Page 22 of The Fall

I put my hand up to stop her from going any further with that crazy theory. “No. Hell no.”

She shakes her head. “That’s definitely what it sounds like.”

“Well, that’s not it. You’re misinterpreting this completely.”

“Enlighten me then,” she says with a smirk. When I don’t say anything else, she nods. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You have a crush on your coach, and you’re mad about it because you’re supposed to hate him.”

“I do hate him,” I add quickly.

“Ok. If you say so. So, when he looked at you, did you want him to kiss you?”

“No!” She gives me a pointed look like she knows I’m lying. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. This is why I’m confused.”

“Are you even allowed to kiss your coach?” she asks.

“How should I know? It’s never been an issue before. I’m sure it’s frowned upon.”

“Yeah, like occasionally sleeping with your partner is frowned upon?”

I roll my eyes. “Oh god. Don’t get started on this again.”

She puts her hands up. “I’m just saying, it’s weird that the two of you are sleeping together.”

“Yes, I know your thoughts about that.” Kelsey loves Max. She does not love the fact that Max and I sleep together and aren’t in a relationship. She thinks one of us will end up hurt, and it’ll ruin everything. I know she’s probably right, but it’s frustrating how vocal she is about her opinion.

“You’re right,” she says. “That’s a topic for a different day. So, are you going to kiss your coach?”

“No! He probably didn’t even want to kiss me. We were skating and got caught up in the moment.”

She eyes me suspiciously, and I know she doesn’t believe me, but for the first time tonight, she throws me a bone and lets it go.

“If you say so. But if he “looks at you” anymore, you’d better tell me.”

“Yeah, don’t count on it,” I say as I start heading down the hall to my room.

“Come on! Looking is so hot!” She laughs.

“Shut up!” I close my door behind me. I’m probably overreacting. Maybe Logan was looking at me how he looks at all of his skating partners.

I should’ve taken Max up on his offer. Maybe I’m just horny, too.

At any rate, I absolutely cannot have a crush on my coach.

EIGHT

LOGAN

I took yesterday off to take my mom to treatment since Anya had something else she needed to handle. I don’t mind taking Mom to her appointments. In fact, I’d rather be there so I know I’m getting updates directly from the medical staff and not the versions my mother sometimes makes up to avoid worrying me.

But that means I missed a training day with Max and Savannah. They are mostly self-sufficient, but they’re still working out the kinks in their program, and I’d rather be with them to see what changes need to be made.

The coach who filled in for me sent me a few videos of them practicing, though. I watched them with Mom while we were stuck in the medical center all day. She smiled as she watched, and it brought a little lightness to our day.

Today, I’m back at the rink and ready to take on the day. I work on some admin stuff while Max and Savannah are warming up, then I meet them by the ice.

“Hey, Coach,” Max says.

“Hey guys,” I greet them as I put my notebook and laptop down on a bench. “Ready to skate?”