Page 33 of The Penalty

I feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome at the Danvers’ house. Besides Tuesday, when I had a shift at Alessandro’s, I stayed here Monday, Wednesday, and now tonight. I tried to tell Kylie that I should stay somewhere else tonight but she wouldn’t hear it.

Tyler has been working late almost every night, and Kylie doesn’t want to be by herself, which is the only reason I didn’t push back too hard when she asked me to come over.

I insisted on making dinner, though, enough for all three of us, even though I knew Tyler would be home late. I wanted him to have leftovers if he wanted them.

After dinner, we worked on our homework until Kylie went to sleep.

After an hour of tossing and turning in the guest room, I finally decided to get up and grab some water and maybe a snack. I’ve had so much on my mind lately that it’s keeping me up at night. I know I need a good night’s rest when I have a bed available to me, though. Unfortunately, I can’t turn my mind off sometimes.

When I get to the kitchen, I hear the TV and realize Tyler is still up and sitting on the couch.

I grab a cup from the cabinet and say, “Hey,” to let him know I’m here.

He turns to look at me. “Hey. You’re up late.”

“Couldn’t sleep. Thought some water might help.” I fill my glass and turn to leave. We haven’t had any more late-night chats since the first one, so I assumed he didn’t want to do that again. I certainly don’t want to make him feel like I’m forcing him to hang out with me.

So, I’m surprised when he stops me before I leave the kitchen. “You wanna sit? I could use the company.”

I shouldn’t. Not when I’m feeling this attracted to him. But that doesn’t stop me. “Sure.”

I sit down but leave one full couch cushion between us. The more time I spend around Tyler, the more my crush grows. I know it’s silly and nothing will ever come of it, but sometimes. . . sometimes I catch him looking at me, and I think maybe.

It’s wrong on all counts. He’s almost seventeen years older than me and a coach at the school I attend. Worst of all, he’s my friend’s dad. I really like Kylie and wouldn’t want to ruin our newfound friendship.

But I can’t help my attraction. I’m just doing my best to ignore it.

“How’s practice been this week?” I ask, trying to find neutral ground.

“Good.” His lips tilt up in the hint of a smile. “Really good. We’re still in this.”

“I knew you would be.”

“How are things going for you?” he asks, and he’s looking at me like he genuinely wants to know.

So, I decide to not give him my generic response and tell him how I truly feel. “I’m tired. If I’m not working, I’m studying. And I’ve been having a hard time sleeping, which makes it extra tough. I just keep telling myself that it’s not forever and I can get through this.”

“College is tough. There were plenty of times when I thought I’d never finish.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. Somehow, I thought I could take a full course load of really tough classes one semester on top of playing football. I was pulling all-nighters, working with tutors, doing early morning workouts and afternoon practices. It was insane. I get what you’re going through, and I promise it does get better.”

I lean my head on the couch and face him. “I hope so.”

“When I was in college, so many people kept telling me that my degree didn’t matter. Some people even suggested I enter the NFL draft early since that was always my goal, but I never did it. I wanted that degree so I worked hard and struggled and lost some friends along the way, but I knew it’d be worth it one day.”

“What did you get your degree in?” I expect him to say something sports-related because that’s the obvious answer. But I should’ve known he’d do something different.

“Finance.”

“Really?”

He chuckles. “Don’t sound so surprised. I’m not just a dumb jock with a pretty face.”

“I never thought you were just a dumb jock.” He raises an eyebrow like he’s waiting for me to deny the pretty face part, but I don’t. Because that would be a lie, and I am a terrible liar. “Finance just sounds very involved.”

“It was. But math was always one of the easier subjects for me.”