Page 120 of Salto

"You too," Mia said.

Laney grinned.

Rove looked back at me.

"Bus leaves at seven tomorrow."

"I'll be there."

"Get some sleep, Red."

Then he turned and headed back down the hallway.

I closed the door. Then slowly turned around, knowing exactly what was about to unfold.

Laney and Mia were both staring at me.

It was Laney who broke the silence first.

“You have twenty seconds to start explaining yourself.”

CHAPTER 41

"We're friends," I told them.

Our little catching-up session had somehow turned into an interrogation.

"Friends?" Laney asked, narrowing her eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"He's still one of your coaches," Laney argued.

"Laney, if I started coaching at UCLA tomorrow, would you stop being friends with me?"

She hesitated. "No, but⁠—"

I sighed.

"He's twenty-five. I'm almost twenty-three. And half the men's team were his teammates not that long ago."

She hesitated. “But⁠—"

"But nothing." I threw my hands in the air. "He could technically still be competing if he'd wanted to. If he didn't have the title of coach, would either of you think twice about us being friends?"

"No," Laney admitted. "But that's not the case."

"We're friends," I repeated. "And before either of you asks..." I pointed a finger between them. "Yes, I looked it up."

Mia blinked.

"You... looked it up?"

"I read the SafeSport policies, the athlete handbook, and Vanta's code of conduct." I shrugged. "There isn't anything that says coaches and adult athletes can't be friends. It just says they have to maintain professional boundaries. And we are!”

Laney let out a sharp laugh.

"You highlighted it, didn't you?"