“Because I have a feeling that’s where Chrissie would have gone if she’s not at home. She said when she’s stressed, she goes into work.” Forrest headed towards the stairs. “I’ll just get dressed, and I’ll tell you in the car. Chrissie should be able to fill in more of the details.”
Providing she wanted to talk to them, that is.
Chapter Five
Chrissie punched in the code and headed inside. There was nobody around at this time of the day, but that didn’t matter. At least she would be left alone until everyone else came in later.
She didn’t think she could look at anyone right now. Not after last night.
Heading into the locker room, Chrissie opened up her locker and stripped, tugging hard enough at the dress that the seams ripped. She didn’t care; she didn’t think she would be wearing it again.
Thank God she kept a spare set of clothes, including underwear, in her locker. Otherwise, she would be sneaking into her house and getting changed before her dad caught her. One look at her face, and he would know what she had been up to. While Chrissie could keep details vague, she couldn’t lie to him.
He would probably kill Forrest. Chrissie didn’t want that.
Her phone buzzed, and Chrissie got it out. A message from Forrest. Chrissie thought about deleting it without looking it, but her fingers ended up opening it.
Hey, I’ve just woken up. Where are you?
How could she respond to that? Chrissie needed time away from Forrest before she could face him. Dropping her phone onto the bench, she grabbed the toiletries she also had in her locker, just in case, and headed into the shower room. Turning it on hot, she stepped underneath the spray and closed her eyes, trying to forget the incredible time she had spent in Forrest’s arms.
And, fuck, it had been amazing. Chrissie didn’t think she could have asked for a better teacher. He tended to her body like he was playing a musical instrument. She wouldn’t trade that for anything.
But she didn’t want to wait around and listen to Forrest say that this was just one night, and they weren’t going to do anything else. She was too young for him, and he was going to respect her father by not doing anything further. Last night might have been him weakening and giving in, but he wouldn’t do it again.
Chrissie didn’t want to go through that. The initial rejection before they got down and dirty had been bad enough, but this would crush her.
Forrest was going to think that she was a coward, and maybe she was. She was a coward running away from the man she loved because she didn’t want to have her heart split apart.
Pushing away thoughts of Forrest and how he made her feel amazing, Chrissie washed her hair and soaped down her body. Everything felt a little sore, but it also felt good. Chrissie had a feeling she was going to wobble a little. She didn’t care, though. It was worth it.
Although it was going to be awkward being around Forrest for a while. Then again, he had no reason to come into the treatment room, so she could get lucky. If he did come in, Chrissie was going to make sure she wasn’t left alone with him. He was too tempting.
And she didn’t want to feel the rejection when he let her down.
After drying herself and getting dressed in her work clothes, Chrissie headed upstairs to the treatment room. There weren’t any players to work on, but she had plenty of paperwork to catch up on, several referrals, and a few admin jobs to do that had been piling up. Maybe she was due to come in early, anyway.
Settling herself at her desk, Chrissie began to work. This was going to take a while, but her first appointment, when everyone came in, wasn’t until ten. She had plenty of time.
She was so engrossed in her work that she barely acknowledged her phone ringing beside her. Chrissie almost didn’t pick it up, thinking it would be Forrest. Maybe she should block him now and save the pestering. It was bad enough with Drake, but this one she had brought upon herself.
But it wasn’t Forrest’s name flashing up. Sighing heavily, Chrissie sat back in her chair as she answered.
“Hey, Rita.”
“Hey. Are you okay? Has your dad seen you yet?”
“What? Dad?”
“I called him to let him know Coach Brown was taking you home, and he wanted to know why he was driving you instead of me.” Rita was speaking very quickly. “I tried to tell him that I was too still drunk to drive, but his questions wore me down, and I told him the truth of you staying with him due to Drake. I’m really sorry, Chrissie, I didn’t mean…”
Chrissie rubbed a hand over her face.
“Don’t worry about it. Dad would have found out eventually. I’m not very good at lying. He’d figure it all out, anyway.”
“Figure it all out?” Rita gasped. “You really had sex with Coach Brown? Go you!”
“Don’t be like that, Rita.”