She didn’t reply.
I deserved that.
I drove home carefully, both hands on the wheel, Declan’s order about not driving distracted lodged in my skull like a command. At every red light, I remembered the hallway. His fingers on my wrist. The way he said no when I asked if he was like that with everyone.
No.
Such a small word to ruin a person with.
At my apartment, everything looked the same and felt wrong. Vanessa’s coffee mug from the morning sat in the sink. One of her hair ties was on the counter. My sneakers were kicked near the door, one upright, one on its side like it had given up.
I took a shower even though I had already showered at the rink. Hot water this time. Too hot. I stood under it until my skin went red and my thoughts did not slow down at all.
Coach.
Player.
Vanessa.
Olivia.
His hand.
My wrist.
His mouth.
I got out hard and furious and ignored it for exactly three minutes before giving up and gripping the edge of the sink, head lowered, breathing through the need like it was pain. I didn’t touch myself. Not because I was noble. Because if I did, I knew exactly whose name would be in my mouth, and there were some lines I was apparently still pretending mattered after crossing the biggest one.
At 10:46, my phone lit up on the counter.
I grabbed it too fast.
Declan: My office. Tomorrow. 7am.
No punctuation beyond what he needed. No apology. No explanation. No heat on the surface.
Just an instruction.
My body answered before my conscience could get a word in.
I stood there staring at the screen, towel loose at my hips, blood rushing hot and humiliating and undeniable. Hard again from one message. From the clean line of expectation. From knowing he would be there before me, controlled on the outside, not controlled enough underneath.
My thumb hovered over the keyboard.
I typed okay.
Deleted it.
Typed Yes, Coach.
Deleted that too, because seeing it on the screen made my stomach clench and my cock throb.
Finally, I put the phone facedown without answering.
Then I picked it back up two seconds later and set an alarm for 5:45.
And another for 5:50.
