AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dinu might not be brilliant like Marku, but he’s no idiot. I bet he’s already guessed my plan, what with my boy haircut and the fact that I’m lurking outside the locker room like a thief.
I check my phone and let out a sigh. I’ve texted Marku several times, but he hasn’t responded. Maybe he can’t text while Coach is talking or maybe his cell phone is in his locker. I haven’t given up hope of sneaking in behind the boys, but it might be better to have a backup plan in Dinu.
Squaring my shoulders, I turn my full attention on him. “Look, Dinu, can you go in there and let me know when Coach is done talking and they’ve started filing out?”
His brows jump.
Huh, guess he hadn’t figured out my plan. Oh, well. What’s done is done, right?
He shares a fleeting look with Adrian that I can’t quite read but he shoots me one of his million-watt smiles and responds smoothly, “Sure thing.”
Mollified, I lean against the ugly tiled wall. “I’ll be right out here until you give me the go-ahead.” I grab his arm gratefully as he passes by. “And Dinu…thanks.”
He stares at me intently for a moment before answering, “Anything for you, Crina.” Pleasure courses through me and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Dinu pushes the door open to a roar of voices as the boys shout in unison. My blood pressure instantly spikes at the raucous noise. The door whooshes closed, leaving me alone in the muted, empty hallway once again.
It’s gonna be okay, I comfort myself. Either Marku or Dinu will let me know when to slip inside. I will blend in as the boys leave and no one will be the wiser. I’ve played with enough of them that they shouldn’t be entirely shocked to see me. I cross my fingers.
Hopefully.
Jittery, I alternate between pacing the hall and pressing my ear to the door. Each minute passes with excruciating slowness. I check my phone. I stuff it back in my bag. I pace. I stop. Then I restart the whole cycle from the beginning. My nerves wrench tighter and tighter as one minute melts into the next and I feel my window of opportunity slipping away...
The door opens abruptly.
I plaster myself against the wall.
Dinu pokes his head out.
“Now,” he says and vanishes.
The door swings shut. I reach out my hand and catch it before it slams down on my fingers. Hauling it open, I step inside.
I’m besieged by a cacophony of voices.
It sounds like a lot of noise, but maybe it’s the acoustics of the locker room and the boys are actually clustered near the door leading to the field, lined up to go out.
Pee-yew!The smell in here. It’s like the worst dirty socks in the world. But I won’t be daunted by loud shouting or nasty boy odors.
I step into a small foyer-like area with a frosted glass wall shielding me from the rest of the locker room. My skin prickles like it’s on fire, but I take a deep breath and stride farther into the room…
“Heeey, Marku, looky who’s here for you.”
Was that Adrian?
Marku’s head snaps up. Shock lines his face as he stares at me. Him and another thirty-plus more boys. His mouth drops open.
Oh, shit.
Have you ever had thirty pairs of intense male eyes on you before?
I freeze, my gaze bouncing from place to place. Some boys are fully dressed, but some are only half dressed, their chests bare. And then a few—help me Lord, no!—are only covered by spandex athletic shorts that leave nothing to the imagination.
Coach’s gaze shoots to me. He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can say anything Marku rises from the bench, and bellows, “What the hell are you doing here?”
His roar bounces off the walls, reverberating in the air. Fury pours off him like fast-flowing lava off an exploding volcano.
There’s a snicker to the right of him.
