Finding Dandelion (Dearest #2) Read Free

cares? She owes me, and her kind of debt never goes away.
    My baby can go two hundred and twenty-three miles-per-hour in a heartbeat. I can’t exactly open her up driving around Chestnut Hill, but I still get to campus in record time. Boston College is only two miles from my place, but it’s in the middle of suburban hell. Quiet streets. Manicured lawns. Soccer moms. Strollers and shit. Why BC couldn’t be located next to Fenway like my sister’s school is beyond me.
    By the time I reach the soccer field, I’m wishing I had taken a shower. That girl’s perfume is making me gag, especially in this heat.
    Coach Patterson is standing in front of the stands, where the rest of my team sits, with his arms crossed over his chest like he owns us. For the next several months, I guess he does. Our old assistant coach ran pre-season until the university finalized Patterson’s contract last week.
    “Jax Avery, good of you to join us.”
    I’m on time, so I don’t know what his fucking problem is.
    As though he can read my mind, he barks, “Be here ten minutes before practice starts or you’re late.”
    I fight the urge to roll my eyes and slide down next to Nick who is wearing a shit-eating grin.
    “Told you to be early, asshole,” he whispers.
    “Had to squeeze in a blow job. It’s what gives me my superhuman strength.” I lift my arm to make a muscle when Coach blows the whistle.
    “Listen up. It’s no secret why the school hired me. You guys were a hair’s breadth from winning the championship last year. Except what happened? Half of you decided to get tanked the night before.”
    Not me. I didn’t get drunk. I’m not an idiot.
    “And the other half of you got caught at two in the morning in an all-girls’ dorm. Most of those young ladies ended up on academic probation.”
    Okay, guilty as charged. Who knew girls’ dorms had such strict policies?
    “I’d like for you to stop thinking with what’s between your legs and consider the people you affect. The seniors need to step up and be leaders. When you graduate next May, I hope men cross the stage and not little boys who are too self-absorbed to see straight.”
    Sighing, he says, “As I’m sure everyone is aware, now that the season is extended, the playoffs are after Thanksgiving break, which means you all need to lie low during those days off. Think earthworm low because if I hear you guys destroyed a hotel room at some resort, you’re off the team, plain and simple.”
    Everyone is silent, but I know the guys are just waiting until Coach walks away to let their guard down. They’ll be talking about how this is a fucking joke in sixty seconds flat.
    Patterson paces for a minute and stops in front of me and waits until we make eye contact. “No more fuckups. Time to grow a pair and be responsible. If you think I won’t kick you off because I’m new, you’ve got another thing coming. Shape up or you’re outta here.” He laughs, but I know he’s not amused. “I’m not gonna hold your hand and burp you and take your shit. I’m leaving that for your mommas.”
    Ha. He doesn’t know my mother.
    Patterson slaps his hand with his clipboard. “I know most of you guys want to play pro soccer, and we have a great nucleus and should be able to go all the way this year if you stay focused on what matters.”
    That’s the question, isn’t it? What matters? I wish I knew.
     
     

 
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
    - Dani -
     
    As much as I’m trying to distract myself by hanging out with Travis this afternoon, the truth is I’ll be working my butt off until Monday morning.
    I’d like to kick Laura in the shin. I won’t, of course, but I need to stand up for myself or she’ll take advantage of me all year. Empirically, I know this. But getting the nerve to not back down is the hard part.
    And the way I couldn’t speak to that gorgeous guy yesterday! He smiles, freaking smiles at me, and I stand there like a block of cement. I’m a junior in college at a