Coach cleared his throat and ran a hand over his buzz cut. His eyebrows were the same color as his hair—dark blond flecked with gray—and he had a few chipped teeth from his years of playing. Regardless, he was a handsome older man with a strong jaw and pleasantly rounded cheeks. “Who was that boy at the airport?”
I smiled stupidly as I thought about Logan and how nervous he’d been when we got to the security gates. He hadn’t known what to do with himself, and I’d seen the hesitation there. He didn’t know how to say goodbye, so I took the decision away from him. Jake and I were open people. We didn’t have secrets, and it was why we’d been compared to Morticia and Gomez Addams more than once by people who’d met us. Our obsession with each other wasn’t something seen often. Adding Logan didn’t change my commitment or love to Jake, it strengthened it, and I was sure we already felt the same way about him.
“Logan.”
Coach heaved a large sigh. “Don’t fucking bullshit with me, Greenwood. I don’t want to know his name, I want to knowwhohe is. If this is going to cause you to lose focus—”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not, Coach. You already messaged Jake.” Sending him a smile, I shrugged. “We’re not defining the relationship right now, but Logan is our third.”
“Third?” Coach’s brows dipped in confusion. “You mean you want two men in your life? One person nagging me is enough as far as I’m concerned. I’m glad I got out of that relationship.”
I laughed. “Jake doesn’t nag, so maybe I’ve got it too good. But we’re trying this thing out with Logan because we like him, and he’s a good man.”
Coach blew out a puff of air. “I didn’t know you were looking for another man for your relationship. I have a few gay friends who would have loved to get into bed with you and Jake.”
“I appreciate that, Coach, but this happened naturally, and we’re taking it one day at a time.”
“And what does Rachel have to say about that?” he asked carefully, and I held back a laugh. He and my agent butted heads often, but that had nothing to do with me. They were too much alike, and Rachel was as stubborn as a referee about a stupid call. She didn’t care if she was in the wrong or not, and you could argue with her for hours and she still wouldn’t change her mind. Coach was the same.
“I already called to warn her. She was… surprised, but she knows she can’t talk me out of anything I don’t want to do. Logan is ours now, and all she can do is accept it and deal with the media and my sponsors.” I shrugged and laughed when I remembered the resigned sigh she’d given me through the phone. “I’m already known as one of the only gay men in the league, so what’s adding another guy into my relationship going to do? They can either get behind it or go to hell.”
He shook his head. “You are one of a kind, Greenwood. No one else I know would be this blasé about their career.”
“I love my job, Coach, but I’m not going to live half a life for it. I’m not going to put my guys through that, either. Rachel knows that about me, and the sponsors know that, too. Everyone else needs to get on board.”
He huffed but patted me on the shoulder. “I’m just glad you and Jake are okay. Now get your ass off the bench and into those drills.”
I laughed again and gave him a salute. “Sir, yes, sir.”
He shook his head, muttering about smart-ass comments as I rose and left the team bench. I cut onto the ice, and Gagnon, one of our Canadian imports, gave me a fist bump when I reached him. He was the right wing to my left.
“Coach giving you trouble, eh?” He chuckled and raised his visor to give me a look.
I shrugged with a grin. “No more than usual.”
“He ask you about that piece of ass you were making out with at the airport?” Gagnon leaned on his stick, smirking.
Tuccini skated around us, getting in close to hear what we had to say. He was our right defenseman and enforcer, and he lived and breathed everyone else’s business. The need to be involved in drama followed him on and off the ice.
“Yeah, and you don’t need to ask if Jake and I are okay. Logan is new.”
“New?” Gagnon glanced toward our captain, Lennox, who was closing in on us, probably to yell at us to get back to the drills. He drove us hard, but that’s what made him a good captain. When he was off the ice, he wasn’t as demanding and had a more relaxed vibe.
“Very new.”
Tuccini snorted behind me just as Lennox reached us. He glared at Tuccini and transferred his gaze to us. “Anything important, ladies?”
We shook our heads.
“Then get back to it. We got a game tonight, and Columbus isn’t going to go easy on us just because one of our teammates has a new friend in his bed.”
I saluted Lennox, and he went to punch me on the arm, but I avoided the hit with a laugh.
We lost. It fucking sucked, but I’d expected a loss eventually. Our season had been going stellar, and our streak could only last so long before something went to the shitter. Unlike the last game when we nearly lost because of Tuccini’s cross-check, it was Columbus’s goalie who kept us on our toes. No matter how many shots we got at the goal, he blocked each one without breaking a sweat. I’d heard about their new recruit, but I didn’t expect him to be this good.
“We have the next game,” Lennox said as we walked toward the hotel together, Coach in front with a stiff spine as he whispered furiously to our head trainer, Kellan. “Come on, boys. Heads up. I want you to study our game plan and seriously consider where we went wrong.”
“Where we went wrong?” Tuccini grunted as he shot a glare at Lennox. They were constantly butting heads, and I wasn’t sure if it was because they wanted to strangle each other or fuck. Maybe both. As far as I knew, Damon Lennox was straight, but Mercury Tuccini swung both ways, even if he kept it on the down-low. They argued like a married couple who wanted to fuck each other’s brains out. For all I knew, they could already be doing that.
