Scoring Wilder(61)

"Morning, Coach Davis," I said as I took a seat across from her. She looked up from her coffee and smiled. It was strange seeing her outside of practice. She looked so nice in her scarf and jeans. Like a real person and not just a soccer coach. If we were meeting under different circumstances, I would have complimented her outfit.

"G’morning, Kinsley, how're you doing?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I feel good after the last few days of practice. I think the team's really coming along."

She nodded at my response, but the edges of her eyes crinkled as if she were trying to see something I wasn't showing her. Her hand gestured to the seat across from her and I quickly shuffled to sit down and get comfortable.

When I was finally settled, I looked up and took a deep breath.

"I asked you here today for two reasons. The first was that I wanted to apologize to you specifically. I put Tara in a position of power on the team and I wished I had paid more attention to the way she was abusing that power. The things that she put you, Emily, and Becca through are inexcusable, and it's not the way I want to run my program."

"Coach—"

"I'm not done yet. I strive to create a program where you girls can come to me with any problem."

I nodded and took a quick sip of water.

"Second, we both know your behavior with Coach Wilder was extremely inappropriate. You chose to put yourself over your team and went against rules that I had in place for a reason." I winced at her words. "Now, that being said, I understand that this particular situation was a little unorthodox. Liam was volunteering with our team, and technically, he wasn't on staff at ULA. The rule was put in place so that you girls would stay focused, and to be honest, I didn't want any of you getting hurt. When Liam came to me and explained the situation, his feelings for you were very apparent. I'm not so cruel as to break up young love. I'll leave you all to do that for yourself."

I smiled at her joke and then glanced up from my water. "So where do we go from here?"

"Well, Liam is no longer with ULA, so your relationship with him is no longer of my concern."

"So, I could technically date him?"

Coach Davis smiled gently. "You'd have to ask him that question."

Oh, right. There was the slight problem concerning Liam’s probable hatred for me. He’d left the ball in my court Thursday night, and there’d been 48 hours of radio silence between us since then. I thought that’s what I needed. I was feeling overwhelmed and I wanted to take the time to get my thoughts in order. Well, my thoughts had definitely cleared and the only thing I cared about was the fact that Liam and I were no longer off-limits.

I paused before asking the next question. "And what about Tara?"

Coach Davis took a sip of her coffee and narrowed her eyes, as if collecting the pieces of her thoughts.

"Tara spoke with me yesterday and gave me an ultimatum: 'Either you go or she goes'."

My heart started pounding in my chest. "Ah."

"But the last time I checked, Tara was not ‘Coach Tara.’" Coach Davis sat back and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Thank god," I murmured under my breath.

She smiled. "I told her to pack her things and leave. I was prepared to offer her a second chance, but the fact that she was so blinded by her hate for you that she would want to kick off one of the best players on our team shows how little she truly cares about the program."

Holy hell.

"Wow."

"There will be some adjustments, but I feel good about the decision and I think the team will really benefit. We'll vote for the new captain on Monday."

"I don't really know what to say."

Coach Davis eyed me for a moment and then leaned forward, as if she didn't want me to miss a single word.

"You have a good head on your shoulders, Kinsley. In the few weeks that you've been with the program, you've had quite a few challenges thrown your way, yet no matter what, you haven't let it affect your practice or your commitment to the team. You've had multiple opportunities to shove yourself into the spotlight, but I think the way that you're going about your career is very wise. All too often, athletes shoot themselves in the foot by reaching for celebrity status before honing their skills."

Her warning reminded me of Liam.

"Do you think it's a bad idea to be with Liam? If I’m supposed to stay away from the spotlight?"

"I don't think you could find a better match than Liam. He has a reputation, as I warned you about, but now you’ve seen firsthand how the press likes to embellish their stories about young athletes. He's a damn good soccer player and I think you could learn a lot from him."

Wow. I couldn't believe the way the conversation was going, but I'm really glad I agreed to meet with her. The haziness around the last few days was beginning to settle and my options were right in front of me, ready for me to take them.

"Thank you so much, Coach Davis. For everything. I promise I won't take my second chance lightly."

"Good. Now, let's order. I'm starving." She winked and handed me a menu.

…

"Penn said his house is on the beach so let's wear bathing suits under our dresses in case people are swimming," Becca declared as we pushed off the bed to start getting ready.