OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER
The ache was there, a reminder of how close I’d come to losing it all.
“You good, Hayes?” one of the rookies called out, grinning like he’d already hit the jackpot on a slot machine.
“Better than you’ll be after Coach sees you’re late,” I shot back.
The guys howled. The rookie flipped me off and ran for the bus.
I smirked, but it didn’t stick. Because my eyes had already drifted across the room.
Olivia.
She was moving through the players with her clipboard, hair pulled back, eyes sharp and focused as she checked wrists, ankles, stretching routines. Professional. Untouchable. Pretending I didn’t exist.