on in his brain. Does he view “20 percent quarterback” as a compliment? Because I do.
Coach Lee straightens and pauses to unlock his fingers. “I had planned toproperlycoach you this afternoon with a hundred suicides for missing Saturday. Maybe a hundred more, because when I sent Coach Shanks to retrieve your file and call your parents, your consent form wasn’t there. Hadn’t been turned in—and you better believe me, Shanks’s ears are ringing from what I had to say about that.” My stomach twists—I know Shanks can handle it, but he didn’t deserve that. I did. Coach Lee’s eyes meet mine. “What I didn’t know until thirty minutes ago was that you were never even on my team to begin with.”
My heart stops beating.
“But your father was kind enough to stop by and discuss the situation with me.”
Dad clears his throat. “Coach Lee is adamant that youhave a knack for making those around you more focused and more dedicated to the sport.” This compliment actually feels good, even if it’s also sort of a knife to the back. Because unless Coach Lee plans on sending a memo to Coach Kitt, his admiration means nothing since I’m no longer his athlete. “I’m not surprised, of course,” Dad adds, and my heart floods with hope.
I tug out a breath and use this as an opening to run through the spiel I practiced in the hall. “Thank you for the opportunity to be on the team,” I tell Coach Lee. “I really enjoyed my time here and I appreciate your belief in me and—”
“Slow down there, slugger,” Coach Lee says. “Don’t you want to know how our discussion ended?”
My eyes shoot between them. “Wait, what?”
At this, Dad raises a single brow, poker face still in place. After taking the longest freaking pause in the history of humankind, Dad shifts in his chair and plucks a sheet from Coach Lee’s desk.
It’s a brand-new waiver. Complete with an Eddy Rodinsky John Hancock scrawled in loops along the bottom.
