Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Aw, that’s sweet,” I say, once again using his words again him.
But he only pushes his lips into a pout and sags lower in his chair. “I know. I’m sweet. But it didn’t matter. Once I realized who she was…” He shakes his head. “I can’t even think about dating this woman. Even if I could convince her that not all men are scabs on the face of humanity, it would be pointless.”
I frown. “Why?”
He shakes his head. “Nope. I promised myself I wouldn’t talk about it. Or her. Honestly, I don’t even let myself think about her too much.”
“Are you sure you aren’t blowing this out of proportion?”
“I haven’t jerked off in weeks because I can’t do it without thinking about her,” he announces flatly. “Like…several weeks.”
My brows shoot up.
“Yeah.” He drags a hand down his face as he sits back in his chair. “It’s bad. And it’s only going to get worse…”
“Because…” I prompt, sensing I’m not the only one who needs a little relationship advice.
He leans back in, bracing his forearms on the table as he murmurs beneath his breath, “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.”
“No, seriously, man,” he says. “If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone. Not a soul. We’re both new on the team, and you know how important it is to make a good first impression.”
“Okay. I’m confused, what…” My eyes widen as I connect the dots. “Oh, shit. Does she have an ex on the team already?”
“Worse,” he says, looking truly miserable as he adds, “She has a family member with the Badgers.” I curse, and he nods. “Yeah, and not just any family member. It’s Remy fucking Lauder. He’s her fucking dad.”
I nearly choke on my beer as I sputter, “Shit. You hooked up with the new head coach’s daughter?”
Stone grimaces. “Yep.”
I let out a soft, low whistle. “That’s...”
“Complicated? Bad form? Career suicide?” Stone supplies. “Yeah, I know.”
Lauder isn’t just any coach. He’s a legend in the league, respected and feared in equal measure, and I’m pretty sure Badger management had to sacrifice a virgin to get him to sign a three-year contract. He gets results, but he’s a militant son of a bitch. The man once benched a star forward for “looking too happy” during practice and allegedly makes rookies cry just by staring at them too long. His idea of a team-building exercise is making his athletes hold plank until at least one person throws up. Players swear his whistle was sent to earth because the devil couldn’t reach them, causes long-term hearing damage, and is pitched specifically to trigger PTSD flashbacks.
Basically, he’s my kind of guy, and I expect we’ll get along fine.
But I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be caught messing around with his daughter.
Or standing too close to his daughter.
Or making eye contact with his daughter as I passed her in the hall, which could happen at any time. She works in the Badger’s administrative office, a job she landed a few months before her dad was hired on to “take the Badgers to new heights,” so it isn’t a nepotism thing. She apparently just loves hockey, too. I’ve heard she even coaches a women’s competitive rec team in her spare time.
“Yeah, you can’t date Remy,” I finally say, shaking my head. “You should just forget you ever met her. She seems cool, and I wish I could tell you to follow your heart or your dick or whatever, but—”
“I know,” Stone cuts in, reaching for his beer. “Believe me, I know. I’ll just have to avoid eye contact and pretend I’ve developed a case of amnesia if I run into her around the complex.”
I huff. “Oh, you’re going to run into her. I’m surprised you haven’t already. She’s the one who took my prints and ran my background check before I signed my contract.”
Stone sinks lower in his chair. “I had a current background check on file in Seattle before I took the transfer, so they just used that one. But she has to know I’ve joined the team, right? I seriously doubt she’s been getting everything ready for camp and not noticed my name on the roster. But she hasn’t texted or emailed or…anything.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing,” I say gently. “Maybe it means that she understands how complicated this could be for you and plans to keep your connection on the downlow.”
“There is no connection,” Stone says. “It was just a two-night stand. Just a long weekend with a pretty girl. I shouldn’t still be thinking about her, let alone dreaming about her.” His jaw clenches. “But I do. All the time.”
I grunt.
He grunts.
I grunt again, and finally, he smiles. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s just a case of wanting what I can’t have. I’ll keep pretending it never happened. Eventually, my subconscious will get the message. And soon, we’ll be busting our asses so hard, we won’t have any energy for dreaming.” He arches a brow. “Speaking of, you feeling okay about juggling camp and a new lady at the same time? I know you’re usually a one-track-mind kind of guy.”