The Coach's Daughter

Chapter 9

I tell my mom that I'm going to the library after school, which isn't a complete lie. I'm just going to Jaden Brown's silver Mustang first.

"Amelia!" Lola waves cheerily and pulls me into a huge hug. I hug her back awkwardly. I grew up with minimal physical affection so even hugs from other girls are awkward for me.

"Go ahead and get in," Jaden says with a warm smile. Backseat it is. I open the door and my face falls immediately.

The fragrant mixture of smoke, marshmallows, and a crisp wind, which has become uncomfortably familiar to me at this point, greets me as Zack looks over with no expression.

Seriously, how can someone smell like wind? Since when does wind have a scent? Most gases are odorless and-

"You just gonna keep staring? Sit down," Zack says, bringing me out of my thoughts. 

Biting my lip, I sit on the edge of the seat and buckle up. Out of the corner of my eye, I take a peek at him. He's staring out the window, emphasizing the cut of his jawline, his long lashes visible even from where I'm sitting. The urge to scoot closer to his scent enters me and I nearly slap myself.

"What?" he says, clearly catching me staring. Again.

"Seatbelt," I blurt out.

He cocks a single brow and smirks a little. "It's a two-minute drive."

"Still... Safety first," I say weakly. His eyes glance to where I'm gripping my tightly buckled seat belt and he lets out a 'hah.'

"Tight-ass," he mutters. "Since when did you care about my safety?"

My expression sours. "Maybe not everything's about you."

"Maybe. But this is."

"Not wearing one could kill you." I keep my voice as kind as possible.

"Great."

I let out a drained sigh. "Could you drop the tough guy act for one second and just please wear your seat belt?"

"Could you just shut up for two seconds?" His tone is harsh and admittedly a little hurtful.

I face forward. Whatever. If he wants to be a little kid, then let him.

The air turns cold. Thankfully, Lola and Jaden are too busy in their own world to notice the tension in the back as Jaden drives. Maybe a minute passes by when I just barely hear a 'click.' I peer over and, sure enough, Zack's seatbelt is on. A tiny snort escapes me and when I look over, his expression isn't mad.

"Princess gets what she wants," he says with a shrug.

If this is a sign of a truce, I'll take it.

---

Our truce doesn't last long. When we get to McDonald's (somewhere I haven't eaten since I was a toddler), I've looked over the menu for a full ten seconds before he sneers, "would you hurry the fuck up?"

Really? He could just look at the big ass menu on the wall.

Jaden seems to notice what's going on and hands his menu over to Zack. "Here. I know what I'm getting."

I make sure to mouth 'thank you' silently but I think Zack sees it anyway. Jaden responds with a kind smile.

"What are you getting, Amelia?" Jaden asks.

"I'm not sure." I bite my lip. "I don't really eat McDonald's."

"Really?" Lola asks, wide-eyed. "It's so good. The fries are bomb."