Lainey rests her head against my shoulder, nestling into the crook made for her. “Let’s stay a little longer.”
“As you wish,” I murmur, resting my head atop of hers as two whale sharks pass by us again.
“How’re we feeling?” Caitlin asks me as I sit up on the exam table after she massages the tender tissue for ten minutes.
“Good. I’ve been icing and resting, doing all the things. It feels great after that.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” She rubs hand sanitizer between her hands. “It sounds like we finally got a surgery date for you. Next Monday, eight a.m.”
I nod in disbelief that I’m about to have surgery again on my knee. “Yeah.”
“It’ll be good. He’s the best there is,” she says confidently.
“That’s what I like to hear.” I use her phrase, and she smiles, pulling the door open.
Coach Carrington is waiting, leaning against the opposite wall, perking up when he sees we’re done.
“Have a good day. Keep me updated if there are any changes.” Caitlin nods politely to both of us before disappearing down the hallway.
“Mind if I come in for a second?” Coach asks, and obviously, I oblige.
He shuts the door behind him, and my anxiety spikes. Oh God, are they kicking me off the team for medical reasons? Am I not going to be a Nighthawk anymore?
“Take a breath. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He adjusts his tie. “I heard from a little birdy that you might be seeing a staff member, and I wanted to talk to you first before that got to HR, especially given my experience with inappropriate relations.”
I chuckle and glance at the ring on his finger. “Was the little birdy your wife’s brother, Brett?”
He smiles. “I’ll never tell.”
So, yes.
“Is it serious?” he asks, looking me straight in the eye.
I nod. “As serious as yours. And Brett’s. And Alec’s.”
He runs his hand down his face. “Can you guys please stop dating staff? The amount of extra paperwork I’ve had to do because of you guys is atrocious.”
Laughing, I shrug. “How’s your wife doing?”
He glares at me, and I can’t help but remember the time I mocked him in the locker room because Brett high-fived him for getting laid, not knowing it was his sister that Coach was with. “This is not about my relationship.”
“Mmm.” I smirk. “So, what do you want me to do?”
“We’ll need to report it. You’ll be pulled from seeing her for follow-up physical therapy appointments post-surgery. You’ll see Caitlin or one of the other therapists strictly.”
“Wait, did Caitlin tell you?” I interrupt him.
He crosses his arms and looks at me, dumbfounded. “Jensen, anyone in the vicinity of your incident could see there was something going on between you two. I just want to back you when you speak with HR, which is why I’m here. Better for us to bring it to them than the other way around.”
My chest warms. “Thanks, Coach.”
He purses his lips and nods. “Now, come on. Let’s get this over with.”
CHAPTER 25
JENSEN
Burnsy skates over,spraying my face with snow like an asshole.
