Scoring The Coach ✔️

chapter seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

I woke up the next morning to Jared kissing me and whispering, "Laura, baby, you need to wake up."

I groaned and turned over, my eyes opening to meet his. "What time is it?"

"A little after seven," he said simply.

I shot up in bed. "Seven in the morning?"

"Yeah." He frowned. "What's wrong?"

"What happens if the girls find out I wasn't in the room?" I asked frantically.

"We could go get free breakfast in the lobby," he said. "Then you could tell them that's where you were."

I considered this and relaxed. "Okay."

"I would never want to get you in trouble," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you sooner. I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine."

His hand lingered along my jaw as he smoothed my hair out of my face.

We got up a few minutes later, and he let me use his toothbrush because I didn't have mine. He held my hand as we headed to the event center where they'd set everything up. I made myself tea and toasted a bagel, but he loaded his plate up and got us a table in the corner of the room.

"It's the most important meal of the day," he told me as he stuffed his mouth full of scrambled eggs.

"I'm not a big believer in breakfast," I explained. "Sorry."

He shrugged. "More for me."

He occasionally nudged my feet under the table, smiling at me every few seconds.

"What?" I asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sometimes I have trouble believing you're actually my girl," he said. "So I can't stop looking at you. Sorry if that's a problem."

It wasn't a problem, it was adorable.

I wondered if I was glowing. I thought having sex might make me feel a little different, but I wasn't sure. All I could think about was us. Together. When he looked at me with a troublesome gaze, I was in for it.

We'd only been together for a couple of weeks, but it felt like so much more than that. And I knew, deep down that I was undoubtedly, utterly his.

I left him at the elevator. He opted to take the stairs for the sake of appearances. I figured that would be a decent means of keeping things on a low profile. I wasn't ready for an ambush.

He reached for me, trying to sneak a kiss, but I stopped him.

"I have to keep my hands off of you," I warned.

He shook his head. "I beg to differ."

Giggling, I stepped into the lift and watched him until the doors closed.

"Where were you, Laura?" Shea asked when I walked into the room.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Risa was in the shower and Gen was still asleep, meaning it was just me left to brave the inquisition. Shea was clearly suspicious, even crossing her arms over her chest as she eyed me.

"I got up early and went to breakfast," I lied smoothly. "It's free."

I wasn't sure she believed me. There was no way she could know about Jared, right? She hadn't seen him with me at the mall—or so I hoped. I'd been careful about our relationship thus far. I had to be careful not to trip up.