“Water would be great. Thank you.”
The water bottle would give me something to do with my hands.
He stood and walked to the far corner of the room, where a white mini-fridge sat.
“And remember, it’s Ash. On the ice, being ‘Coach’ is one thing. But I’ve never been one to put much stock in formality.” He winked at me before turning and leaning down to grab two bottles from the fridge.
A strange warmth bloomed beneath my sternum. An increased pressure on my chest made me realize I’d brought my hand up to cover the spot, as if the heat would radiate through my skin and I’d be able to feel it.
As embarrassed as I was at being a rambling mess in front of him, the feeling in my chest grew with the thought that he’d told me to call him by a name I’d never even heard Coach Wilder use.
Not to mention that the firm, yet gentle, reassurance over my mini freakout had been exactly what I needed in this moment.
I allowed myself a second tosavorthe feeling before reminding myself that Ash just wanted to make me comfortable.
That he was a good guy. He wanted to help me out, not be my new best friend.
Refocusing on the screen in front of us, I schooled my features to hide how wrung out I felt.
“Thanks for what you said, Ash. I’m ready to learn, Coach,” I said, attempting to injecthumorinto my tone.
twelve
CADEN
“Hey, Cade, buddy. I hate to do this to you, but it’s super late,” rumbled a rough, deep voice.
The disembodied words penetrated the thick fog blanketing my mind. An electric pulse sizzled through my veins in response before settling just below my belly button to simmer.
Surrounded by a delicious scent, nestled next to a firm, warm pillow, I had no inclination to exit this unusually good dream.
No way in hell was I getting up before my alarm went off. I was going to lie here in this heaven until it was time to face another day of pushing my body to its limits.
A hot brand surrounded my shoulder, sending shivers through my body despite already being the perfect temperature. The deep pressure against my skin felt too good.
I struggled to move my arms, feeling my body heat with the added sensation. If I could just get the blanket off me a bit, I could stay in this exact position without overheating.
I rubbed my face against the soft pillow. The pleasant scent that had drifted into my dream intensified with my nose pressed into the fabric.
The heat in my veins had my cock filling, and I had the insane urge to turn onto my stomach and rut against the mattress to relieve my sudden arousal.
When had my bed gotten so goddamn comfortable that I could sink into it this way, let alone want to use it to get myself off before Coach’s too-damn-early practices?
A gentle shake to the same shoulder had my unwilling eyes opening halfway, and I gradually became more aware of my surroundings
Glancing to my right, the realization that I wasn’t asleep in my tiny room in Hawkins and Kovac’s apartment had me jolting upright.
Shit! Fuck! I was still in Ash’s office, and what I’d thought was my pillow was his muscled shoulder.
“And that’s when the three-eyed cat showed up. Macie was super surprised, you know? Because when we got together, I promised her we could get a dog when we were ready for a pet. And she said to me, ‘You knew I wanted a puppy, and you brought home this little creature with three eyes? Do you have any idea how expensive feline eyedrops are these days at the clinic? And now you want to have a cat that increases that expense by one-third? In this economy?’”
Jerked out of remembering the best/worst moment of my life, my gaze jumped back to Kait, where she sat across the table from me in the Tim Horton’s across the street from my building. Even though she was on her way to a nursing seminar in Toronto, she’d left extra early to bring me my computer and share her exciting news.
Kait had moved in with her long-time girlfriend, Macie.
The only problem with the situation was that I had totally zoned out of what Kait had been saying.
My eyes roved over her face as my brain came back online from the all-too-frequent daydream-slash-nightmare that I’ddropped into more times than I could count over the past two weeks since I’d woken up with my cheek pressed against Ash’s bicep.
