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“That’s up to you, too. If I recall, you’re the one…”
“Okay,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m to blame too. We both let her manipulate us.”
He picked up a slice and took a bite off the end, cheese trailing from his mouth. After sprinkling some parmesan cheese on mine, I bit off a healthy-sized piece.
“You want to come back to my place? After we finish eating?” he asked.
I sighed, thinking of what was waiting for me back at my apartment.
“No, I should go to my place and let Jocelyn know I’m moving out. Maybe I can find someone who wants to sublet their room or something. Just until we get this all figured out.”
“Maybe. I’ll ask around.”
“Thanks,” I said. “For everything.”
“Don’t mention it.”
He scooted off the bench and stood up. As I looked up at him, the smile vanished from his face. I craned my neck to see over the back of the booth.
“Hey, Coach,” Austin said.
The way his voice caught in his throat told me this wasn’t good.
“Austin. I heard you might be here.”
“Heard from who?”
“Doesn’t matter. You know my team rules, right?”
“Yes, Coach.”
“And you’re breaking one of them right now. That’s not good for you.”
I glanced around the dining room, seeing quite a few people looking at us, but I didn’t recognize any of them. Had one of them called the football coach on us? What was the big deal, anyway?
“Hello,” I said, standing up and offering my hand. “I’m…”
“This is my cousin Brooke,” Austin blurted out.
“Your cousin, huh?”
The coach turned his attention to me. I smiled and bent my elbow to raise my hand close to my chest in a mini-wave.
“I’m his cousin. Nice to finally meet you.”
“You better not be lying to me, Austin.”
“I’m not, Coach. I know your rules, and I appreciate you helping me go pro.”
“I know a lot of people,” he said. “And my rules are in place for a reason. I can’t have you go making a fool of me, now can I?”
“No, Coach.”
“I should go,” I said. “Talk to you at the family reunion, cuz.”
He nodded his head at me. I walked away, wondering what the hell had just happened. Was it really that serious? None of it made sense.
On the way home, the confusion turned to anger. Had Austin really chosen football over me? Was that stupid ball of his more important than me?
