The Coach's Daughter Is Off Limits

MARIA

I think I like my men this way.

Jittery, nervous, tech-nerdy messes, who stay up late till 2:00 AM coding, have zero game when it comes to pulling girls but are the sweetest people in the whole world.

Just like this computer science major sitting across from me who would rather chew glass than look into my eyes.

The era of being with athletes and heartbreakers? Done.

"Tell me about yourself, Jasper." I smile at him.

He's slouching so aggressively in his chair he looks so tired, like he stayed up late to find a bug in his code. He wears a faded oversized hoodie that is meant to hide his physique, but I can still see how wide his shoulders are. I didn't know nerds could be big guys.

"I...I..." His hands tremble as he drops his fork again. His long fingers scramble to pick them up. They are calloused. It makes me wonder. Maybe my tech-nerd has other hobbies asides coding.

"Breathe, Jasper. Remember we're simply getting to know each other." I calm him down.

"I swear, I'm usually more coordinated than this. I'm just so nervous." He uses the tablecloth to wipe his face. "You're just so pretty I can't even get the words out."

I want to say I'm flattered, but I've heard those words a million and one times.

"It's fine. Let's just go with the flow. You said you like to code. Tell me about what you're currently working on."

"Umm, I'm currently vibe coding and building this...." He begins and I zone out as he babbles about his work.

If this date goes on well and we decide to go for a second, it means I would be saved from the shackles of athletes.

My name is Maria Ricardo and I used to be the IT girl back at Prescott University. I was beauty and brains, and the role model of every young girl. Coupled with that, I was dating the man of every girl's dreams. Callum Scott. Everyone used to tell me I was so lucky.

Callum was the typical hot hockey team captain with a dream to get into the NHL and I was ready to be the doting girlfriend who stood by his side regardless of what happened. On the night of the finals last year, a video of Callum cheating with his best friend and teammate, Conan Chase in the locker room hit the video boards, causing the match to end abruptly.

I was laughed at, humiliated, bullied and it affected my mental health. It resulted in me taking a gap year to heal and figure out life.

Two weeks ago, dad told me to move back to Belmont-Crest. Said there's always love at home.

I think I've healed to an extent. I've moved back home and I'm ready to start again. My best friend, Shania signed me up on this dating app to hook me up with nerds since I said I was done with the cocky and arrogant athletes, and the app said Jasper Cole and I were a perfect match.

"Maria." Jasper snaps his fingers in my face and I snap out of my trance.

"I'm sorry, I got distracted. You were saying?" I bite into my fingernails nervously, avoiding eye contact with him.

"I asked what your hobbies were. From your profile, it says you're a journalism major and you like to take pictures. Can I see some of your work?"

Umm... About that.

My camera was my life. It captured a million and one images of Callum and I together. I burned it along with everything from that life.

"Actually, I used to love photography. I'm trying to venture into new hobbies this new semester."

" Oh wow. I could teach you...."

His speech is interrupted by the loud ringing of his iPhone on the table.

"Hello," I watch his nose scrunch up as he listens to the person on the other end of the call.

"Alright, bet. I wasn't even busy, anyways. I'll meet you in say," he stares at the smart watch on his wrist. "twenty minutes."

What the fuck? Is Jasper being for real right now? Are we not on a date?

Lines of confusion etch across my forehead as I stare at him, my eyes demanding to know what is going on.

He gets up, dipping his hand into his pocket so nonchalantly and I can't help, but notice how really tall he is. "Umm, Maria. This was fun, but I gotta go."

"Sorry?"

"I'm sorry. Maybe we can reschedule and do this some other time. I've got more important business to attend to."

More important business like I was just something he used to pass time while he waited for what mattered?

I cannot believe this right now.

He dips his hand into his pocket, brings out a crumpled twenty dollar note and tosses it on the table.

"For the food." He says, turns around and walks away without saying another word to me.

My jaw hits the floor as I stare at him walking away.

You know what? Ninety nine point nine percent of the men walking on the surface of the earth are assholes, and Jasper Cole just happens to be the biggest one.

***

I slam my bag onto the kitchen counter of my dad's house, my home for now until Shania and I can find something that matches our taste and is close to school.

"And do you wanna know the worst part of it all?"

"Tell me, sweetheart." Dad says, folding his arms across his chest as he listens to my rant.

"He had the audacity to throw a twenty dollar note on the table like I was some charity case. Dad, the tab cost almost two hundred dollars and I paid from my fucking pocket."

"Darling..."

"Look, dad I know I'm going to need a man in my life eventually, but every single one I've come across or been romantically involved with has somehow managed to be useless." I frown. "And everyone is somehow always worse than the last. It's like they are competing for who can disappoint me the fastest. I don't even..."

"Maria, I'm going to need you to breathe."

"I'm breathing, dad. I'm extremely calm." I am not calm. "I just think it's fascinating that I can spend an entire evening with a man who can't even hold a fork properly and he still got the confidence to ghost me mid-dinner and throw a fucking crumpled twenty dollar note at me."

"How dare he do something like that?"

That voice does not come from my father, and it seems...awfully familiar.

It has the kind of depth so many men's voices do not have. It's in no way subtle. It is free of the stutter I spent the last hour listening to.

I freeze as a guy walks out of the hallway, a towel tied dangerously low on his hips. Droplets of water trail down his well-defined torso. A silver hoop earring glints in one ear. He looks like a powerhouse. The type that lives in the gym. And those tattoos? They're not some mistake you make in your early twenties. The designs seem to have meaning.

I'm in awe. He's a stark contrast from the jittery mess who couldn't look into my eyes at the date. Jasper didn't mention having a twin. Maybe he's just a lookalike.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Em?" Dad questions him as a mass lodges in my throat.

"Just a bit hungry, Coach."

He walks past us, his back facing me as he aggressively pulls open the door to the refrigerator. He ransacks it, grabs an apple, tosses it in the air, and catches it effortlessly with one hand.

"Dad," I swallow the lump that forms in my throat, staring at the side of his profile in utter disbelief. "Who... who is this guy?"

"Oh, forgive my manners, mi amour," Dad says, oblivious to the nuclear bomb exploding in my head. "This is my personal project, Emerson Falls. He's got a bit of a bad habit and likes to party till late at night. He got kicked out of his apartment last week, and that's not a good thing if we're still gunning for that first-round draft pick. I've decided to take him under my custody for the foreseeable future."

Emerson Falls?

First-round draft pick? Fuck! He's an athlete.

Emerson turns around completely, a slow, cocky smirk spreading across his face as he steps closer. The confidence radiating off him is thick enough for me to choke on.

"Emerson, this is my daughter, Maria," Dad introduces.

Emerson extends a massive, calloused hand toward me. The exact same hand that was too nervous to hold a fork two hours ago. On his pinky finger is a silver signet ring with an infinity loop and the initials E.F. engraved on it. Emerson Falls.

The exact ring I spent the entire date staring at while he fumbled with his food.

The fake stutter. The fake glasses. The sudden exit.

My jaw is on the floor as the pieces come together.

"Jasper?" The name slips out as a breathy whisper.

Emerson doesn't blink. He just tilts his head, bringing his index finger to his lips in a slow, deliberate shhh gesture, his dark eyes sparkle with some form of amusement.

I cannot believe the fucking guts of this man.

"Anything the matter, sweetheart?" Dad asks, looking between the two of us.

"No," I choke out, grabbing a glass from the counter and filling it with tap water just to give my hands something to hold. "No, I'm fine."

"Good. I'm going to leave you both to get to know each other since you'll be roommates for the foreseeable future." Dad walks over, kissing the top of my head. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

He turns and slaps Emerson hard on the shoulder as he passes.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Falls. My daughter is strictly off-limits."