Page 32 of The Penalty

McKenzie looks up at me with the nail polish brush poised over the bottle, and the way her eyes take me in does something to my body that it definitely shouldn’t.

“Yeah, thanks.” I turn away quickly and grab a plate.

McKenzie comes up behind me and fills her glass with more water.

“You’re not wearing a La Vista polo today,” she says, her voice lowered so Kylie can’t hear.

I look down at my dark green T-shirt. It’s more casual than I usually wear, but I really need to do laundry, so I grabbed this.

“I didn’t realize you paid so much attention to my clothes.”

Her eyes flick to my lips, and her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “Well, now you know.”

Is she flirting with me? Surely not.

“Green looks good on you, though.” She takes a sip of her water and walks away, leaving me staring after her.

She was definitely flirting with me. Fuck, that’s boosting my ego way too much right now.

Realizing that I’m staring at her ass as she walks away, I quickly look away.

“How was your day?” Kylie asks once I’ve made it over to the couch to get food.

“Pretty shitty, honestly.” I scoop out a big portion of fried rice and sesame chicken onto my plate.

“What happened?” Kylie asks.

I’m not used to having someone here at the end of the day to ask me how my day was. It’s weird but also kind of nice. And now it’s not just Kylie; I’ve got McKenzie looking at me with concern shining in her big green eyes.

“Is this off the record?” I ask in McKenzie’s direction.

Kylie looks confused by my question, but McKenzie nods with understanding. “Of course.”

I sigh and deliver the news. “Koby is out for at least one game.”

McKenzie gasps as Kylie asks, “Who’s Koby?” I almost laugh at the difference in their reactions.

“Running back,” McKenzie answers before I can. It still surprises me how much she’s into football.

“You worried about the game?” she asks.

“A little,” I answer honestly as I sit back on the couch with my plate. “We’re playing a really tough team this week. I think I’ll feel better when we get into practice tomorrow. My team is good. I just need to see it in action.”

“Yeah. Makes sense. But Ryan is a good receiver. He’s made some really nice catches so far this season.”

I nod slowly because that’s exactly what I said to my coaching staff earlier today. It’s like she’s in my head. I focus on the food in front of me instead of the girl, no, woman, in front of me staring at me like she can see right through me.

“I’m sure we’ll make it happen,” I tell her.

The conversation ends, and Kylie tells me about her day. It sounds like she’s getting more and more comfortable here and I love to hear it. I don’t tell her that her mother called. Kylie is an adult now. If she wants to talk to her mother, she can call her.

When I finish eating, the girls start on some homework, so I excuse myself to shower and get in bed.

It’s better if I don’t hang around McKenzie longer than I should. If I stay downstairs, she might see it as an invitation to hang out once Kylie goes to bed, and I can’t do that again.

FOURTEEN

MCKENZIE