She bends down behind the board and picks something up. As she rights herself, I suck in a sharp breath.
My boy.
Freddie sits happily in her arms, wearing a cute winter sweater. Thankfully, some of the other guys are excited to see him, too, covering up my gasp as mere happiness and not recognition.
My four-legged son looks at me, and my blood runs cold.Shit. Fearing her recognizing me is one thing, but Freddie will be able to tell better than she ever would. He’s seen me without my mask. We’ve napped together. We’ve played with toys together. My scent probably sticks out like a sore thumb.
The guys start filing off of the ice, passing Serena and Freddie with smiles and nods until Kol, Cas, and I are the only three left.
Coach Rafferty doesn’t seem to notice my staring problem with his daughter as he leads her and Freddie down the tunnel, more than likely heading to his office, followed by the other coaches.
My skates guide me forward, pulling me toward the gap in the boards that leads to the bench and closer to her. I shouldn’t follow them. I should head straight to the locker room.
But as my skate touches the rubber on the other side of the ice, I know fighting with my own desire is a winlessbattle. But I have a plan. If they catch me snooping, I’ll just say I’m heading to the trainers’ room, which is nearby.
Kol and Cas follow me as I walk past the locker room entrance.
“What are you two doing?” I turn back and face them, finding humor in their eyes.
“We just want to watch the show.” Cas smiles, and Kol chuckles.
There’s no point in telling them to leave. They’re as stubborn as I am, and if they want to get caught up in this game even more, then so be it.
Coach Rafferty’s door is slightly ajar as I approach the frame, resting an inch away from the opening, listening intently.
“We should callyouCoach Rafferty from that breakdown.” Assistant Coach Mack scoffs, awe in his voice.
“No, no. I’ll leave that all to my dad,” she says proudly, the smoothness of her voice relaxing my tense shoulders.
She has no idea how easily she affects me. If suffocation is my curse, she is my cure. My masked persona may be the one in control in our relationship, but beneath that is a very willing Serena wholikesit when I’m a bit of an ass and wholovesit when I’m controlling.
Someone asks a question, but I can’t hear it clearly.
She must be closer to the door, or maybe I’m just more in tune with her frequency because I hear her clear as day.
“I think you guys look great. I think your first line seems a bit …” She trails off, searching for the word, and I hang onto the empty air for dear life, waiting for what she’ll say. “Confident.”
Accurate. I can’t argue with that.
“Number fourteen,” she continues, “comes across as arrogant, like he’s better than everyone else out there. He’s risky. That pass to number thirty-one was clean but also bold. He had easier, smarter options.”
“That sums up Finnegan pretty damn well. Arrogant and risky,” Coach Rafferty agrees with her. “But as long as his choices pay off, I’m not putting him on a leash.”
“Maybe someone should,” she utters, and the guys bark out laughing.
What does she have againstme? Aside from our one run-in, she has no clue who I really am. Maybe she’s angry about the chemistry she feels between us. Although I can’t tell if I should be overjoyed that she might or angry that she feels it with anyone else besides my masked persona, even if we are one and the same.
Feet shuffle inside the office.
I turn, shoving the other two guys down the hallway toward the locker room, and we round the corner just as I hear the office door open, the chatter following the footsteps down the hall in the opposite direction.
We sigh and exhale, and I feel like we’re kids again, running from the cops after …never mind.
I can’t resist the urge to peek around the corner, and I suck in a breath when I do, finding Serena’s ponytail swishing across her back, her hips shifting tantalizingly with each step.
Her spine straightens and shoulders drop. Just before she turns her head, I slip back into the shadows and move into the locker room to shower and change.
I wonder if she’ll be here when I’m done. I knowdamn well I should go straight home and not look for her. The problem is that when it comes to Serena, I seem to do the exact opposite of what I should.
