Page 62 of Scoring Chance

The Cougars were very different. Not bad or good, just different. Talking to Derrek reminded me of that. His voice put me at ease. He felt like home.

I shook my head and pulled out my recovery plan for Tony. He hadn’t reinjured his knee, but I put together a few exercises to do with him to make sure he was moving along at a good pace.

“Hey, Tiny. Why the long face?”

I forced a smile before turning around. “Just thinking.”

“Liar.” It was almost annoying how well he knew me in such a short period of time.

“How’s the knee?” I rested my hand on it while lifting his calf with my other hand.

“It’s fine. Don’t try to change the subject. What’s wrong?”

His heavy gaze seemed to force the words out of me. “I just got off the phone with someone, and it just kind of threw me off.”

His eyes followed me while I approached him. He knew the routine now and scooted back onto the table so I could check his range of motion. “Who was it?”

“A friend.” I lifted his leg by his heel, straightening his knee.

“A friend wouldn’t make you look so lost.”

I lowered his foot and repeated the move, not replying.

“It was a guy, wasn’t it?”

I didn’t lift my eyes. He would know the answer right away.

“Was it an ex?”

I shook my head. “No, we never dated.”

“But you wanted to.”

I dropped his leg and stepped back. “Yeah. I did.”

He seemed stunned by the admission. There was no point in lying. He’d figure it out.

“This is the idiot! He never made a move?”

I shook my head and leaned on the counter across from him.

“But you still have feelings for him?”

I dropped my shoulders. “Yeah. I thought I was moving on, but hearing his voice brought it all back. I just don’t get it. We’re so good together, and I swear there’s something between us but he never seemed to feel the same.”

He kicked his legs back and forth as they hung over the edge of the table, making him look like a little kid. “And did you ever tell him how you felt?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it and shook my head.

“Why not?”

I dropped my gaze to the floor. “I was scared.”

“No duh. Being vulnerable is scary, but isn’t being sad worse?”

I looked up and he leveled me with a serious expression. “It’s not fun.”

He smirked. “Then put on your big girl pants and tell him he’s being stupid.”