The Coach's Daughter

Chapter 4

I wake up to an apology text from Jaden Brown cancelling on me. He doesn't really give an explanation but I figure that he's not the type of guy to just cancel for no reason. Plus, he promises to find a friend to help me by 10:00.

At 10:17, I'm halfway through my Stats study guide and no one has arrived yet. No word from Jaden. I'm about to just walk to the school and try to figure it out myself when the doorbell rings.

"I got it!" I call out as I sprint down the stairs to open the door.

You're joking me.

I have to do a double take to make sure I'm not hallucinating because at my doorstep is the one and only Zack Darrington, clad in a dark shirt and jeans, with a wicked smile on his face. His hair is slightly damp and hangs over devious eyes that trigger my fight-or-flight. He must have just showered or something because I can smell shampoo and smoky cologne on him.

"What are you doing here?" It comes out so aggressively that I surprise myself.

"And good morning to you too, princess." I nearly gag but he's not looking at me.

"Who's at the door?" I hear my dad start to walk over and Zack's face brightens up as he takes the opportunity to step inside.

"Hey Coach," Zack greets with the smile of an angel and a devil. 

My dad looks at him then me then back again.

"Hey Zack..." he starts suspiciously. So even my dad is wary of him. "Can I help you with something?"

"J sent me to help Amelia with her car," he answers brightly.

My dad grimaces. "I see... so you two know each other?"

Zack looks over at me through a thick veil of lashes and I resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

"Oh yeah." He smirks suggestively. "We know each other."

My dad's expression goes flat. I almost feel like he's going to object to me leaving but all he does is nod. 

"Alright," he says. "Just make sure you're home in time for lunch."

"Actually Coach." Zack shoots me a grin that makes my throat tighten. "My friend, Amelia, offered to buy me lunch. You know, because I'm fixing her car." 

As if for added effect, he pulls me in and wraps an arm around, crushing me to his side. I'm so shocked that I can't even speak and, evidently, so is my dad.

"Don't worry. I'll have your daughter and her car back in a couple of hours safe and sound." Before my dad can respond, he whispers, "let's go," before practically dragging me out of my own house.

---

The second we're out of the house, I push him off of me.

"What the hell was that?!" I almost screech.

He rolls his eyes, the angelic smile now gone. "Relax. You act like you've never had a guy over."

"I haven't actually."

He gives me an unimpressed look. "Well, that's too bad. It's gonna be hard to top me."

"Wow. Rude AND narcissistic. Do you have any redeeming qualities?"

"I'm not a tight-ass," he responds sweetly, clearly directing this particular comment at me.

"I'm not a tight-ass!" I snap and he raises a brow at my tight-ass tone.

"You convinced me," he deadpans.

I cross my arms and lift my chin. "Well, maybe you need to be more uptight. You were late."

"Fifteen minutes. Big deal."

"Seventeen, actually," I correct.

"Look, it's not my fault Jaden bailed on you at the last minute. You think I wanna be here?"

"You seemed to enjoy making a scene with my dad inside," I point out bitterly.

"So I wanted to mess with Coach a bit." He shrugs carelessly.

I let out a scoff. "Provoking a middle-aged man. Ooh, very impressive."

"That's the least impressive thing about me, babe," he responds with a suggestive smirk.

I glare harder. "Right. I forgot about your huge ego."

"Not the only thing huge about me."

My face flushes against my will and he busts out a laugh. "Oh, so you're shy now? Your face is red."

"Screw you," I say. I have no other comeback.

"I'm sure you'd like to."

I walked right into that one. My face gets hotter and his smile grows wider. Looking away, my brain races to think of a way to get out of this situation. 

Yes, I could ask my mom to take me but I doubt she would know how to fix the car. My dad is busy preparing for next week's game. Plus, I have to drive Daniel to practice tonight.

He's still grinning when I let out a huff. "Let's just get this over with," I mutter as I open the car door and get in the passenger seat. "Don't talk to me," I add warningly before staring straight ahead.

He's still outside of the car but my ears catch a tired, "Whatever you want, Princess."

---

The car ride to the school is a painful one. To say Zack is a reckless driver is the understatement of the year. His truck is on the older side and every time there's a speed bump, I feel like a ragdoll getting tossed around. When my dad drives stick-shift, it's calm, but Zack changes gears way too aggressively.

"Can you please drive at the speed limit?" I say through clenched teeth.

"I thought you said no talking."

I roll my eyes and my grip on my seat belt tightens as he switches lanes excessively.

"You're gonna get us killed," I say with a sigh. "Why did you of all people have to come instead of Jaden."

"What's the matter? It's not like it was a date."

"I know."

Silence.

His face starts to change and he blinks rapidly before looking over at me. "You like Jaden," he states as he pulls into the parking lot.

"No, I don't!" I deny but I can tell it was too eager.

It clearly doesn't matter if it's true or not to him. "Oof, you know he has a girl though."

"I don't like him," I insist.

He ignores this and parks in one swift move even without focusing. "Of course you would like J. You're a good girl and he's prom king material."

"You sound jealous of him," I say as we walk over to my car. He stops abruptly and I nearly run into his back. He turns around and gives me a pitiful look.

"Amelia, sweetie," he speaks disappointedly and slowly as if to make sure I understand. The fire burns in his eyes as the edge of his lip curls up. "I'm Zack Darrington."