God, this feels like déjà vu. All through high school, he would rush me out the door because I was taking “forever.”
There’s comfort in that familiarity.
9
MILES
It’s been a week since my world was rocked, and I still don’t know what I’m going to do about it. My only outlet is hockey, practice, and the occasional fire to put out this week.
Honestly, there’s always something with a team who likes to argue and push their luck.
I wake up every night in a cold sweat, wanting to drive back to New Orleans to see my omega, but I can’t. There are too many responsibilities here in Nashville, and I refuse to let my team down.
This is about the time that I would promise myself I’m nothing like Curtis Freedman, except I can’t now that I have a better idea of what really happened the night he quit.
I desperately want names, but I want a chance with Caelia more.
“Coach,” Marilyn says, knocking on my office door.
I’m rarely in here because I typically have too many other things to do, but I made the mistake of checking my email thismorning. There’s a ton of shit to wade through, which is why she’s catching me here.
“Can’t talk, too busy,” I mumble, skimming through an email.
“You’ve been too busy for me all week,” she growls under her breath, inviting herself inside to sit in front of me.
“Hmm, you can recognize a pattern,” I say. “That’s the first step to being less of a pain in my ass. Congratulations.”
I immediately feel kind of bad for being a dick. I’m just overwhelmed and tired from sleeping like shit.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that to me if you agree to help me with something,” she says sweetly.
“Why?” I ask. “I only have the patience to do one nice thing a century, and I’m pretty sure I’ve already fulfilled that quota somewhere.”
Marilyn snorts and my lips twitch in mirth. Yes, I’m on a roll even for me.
“Okay, fine. I’ll bite. What do you need?” I ask, tossing my reading glasses onto the desk.
I only use them when I’m going to be staring at a screen for long periods of time.
“Yes!” Marilyn says. “So, as I said, I found the perfect person for Levon, but she’s refusing to return my emails. Her phone number isn't listed anywhere, and the Dragons won’t give me it either.”
“Hmm, yes, legality is always hard,” I mutter before my eyes narrow. “Who is this person? Does she work for the Dragons?”
“Yes, yes. Catch up, Coach,” she complains. “Caelia Freedman was magnetic at the Dragons game. You don’t have any games for another couple of weeks, and I really want to get this love connection moving. She is their new social media manager and gorgeous.”
Yeah, I know. Fuck.Love connection? Honestly.
My face must say what I’m thinking before Marilyn simply shrugs. “It could be a love connection. Who am I to say otherwise?”
“Okay, regardless of what I think about that,” I say, the wheels moving in my mind. “I also want to see her again.”
“Oh?” Marilyn squints at me while I simply shrug. “What is going on with you? You’ve been an asshat more than you usually are.”
“An asshat that gets results,” I remind her.
“Not with the Dragons,” she says smoothly before sighing. “That was a very tight game. It really could have gone either way. Levon skated hard. I’m proud of the team. Caelia is beautiful, and I even noticed that he had his eye on her. I may as well find someone he already has some interest in.”
“Hmm,” I say noncommittally. Sharing is for the birds. She’smyscent match, but she’s also terrified of me because of something my old team did to her. “She’s changed a lot. Caelia is fiercer than she used to be, and her father is very protective. I don’t know if that’s going to go over well.”
