“So, your dad trained you growing up?” Torres asks, and as soon as he mentions my father, I whip my head to stare at him.
“Uh…yeah,” I say hesitantly. “He did. He was my coach for thirteen years.”
“Was he tough on you?”
“Oh, yeah,” I laugh, remembering my training with him. “Super tough. He used to work me until I was bone tired.”
Torres chuckles and raises an arm, resting it on the top of the sofa behind me. I take comfort in that, and instinctively move closer to him. My arm is pressed to the side of his body now.
“I got into running because of my dad too,” he tells me.
“Yeah?”
“Yep. When I was a kid, he signed me up for football. I was a receiver, and I wasn’t all that great at catching, but I was fast. He noticed and signed me up for track leagues instead. He was at every practice, every track meet. Sometimes he’d leave straight from work just to make it to my meets on time.”
“Aww. That’s really sweet, Torres.”
He nods and his smile slowly disappears. “I think I wanted to see you tonight because I’m realizing that I haven’t connected with anyone like I’ve connected with you since he passed away.”
I hold his gaze. His eyes are sincere, and a little glossy, like he’s on the verge of crying. It breaks my heart so bad.
“Shit, I know that sounds crazy,” he adds, and then waves a dismissive hand. “I’ve clearly been drinking too much.”
“No, it doesn’t.” I grab his hand to stop it from waving. “Don’t do that. It doesn’t sound crazy. You’re expressing yourself and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’d love if you could elaborate.”
He sighs and puts his focus on Maria Loiza. He’s quiet for a beat. “When I found out your father trained you, and then he died, I felt a connection to that story. Then, when I saw you at Bennett, being the only black girl on the team, it was all just so…instant. I immediately wanted to take you under my wing because I know how cruel this world can be, and I know how ignorant people at Bennett are.” His throat bobs as he swallows. “The shit with Howard made it real, I suppose.”
I flinch at the thought of my rolled ankle. He drops the arm that’s on top of the couch and wraps it around my shoulders.
“I saw that pain in your eyes after it happened—saw how badly you wanted to give up, and I remembered that feeling. The feeling of wanting to give up. Feeling like I didn’t deserve what life was giving me. Feeling like I wasn’t respected because of the color of my skin.” He inhales, then exhales and his eyes drop to mine as Maria’s voice sings a sweet melody. “Maybe it’s all in my head, but when I see you, and when I think about you, Lakes, something about it just feels right. And I know you’re a student at the school and I’m a coach and the last person I should be feeling so connected to is one of my athletes but…I can’t deny this feeling anymore. I can’t sit here and pretend that I don’t think about you every day, or that I don’t wish I could spend more time with you—time that isn’t illicit or hidden or kept secret.”
I nod, my vision now blurry, and my heart racing.
“But…then reality comes back, and I know that I can’t risk your future or mine. There is a fifty-nine-year-old woman who depends on me and my income and I promised I wouldn’t let her down, so we have to be careful.”
“Yeah.” I bob my head. “We do have to be more careful. And we will. I don’t want you to lose your job because of me, Joaquin. Maybe we should establish some rules—set the boundaries so we know what and what not to do.”
“Yeah. We can do that. What do you have in mind?”
“Well, I was thinking maybe we don’t do anything on campus at all. It’s not safe, and we learned that after what happened with Kendall. Even in the dark, we can be noticed.”
He nods and smirks. “True.”
“But…if not on campus, I’m not sure where else we can be together…”
He thinks on it, but only for a few seconds. “My apartment. It’s twenty minutes away from campus. When you have the time, we can meet.”
“For real?” I smile way too hard for my own good.
He cracks a smile too. “For real, for real.”
I giggle. “I think I’d love that. If I didn’t have class in the morning, I’d tell you to take me there right now.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you have class in the morning because my place is a mess and I’d need to prepare.” He smirks and I bump him lightly with my shoulder. “Let me take you home,” he offers. “It’s getting late.”