Coach's Daughter

19.

Chapter 19.

Later that day, I was sitting on the couch, killing time watching TV. Technically, I should have been doing the extra credit science assignment Mr. Davidson had given me to make up some of the points I'd lost on the science project I didn't turn in. But it looked really hard, and it was the weekend, and science was my least favorite subject. I'd get to it later.

The doorbell rang, interrupting my lazy afternoon. I jumped up from the coach, rushing to door.

"Just a minute," I shouted, making my way to the door. Pulling the door open, I looked up and was immediately caught off guard. It wasn't Kelsey or Tae, like I had assumed. It wasn't even Dylan.

"Luke?" I asked.

"Hey," Luke said, a small, semi-amused smile on his face.

"Hey?"

"You seem surprised to see me," he chuckled, shoving his hands into his front pockets. He looked almost nervous.

My lips curved upward into a small smile. "Well, I can't lie and say I was expecting you. What are you doing here?"

Luke shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay after the whole Madison thing."

I shrugged. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I—well, Madison hasn't exactly been very nice to you."

"You haven't exactly been much better," I muttered. I didn't mean for him to overhear, but judging by the pained expression on his face, he'd caught at least part of it.

This was getting awkward fast. Worse, I saw an all-too-familiar face heading up the driveway, glaring at Luke.

"Dylan?" I called. "What are you doing here?"

"Why do I always find you lurking around Lilly?" Luke scowled. "She's a nice girl and doesn't deserve to have her heart broken."

"You mean the way you hurt her?" Dylan retorted. The way they were looking at each other was none too friendly. Apparently, they took their football rivalry way too seriously.

Looking between the two of them, I noticed they looked a lot alike. Same basic body shape and muscle tone, both adorably cute in their own way. It must be a football player thing.

"How do you two know each other?" I asked Luke, even though Dylan had kind of told me that yesterday.

Luke looked over and rolled his eyes. "Through football."

"Right, right. Clinton is the one who beat you." I gave Luke a cheeky grin to show that I was just teasing.

"Barely," Luke muttered under his breath, and I could tell I had hit a nerve. Someone was a little hostile.

Dylan smirked. "Maybe you guys should learn to actually play football if you want to win."

"You guys only won in overtime because you won the coin flip," Luke snapped, sending a death glare at Dylan. "That's not that impressive from a guy who gets extra coaching from an ex-NFL player."

Dylan shook his head. "Jealous much? As far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to him. It's more stressful than helpful. Besides, that's just another excuse."

"Okay guys, that's enough," I laughed awkwardly. I didn't know how to handle two football plays who clearly had a huge rivalry.

"Dylan, I'm not sure what you're doing here, but I have plans with my Mom tonight. She's visiting from out of town, so I wanted to catch up with her."

Dylan's eyes fell on Luke's, and for a second it looked like he gave him some kind of warning look. Which didn't make any sense to me. By the time he looked at me, he was acting more like his usual self. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then."