Page 39

CHAPTER 39

THE LOOK.

JACKSON

“I think I might throw up,” I say as Theo and I walk down the hallway toward Coach Taylor’s office.

“That makes two of us—Wait, I thought you were okay with all of this?” Theo stops in his tracks next to me, grabs my arm, and looks at me in a panic. “You can’t freak out. You’ve been the calm one. We told our parents. We told Bridget and this is when you decide to panic? Only one of us is allowed to panic at a time. I might lose my job. The panic is mine. You can’t panic, Jackson?—”

“Theo!” I give his shoulders a firm shake.

Holy shit is this what I sounded like yesterday?

“If you say the word panic one more time I might slap you. Take a fucking breath.”

He nods feverishly. “Right. Yeah. Okay.”

“I just meant that I don’t want him to give me the look . Clay was always on the receiving end of that one. I’ve always been the favorite.” I beam with pride for a split second, and Theo just rolls his eyes. “I’ve never been able to handle it. Anytime Mom or Dad gave me the look I folded faster than a card table at a frat party.”

“Jax… if anyone is going to get the look it’s probably going to be me.”

I think about it for a second. “Oh yeah, you’re probably right. Okay, let’s go.”

“Thanks for that,” he mumbles before following me.

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re a dick,” he snaps, even though I know there’s no real heat behind it.

“You sure like sucking my dick,” I murmur to myself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” The two of us stop in front of Coach’s door, and despite my best attempts to lighten the mood, I can tell Theo really is about to lose it. So before I knock on the door, I whisper softly, “It’s going to be fine. Whatever happens in here we will deal with it, together .”

“I know,” he whispers.

Reaching out, I brush the back of his hand with my fingertip before knocking on the door. “Come on in, boys,” Coach’s voice booms. “I didn’t expect you guys for a little bit yet so just give me one second to get the tapes pulled up.”

I push the door open and peek my head in. “Hey, Coach, Austin actually isn’t here yet, but umm… well, we wanted to talk to you.”

“We?”

“Yeah.” I push the door open the rest of the way so Theo comes into view. “We.”

* * *

“So let me get this straight,” Taylor says as he massages his temples. “The two of you have been dating in secret since you hurt your knee, got drunk while we were in Vegas, and got married. Even though you”—he points at me—“should be focusing on school and building a future for yourself, and you”—his finger moves to Theo—“are, were , engaged to be married and are a member of my staff.”

We decided to spare everyone all of the sordid details about everything that went on between the two of us. It won’t do anyone any good, and since nobody, besides Clay, even knew that something was up we figured it would probably be best.

Everyone is already going to be pissed enough we hid this from them. The last thing they need to do is be mad at Theo when I’ve already moved past it. Mostly.

“Yup, sounds about right,” I say. “Look, Coach, I?—”

“Nope,” he cuts me off and looks at Theo. “I want to hear from you.”

Theo lets out a shaky sigh, and out of the corner of my eye I watch as he begins nervously bouncing his leg. And even though I’m genuinely worried Coach is about to give me that look so fiercely I will want to crawl in a hole to die, my desire to comfort Theo is my main concern. So, I gently place my hand on his thigh. His leg immediately stops moving, and I listen as he fills his chest with a long and slow deep breath.

“Listen, Coach I—” One more deep breath. “I understand that what we did, what I did is wrong. Jackson is a student at this school and more importantly, an athlete I’ve treated. I take full responsibility for the fact that I crossed a very clear line when I shouldn’t have. But at the same time… I’m not sorry.”

Coach steeples his hands together. “You’re not?”

“No.” Theo suddenly sits up a little straighter, and I give his leg a gentle squeeze. “I’m not sorry I met Jackson. I’m not sorry that the two of us formed a relationship. I’m not sorry I ended my engagement when there shouldn’t have even been one in the first place. And I am most definitely not sorry I married Jackson on a drunken night out in Vegas. Okay… well… maybe I am a little sorry that it was done by an Elvis impersonator and not—you know what, not the point. The point is, I’m not sorry. I love him. I think I’ve always loved him. And now that we’re married I get to love him until the end of time.”

Ummmm… did he just say—holy shit.

I can feel my eyes wanting to bug out of my head, but as far as Coach Taylor is concerned the two of us should have said that to one another a million times by now, and this is most definitely not the first time those words have come out of his mouth.

Because what person in their right mind would say that RIGHT NOW for the first time?!

A moment of regret flashes across Theo’s face, but like me, he does his best to cover it up.

Coach Taylor just stares at us from across the desk.

Unable to take the silence any longer, Theo blurts out, “I am willing and prepared to tender my resignation today if I must. But we thought you deserved to be the first to know.”

Coach sits back in his chair. It’s quiet for a moment, save for the ticking of his clock, before he finally speaks. “Not necessary.”

“What?” Theo and I both say in unison.

“No resignation necessary, Young. Technically, because you are school staff and not a member of the faculty, this relationship is not an abuse of power. Jackson had nothing to gain from this relationship.”

Ain’t that the truth.

Theo forcefully elbows me in the side. Shit, I must have said that out loud.

Coach gives me a “what the hell” look before continuing. “Anyway… this one is also over the age of eighteen and clearly old enough to make his own decisions. So, while I don’t necessarily agree with the way the two of you handled things, this is not a do-or-die situation. However , first thing tomorrow, you will disclose this relationship with one of the school’s HR representatives. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” we both reply.

“And.” His eyes narrow. Fuck, there it is. “I will not tolerate any sort of nefarious behavior when you are supposed to be practicing or playing or while you are supposed to be working. Am I clear?”

“Crystal,” I rush out.

“Good. Now, you stay, and you”—he looks at Theo—“can leave. Ward should be here soon, and we have film to go over.”

Theo looks at me for a moment, silently asking if I’m comfortable with him leaving. “I’ll come find you when I’m done,” I tell him softly.

“Okay. I’ll meet you back at my house. Wait, our house?”

“Jesus christ,” Coach groans.

Suddenly it dawns on me that I haven’t even told Emerson I’m married, let alone the fact that I’m probably moving out since it would make literally zero sense for Theo to move into our house.

Great. Add that to the never-ending list of things we need to do.

And because now is clearly not the time to figure all that out, I simply smile and say, “Okay.”

Theo nods at Coach Taylor before heading for the door, but as he begins to open it, the deep voice on the other side of the desk stops him in his tracks. “If you boys are happy then I’m happy for you. But Young…”

“Yeah, Coach?” Theo asks.

“Hurt my boy again, and you’ll have me in the line of people you’ll have to deal with.”

This time my eyes practically pop out of my head. There’s no hiding my surprise. But I should have known Coach noticed there was more going on with me last year than just a hurt leg. He sees everything.

I look between the two of them only to find Theo simply nodding in understanding, a small smile crawling across his face. “I won’t, Sir. But even if I did, I’d gladly welcome the invitation.”

And even though he’s not looking at me, I smile softly at Theo before he walks out the door. Not more than a few seconds later Austin comes walking in. Coach gestures to the open seat next to me and spins his laptop around on his desk. “Alright, boys. Let’s start with some of your serve receives.”