The coach's daughter ✔️

Chapter eighteen.

Chuck's POV.

Taking one last deep breath I completely calm myself down, literally.

I walk out of Mel's kitchen and see her sitting on her brown leather couch watching a football game. After I sit down next to her she raises the remote and presses the pause button.

'I don't know where to start.' She said, looking down at her hands.

I keep my eyes on her profile, 'How about what changed between yesterday night at the party to the next morning when you showed up to Caffeinated with Ben?'

She sighs. 'Nothing changed Chuck. I was walking to Caffeinated when Ben ran into me on the sidewalk. He was talking about my dad and how he wanted him to like him,'

I scoffed, 'Of course he does.'

She ignored my comment and continues, 'I was just comforting him saying my dad likes all his players. He just so happens to love a few of them like they're his son.' She gave me a pointed look. 'He offered to walk me the rest of the way, that's it.'

'So you don't have feelings for him?' I asked and she snapped her surprised face to look at me. 'I can tell that you do Melanie.'

Her cheeks redden and my stomach gains a few knots. 'How?'

'Your cheeks get red, your eyelashes flutter, you can't speak correctly.' I chuckle, 'And you play with your hair a lot.'

She looks down again, 'I'm sorry.'

I shake my head. 'Don't be sorry Mel. It's okay to have feelings for more than one person.'

She bites her lip. 'How is it okay?'

I shrug, 'It sucks but it's life.' I hear a car door shut and my eyes get as wide as quarters. 'Is that your dad?'

Her face mirrors my own. 'I don't know. He shouldn't be home yet.'

Coach walks through the door holding his briefcase looking oddly fancy in his work suit. I never saw him in anything but work out clothes at practice so this is definitely a change. 'Hey Mel- Chuck?' He pauses as the door clicks shut behind him. 'What are you doing here?' He looks between us, 'Wait why are either of you here? You're supposed to be in school.'

'Busted.' I mumble under my breath, earning a smack on the arm from Melanie.

'We had some crash studying to do.' Melanie blurted.

His eyes narrowed accusingly as he sat his briefcase down on the table. 'So you both decide to come home to study when you could've been there for the teacher's lesson instead?'

I mentally face palm. Good one Mel.

'Erm- well,' Mel stutters.

'It was my idea, Coach.' I inject, 'I needed to talk to Melanie about something so we decided to come back here.'

Coach frowned but nodded as if saying he believes what I'm saying. 'What was so important, to talk about that you had to skip school?'

I glanced at Melanie and her eyes were pleading but I wasn't sure what for. I sighed and stood up, 'Melanie has a crush on a guy and she needed a friend to talk to about him.'

Melanie's eyes were as wide as saucers.

Coach laughed, 'And who is this lucky fella?'

'Dad!' Mel protested. 'I am not telling you that.'

'Is he on my team?' Coach glanced at me.

Mel's jaw dropped. 'Does it matter?'

Coach purses his lips in thought. 'I suppose it doesn't, as long as he's good to you.'