He turned back around, catching me drying the wetness from my face.
“Aiden…”
“Don’t. I get it. There’s nothing we can do. I want you to know I didn’t know…”
“I should’ve realized…”
Even though there wasn’t anything to laugh about, we did just that when his words blended with mine. Sighing as the moment of levity faded away and reality set back in.
Alex said, “When you took off, I realized you’d heard the whispers at the munch. I thought it was the celebrity aspect. I should’ve known you were a student, and maybe, in the back of my head, I did and didn’t fucking care.”
My head bobbed, my eyes focused on Hawk, who looked so peaceful and at ease.
Finally, I filled my lungs with as much air as possible, then said, “I didn’t know you were Sasha Storm. Of course, I knew who Sasha Storm was. I did my research when I learned he would be the new coach, but there weren’t any current photos of you that I could find…”
“I left that life behind when I took a puck to my head. I couldn’t be half in and half out. I wanted to fucking play, not watch others do it. I’ve turned down every interview, TV spot, you name it.”
“So why…” I paused.
“Did I take this job?”
“Yes.”
He took a deep breath, letting it escape slowly before he said, “My goal when I was a kid wasn’t to play hockey, it was tocoach. I worked at summer hockey camps, coaching kids younger than me as soon as I was able, and loved it. I kept improving until I felt like I had to take advantage of the opportunities provided to me. I’ll admit being famous was nice. People fawned over me, my social calendar was never empty, and my phone blew up constantly…”
“I hear a but in there,” I said, looking up at him shyly
“You little shit…” he murmured, smiling at me. A real smile. One that made his eyes crinkle at the sides.
“Am I wrong?”
“No, but I can definitely see the bratty little in you now.”
He shrugged. “You knew that already, I think.”
“I did. The moment you asked for a one-way ticket…”
I groaned as the memory flashed through my mind, my dick stiffening under my hockey girdle. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath while I tried to get the reaction to him, one I’d been fighting since I saw him in the club, under control.
“I shouldn’t’ve brought that up,” Sasha whispered, then his gaze bounced around the arena. Lowering his voice further, he continued, “But I can’t get you out of my fucking skull.”
My eyes flew open. Our gazes met and held. The way he looked at me heated my blood until sweat poured down my already sweat-dampened body. My dick pulsed, breath panted, heart raced, body yearned. I wanted him and only him. A month had passed since we met, and the pull I felt toward him hadn’t lessened.
As it always did, realization set in, this time making my chintremble. “Daddy,” whispered over my lips, and a tear coursed down my face.
Alex’s eyes dropped closed, his chin falling to his chest. Hawk whined from his spot near the bench. Alex looked over at him, and my gaze followed. Hawk had stood up, but not moved forward at all. He wanted to, you could see it in the way his neck stretched forward to get him as close as possible without disobeying the command to stay.
“I’m okay, buddy.”
Hawk huffed, inched right up to the edge of the rink, then sat. A small, soft laugh came from Daddy and me as well.
Daddy… Alex… Sasha turned back to me and whispered. “Baby boy…”
He sighed, scrubbing his face with his strong, caring hands before shoving them into his hair. Hawk whined again, then barked when no one acknowledged him. Alex patted his leg, and Hawk bounded onto the ice in his ice booties, covering the distance between us and the gate in a few short strides without sliding. He stopped and leaned his big body against Alex, licking his hand, then mine.
Tears at the dog’s acknowledgment swamped my vision. I dropped to my knees, my head meeting Hawk’s. Alex’s next words weren’t a shock.
“I want the same thing you do, but we cannot have the relationship we want.”
