I release his shoulder and nod my head. “Makes sense. I’ll make sure to talk to him tonight and let you know how it goes.” I pick up my phone and look at the time. If I’m going to catch Coach, I’ve got to move my ass. “Let me shower real quick, then I’ll go find him.”
Aiden’s head bobs up and down. “Thanks again, Rowan.”
“Anytime, brother.”
Aiden walks off, and I strip off the rest of my gear and run through the shower in record time. I’m hoping I’m not too late. Coach already gave his speech to all of us right after the game, and he doesn’t normally linger for long after. I come out of the locker room and turn right, heading straight for his office at the end of the hall.
I hear a group of girls giggling down the hall, but I ignore them and continue to head in the opposite direction until one of them calls my name. “Rowan! Rowan, wait up!” I don’t slow my pace because I’m pretty sure it’s just a puck bunny, and I’m not in the mood tonight.
All I want to do is talk to Coach, grab some dinner with the guys, and go home and put my feet up on the couch. Maybetext Millie. I smile at myself when I think about texting my little daredevil. We haven’t talked about what we are going to check off her list next, and I find myself excited to pick something with her.
I feel a cold hand wrap around my forearm in an attempt to slow my progression. “Rowan,baby, where you going in such a hurry?” Her voice is sultry and sounds faintly familiar, a voice that I would normally find attractive, but tonight it just sounds like nails on a chalkboard.
I look down and realize it’s Jenny, a puck bunny I’ve hooked up with a couple of times over the past four years. I gently pluck her hand from my arm. “Sorry, not tonight, Jen.”
She pouts and tries to stop me once again. This time, she grabs my face, her long, nail-clad fingers latching onto my chin and cheek in an attempt to turn my gaze toward her. I was trying to be nice, but who in the hell does the broad think she is? I quickly reach up and remove her hand from my face. “Don’t do that.”
My tone must convey how serious I am because her face drops with a combination of shock and disappointment.
“Oh, don’t be like that, Rowan. You know I just want to show you a good time," she practically purrs.
I roll my eyes. “You need me to spell it out, Jen?”
She huffs, suddenly stopping and reaching for my arm again to stop me in my tracks as well. This time, though, I’m prepared and pull my arm out of her reach.
“I guess you do.” I mumble more to myself than to her. She’s too busy fluffing her hair to hear the first part, so I make sure my voice is loud and clear for the next. “I’m not interested, Jen. Now go on and find your group of cackling girlfriends and another warm body to sizzle up next to.”
That’s exactly what I am to her: just a warm body to pass the time with. She doesn’t care about me any more than I care about her. Suddenly, all of it just feels so damn wrong. I don’t want herhands on me. I don’t want her anywhere near me, or any of the others just like her.
Millie pops into my mind with her wild curls, big smile, and laugh that makes my chest warm every time I hear it. Suddenly, girls like Jen seem a whole lot less appealing when you compare them to a girl like Millie St. James.
Jen stands there with her tits that are practically falling out of her low-cut top and her ass cheeks barely being contained by that tiny ass skirt. All of it cultivated to entice me or another poor sucker just like me, but none of it is actually working for the first time ever.
I don’t have time to process the sudden aversion to puck bunnies before Coach’s door comes swinging open and Coach is walking out.
I blow Jen off like a bad habit and make my way to Coach. He lifts one eyebrow in judgement as soon as he sees Jen. I ignore her huff. She must realize I’m truly not interested, as I hear her prance off in her high heels.
“Coach, you got a minute?” I ask just as I reach him.
“What’s going on, Pierce?”
“I need to talk to you about Aiden. Well, not Aiden, but his father.”
I have his full attention now. “He coming to another game?” he asks, almost giddy.
I’ve got to play this off just right because Coach really doesn’t know about all the animosity between the hockey god and his son. “Yeah, sounds like he wants to come to next week’s game.”
A big, gleeful smile overtakes Coach’s wrinkled and worn face. “Is that so?”
I put my hands in my pocket and rock back on my heels. “Aiden says he’s excited to come, but sounds like he might be a little worried about the amount of press. Says he doesn’t know if it’s a good idea because he doesn’t want to distract from thegame, you know?” Little white lies never hurt anyone, especially if it saves Aiden from utter humiliation, and Coach will be none the wiser.
Coach’s lips pucker together like he’s deep in thought. “We can keep it quiet. We don’t have to make a big deal about it like last time.”
I’m nodding, figuring that’s exactly what he would say. I just have to give him a little shove in the right direction. “True, true, but I know how much the board loved the publicity last time.”
His face scrunches up, like he’s deep in thought.Almost there, Coach. Just stick with me here.
“They really did, son. Sounds like we might be in a conundrum here.”
