Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

LEMON

F or the first twenty minutes or so of setting up, I stand back to watch my kids do all the things. When Hansley told me he was going to be on a team with Alka, Declan, and Roux, I decided I also needed to be at the event. Not because I was jealous or anything. It’s a long ass event. Which means a long day where I’d not otherwise get to see him.

However, my cooking skills are limited on the stove at best, and I’ve never touched a grill. When I told Peyton this, he just shrugged and said there was a lot of chopping to do.

Once the announcements are over and the timer begins, he sets me up with a whole heap of shit that needs to be cut up. No other instructions.

“Potatoes first, Coach,” Eli says.

“That’s all? You’re not going to tell me how to cut them?” I ask.

He laughs. “The red ones are for potato salad. So make them bite-sized. Smallish because they’ll cook quicker and we’ll have time to cool them. The Russets are for grilled fries. So… make them French fry shaped.”

I nod. That’s reasonable enough of an explanation. Then I look at the mountain of potatoes. I may never make it to the Russets—a second, slightly smaller mountain. Do we even have pots this big?

Glancing over my shoulder, I examine the different grills and grill stations. The biggest one has three racks and is completely covered. Then there’s an open grill and a little round one. I’m told something here is a smoker or has a smoker or is for a smoker… I’m not sure what any of that means, but there’s a smoker involved.

I begin chopping potatoes and it’s definitely monotonous. Since I’m vaguely facing Hansley’s booth, I glance up now and then. Probably every other potato. Currently, he’s standing back and watching Alka and Declan as they work, but I’m guessing there’s some commentary, since he looks amused. Roux doesn’t look quite so amused.

Hansley’s gaze shifts my way and when we meet eyes, he smiles. Gawd, the way my heart hammers in my chest. By the time I turn back, I can feel the way my cheeks ache from smiling so widely. Fuck, what have I become?

I’m partially through the potato mountain when the bowl is taken away and replaced. We’re cooking in batches. That makes sense. Peyton joins me at the cutting station and begins on the Russets.

We’re quiet for a long time. Until he catches me watching Hansley again. I’d probably be quicker if I wasn’t obsessed with watching the man. I can’t believe I’d even been attracted to the other two in that booth. Roux not included—he’s a student and I just don’t go there. He may as well not exist. But yeah… there’s something similar in their build and features, which I guess at one point I might have considered ‘my type.’

Hansley is nothing like them. He’s clearly built to be a force. Thick thighs, thick arms, a big chest I want to suck on, abs for miles.

Physical appearance isn’t everything—it’s not even the most important thing—but there’s no hiding that a pretty face and a sexy body definitely catch my attention. In Alka, I liked his confidence. It made him more attractive. Declan’s quiet, almost shy personality made him more attractive.

Hansley? Absolutely every fucking thing. I’ve still yet to find something unattractive about him. I’m totally fucked, aren’t I?

“You look happy, Coach,” Peyton says, and I pull my attention from watching Hansley. Again!

“Hmm,” is my only answer.

“Do you love him?” As I look up, he starts shaking his head. “Sorry. Inappropriate. Obviously don’t answer that, Coach. It’s none of my business.”

I chuckle. “I’ll tell you what… Today, I’m not your coach. We’re friends. We can gossip and joke and talk about whatever.”

“Can I still call you Coach? It’s going to be really weird otherwise.”

“Yes,” I agree, laughing. Glancing at Hansley, I shrug. Not because I’m minimizing what’s between us but because I fear I am in love with him, but I can’t tell someone else that until he knows. Right?

“It’s really good to see you so happy,” Peyton admits and once again, I look at him with an eyebrow raised. He grins. “Seriously. You smile a lot now.”

“I smiled before,” I say defensively.

“Yes, to us,” Eli pipes from my other side, where he and Winston are working at the perpendicular table that faces the aisle. “But it’s almost like a very visible mask fell over you when literally anyone other than the team is around.”

“It was kind of impressive to see,” Winston admits.

“I… didn’t realize I was that transparent,” I say, feeling a little unsettled by that because I never wanted my kids to see me… cold and defensive. I’d always thought I’d toned it down and hid it well enough. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Peyton says, laughing. “You’re an amazing coach to us. I’ve played a lot of football and had a lot of coaches growing up, but you’re by far the best.”

“Sucking up will get you everywhere,” I preen. “Continue.”

The three of them laugh.

“No, I mean it. It’s so easy to become just another body on a team this big. I think we can all agree that’s what it’s like in football unless you’re the star and the coach’s favorite. The entire environment is different on your team. We are a team, but it has a very surreal feeling of home. Comfort. Like it’s not a sport or a job or even a goal. It’s…” he trails off as he searches for the words.

“It’s the place we look forward to being the most,” Eli says.

“Yeah, exactly,” Peyton agrees. “If you had a bunk room in the athletic building, I’d never leave.”

“On a broader scale, RDU is like that too,” Winston says. “I could feel it and see it when I toured and more than anything, that’s what made me decide to enroll. But our team is just one step above that. More than that.”

“And I’m Mommy Frost,” I deadpan.

They laugh.

“No. You’re Coach,” Eli says.

“I’m sorry if you ever faced that cold, defensive exterior,” I tell them.

“We didn’t,” the three of them say together.

“You might not remember this, but my first year here, my grandma died,” Peyton continues. “You got the call during a game. You accepted a call during a game which you never do because you knew that my grandma was super sick. You stopped the game to pull me out, take me away from everyone else, and tell me. You hugged me because I was falling apart, and then sent me home and told me not to worry about football. My spot would be here when I got back, no matter how long that took, and you’d make sure I caught up. You called me every single day to check in and see how I was. And when I got back, you worked with me one on one for a week to get me back to where I needed to be to catch up with the team’s progress. You didn’t bench me, but put me right back in the game.”

Peyton looks at me and I don’t miss the way his eyes look a little glassy. I do remember that. I remember a lot about my kids, even from years past. Peyton was devastated when he told me his grandma was dying just a few weeks before that, so I’d been ready to do what I needed to do. I watched him closely because I knew how much it was hurting him.

“Just so you know, that’s probably why I have such a crush on you,” he admits, giving me a bemused smile. “You’re everything I ever imagined the perfect person being. The way you treated me”—he shakes his head—“it truly meant everything. It still does.”

Because my hands are covered in potato, I elbow him.

“Last year when I was wrecked because my sixteen-year-old cat died,” Winston adds, “you didn’t tell me to get over it. It’s just a cat. Like any other coach would have. Like I’d seen coaches do in the past to my teammates when one of their pets died. You mourned with me.”

“And fuck, remember when you helped me get ready for my first date?” Eli asks. “I was so damn nervous. But you walked me through my nerves and gave me some pointers on how to be a gentleman. The date sucked because we didn’t click, but I rocked it.”

“So you think,” Winston says.

I grin.

“You’ve always been there for us,” Peyton promises. “I’m really glad that you finally found someone to make you smile like that.”

“Even if it’s not you,” Winston teases.

Peyton huffs. “I regret my choices in friends.”

I laugh. “Thank you,” I say and, of course, my gaze is drawn to Hansley. He looks like he’s doing what I’m doing—chopping. I smile. “I am happy.” Which is absolutely terrifying.

“He’s a cool guy,” Eli says. “He helped me find a sponsor for some of the food today.”

“Ugh, and that party he organized for us!” Peyton adds. “He’s a keeper.”

It’s difficult not to grin like a madman.

“I’m bummed we didn’t win,” Winston says. “There’s a strange feeling that we let them down after all that work they put into celebrating us and wishing us well.”

“Nah, don’t be. I’ve been assured time and time again that the entire department was excited to put it together.” I’m going to choose to believe it because I totally understand where he’s coming from.

It turns out that I have a lot of fun with the boys and cutting shit up. They even trust me to monitor the vegetables and, while I’m not necessarily convinced that they’re as perfect as they claim, they eat a lot. Many others comment on them too. So they were edible, anyway.

We don’t win. The women’s hockey team wins, and I can hear them gloating from near the back.

Break down is a lot quicker than I anticipated, and then I’m waiting for Hansley while talking to people as they stop by. I’m surprised by how many compliments we get on our food. Okay, not surprised, because it was damn good. Just… surprised that they’re telling me like I had a part in cooking it.

Finally, Hansley’s there. His hands on my neck and his mouth on mine. The way he takes my breath should be criminal. “Your food was fucking epic,” he says.

I roll my eyes. “I didn’t cook it at all.”

He hums and I swear, he’s going to eat my tongue by the way he’s sucking on it. I can feel that suction on my balls.

“I need to help out a while longer,” he tells me. “Go home and I’ll talk to you in a bit. Promise.”

“You have a lot to do tonight?” I ask, bummed that he’s not coming with me. I glance around and… yeah, there’s a lot of shit out and everywhere.

“We need to get everything from each company into distinct piles that are clearly marked so they can stop in tomorrow during the day and pick it up.”

“It’s dark,” I complain, not that it’s super dark where we are. The entire street right here is lit with huge lights.

Hansley kisses me again. “Promise I’ll leave as soon as I can. Go home and get comfortable. I’ll talk to you soon. I swear.”

I sigh in exaggeration. “All right.”

After a long hug, I grudgingly back away and head for my car.

By the time I get home, it’s so damn late. That’s the longest I’ve ever been at school and, while it turned out to be a lot of fun, I’m thankful that tomorrow is Sunday. I take my time in the shower and wash the food smells from my body. Then I’m out and in comfy sweats as I wait for Hansley.

Minutes tick by. Then an hour and I keep checking my phone. I wonder if he forgot. He did say he had a surprise for me. But it was a super long day, and he’s probably exhausted. And because he helped organize it, he has to stay there to make sure it’s all shut down and no fires are going to burn the campus to the ground and all that.

I flounce down on the couch, trying not to be sad. He forgot.

That’s okay. I’m going to choose to be understanding and not upset.

Just as I reach for the phone, there’s a knock on my door. Scowling, I get to my feet. I hate when people just show up uninvited. Stomping my way to the front, I throw open my door and then stare at Hansley with a big bouquet of flowers in his hand and a box in his other. The smile on his face is gorgeous, as always.

“Hi, neighbor,” he says.

His words obviously confuse me, so I continue to stare at him dumbly. “What?”

Hansley’s grin widens. He pushes the box and the flowers into my arms and then literally sweeps me off my feet, which is good since he’s bringing me outside and I’m barefoot. He turns us on my front porch so we’re facing the disaster of a house across the street.

I didn’t notice before, but now that I’m looking, I can see the large, bold letters that read SOLD on the sign across the house. My heart thunders. “You bought that house?” I ask.

He nods. “Yep. I put in offers on like six houses.” He chuckles. “Including this one. This is the one I chose when the bids came back. I hear there’s a hella hot football coach across the road.”

I’m definitely not overcome with what this means. It doesn’t make my palms sweat or my jaw tremble. He bought a house across the street from me. He wanted to be close!

“You need to cut your grass,” I snark.

He laughs. “Yes. I have a landscape company stopping by next week to give me a quote to completely redo the house outside and then for maintenance after.” He somehow pulls my door shut and then starts across the street with me still in his arms. “The house needs work. Mostly updates, but there are some things I need changed. Probably won’t be able to move in for another month or so, but it’s already been scheduled.”

Hansley lets us in and it’s… not awful. Definitely covered in a thick layer of dust, as if it had been abandoned for years and not just months.

He sits me on the kitchen counter and then looks around, holding his arms out wide. “What d’ya think?”

“You moved in across the street,” I say and have to blink all the dust from my eyes since it’s making them water.

Turning back to me, he smiles softly. Pressing a hand to my cheek, Hansley nods. “Yes. I did.”

I sniff. Damn dust. “Does this mean you sold your old house? This must be quite a bit smaller.”

He shrugs. “It’s not up for sale yet. Jess is… stalling. I don’t care if she keeps it, but I think she’s keeping it because she’s convincing herself that this isn’t happening. Everything else we own together is up for sale though. As far as the size—” Hansley shrugs again. “Honestly, this is much more reasonable. Once I started packing my shit, I realized how very little I have or want to keep. It’s a waste of space having anything bigger than this for a single person. Even for two people.”

So I can try to avoid the tears, I bury my face in the flowers. The bouquet is bigger than my head. Then I sit straight again and look at the second thing I’m holding. “What’s this?”

Hansley takes the flowers from me and sets them aside. Then he opens the box on my lap. I’m stunned when he pulls out a crown and sets it on my head. “For my queen,” he murmurs, with the most handsome smile as he stares into my eyes.

This bitch just made me cry!!