15. Tommy

Tommy had woken up feeling every bit as sad and confused as he felt the previous day when he received the message from Paolo.

Something wasn't right. It couldn't be. For Paolo to go so cold after they spent such an amazing night together just didn't make sense. Sure, Paolo said it was a work thing and he would be back, but he seemed so cold and distant.

As Tommy sat up in bed with Noodles under one arm and a mug of hot water with a slice of lemon in his other hand, he let out a long sigh.

‘Maybe Paolo wasn't the Daddy It thought he was,' Tommy said, his voice a mixture of confusion and disappointment. ‘It wasn't anything we did, was it Noodles?'

Tommy took a sip from his lemon water and tried his best to clear his mind.

With Paolo no longer on the scene, at least for the time being, Tommy figured that he would be training with Bear or Taine at the academy. Or perhaps even a new instructor. Everything felt so up in the air.

The truth was that what Tommy truly wanted was to be doing his one on one sniper drills with Paolo. But seeing as that didn't look like it was going to be a possibility any time soon, Tommy realized that he would just have to get used to whatever training was given to him by Danilo.

‘Poops,' Tommy said. ‘I guess it's time to get up and get ready to go to the academy.'

With that, Tommy carefully placed the hot lemon water on the side table and eased his way out of bed. Wearing nothing but his figure hugging red bed leggings, Tommy stretched his arms above his head and let out a long yawn.

It was still early in the morning, but thanks to Paolo instilling some discipline in him, Tommy was finding it easier and easier to be up and ready to go well within time. Tommy smiled wryly as he remembered his punishment for being late to the academy and wondered whether he would ever be in that position again.

The thought of being spanked by anyone other than Paolo simply didn't appeal to Tommy. There were plenty of handsome and gruff Daddies across the city, but Tommy had never met anyone with anything like the magnetic appeal that Paolo held for him. It wasn't even close. Even the most handsome of the Hollywood Daddies – and Tommy had heard plenty of rumors about who they were – couldn't hold a candle to Paolo's sexy, enigmatic, and devilishly stern demeanor.

I wish Paolo was here right now. Naked…

Holding me down…

Using me as he pleased…

But Tommy could only half-heartedly fantasize about Paolo. The knowledge that Paolo was gone and might never come back was a boner killer, and that was putting it mildly.

However when Tommy saw his phone flash, for a brief second he thought it might be his Daddy. Maybe it had all been one big misunderstanding?

DANILO: Tommy, as you're aware there has been a temporary restructure at the academy. As such, you will report for official training with the Ice Bears squad until further notice. You will arrive this morning at the Pine Rise complex where an assistant coach will take you to the locker room and formally introduce you to the squad. Good luck, we all have high hopes for you.

Tommy was speechless. This was… incredible news!

‘Noodles! Noodles! I'm going to Pine Rise!' Tommy yelled, his voice full of emotion. ‘I'm going to be a real Ice Bear!'

Tommy jumped up onto the bed and began to bounce up and down with Noodles under his arm. Tommy felt a surge of total elation course over him.

‘I can't wait to tell Da…' Tommy said, cutting himself off as he suddenly remembered the situation with Paolo.

Instead of sending Paolo a message, Tommy simply bounced off the bed and ran to the shower to get himself ready. Tommy knew that first impressions counted for a lot. And with Coach Tremaine and a host of legendary hockey players seeing him play in the flesh for the first time, he knew that today could be a huge day for his hockey career.

Things were getting very real, very quickly.

And Tommy was determined to show everyone why he deserved his place on the squad…

The Ice Bears locker room was all hustle and bustle. With players walking back and forth either naked or in their jocks, Tommy was struggling to know where to look.

One minute he was watching Connor Valley squat down in nothing but a pair of socks, his enormous quads and strong ass looking like it was carved from marble. The next moment, Tommy was only inches away from Edward Harper-Reign's thick cock as it swung from side to side as the Ice Bears goalie showed off a new dance move that his boy Travis, the Ice Bears young defenseman had taught him.

‘Hey, relax, it's totally cool to look,' Travis said, taking a seat next to Tommy. ‘I'm Travis, by the way.'

‘Tommy,' Tommy replied. ‘This is kind of a lot.'

‘Yeah, I remember feeling that way too,' Travis laughed. ‘And I was already a pro when I first came here. Seriously, I remember watching Jack Steele and Alex Rebrov wrestling in nothing but one and a half jockstraps after a game once.'

‘One and a half jockstraps?' Tommy giggled.

‘I'll tell you the full story later,' Travis said. ‘Just remember, you've earned the right to be here. Now it's time to give it everything and show the guys why you deserve your place. They're all great guys. But they do expect certain standards. You'll smash it though, I can tell.'

With that, Travis stood up and went about getting himself ready for the first practice of the day. Tommy too got himself dressed, and even managed to grab a few droolworthy glimpses of some of the senior players in various states of undress.

Tommy was still pining for Paolo, but if he could bank some of these images in his mind then that would at least in some way help him with his loneliness come bedtime. The reality though was that as hot as the Ice Bears men were, they weren't a patch on Tommy's Daddy.

Whether Paolo felt the same way about Tommy though, that was a question that made Tommy nervous to even contemplate. For now he couldn't give it any further thought. It was time to hit the ice and show everyone that Tommy Jane was for real…

‘Fucking hit me on the inside!' Alex Rebrov called, making his intentions super-clear.

Tommy didn't hesitate and sent a whipping and swerving pass in Alex's direction.

‘Great play, kid!' Coach Tremaine called from the sidelines. ‘Now keep moving. This isn't the college league.'

The intensity of the practice match was higher than anything Tommy had ever experienced on the ice. Each and every player out there was the equivalent of the superstar at high school or college. There wasn't a single weak link – and Tommy truly hoped that he wasn't being perceived as a weak link either.

‘Nice pass, Tommy,' Alex said, skating past Tommy and fist bumping him. ‘Next time try and read my movement so I don't even need to ask.'

‘Yeah, or pass to me instead,' Connor roared, playfully bumping into Alex Rebrov as the two senior stars locked horns.

Tommy watched on with wide eyes and a sense that if he wanted to make it amongst this group of players then he would need to bring his A-game each and every time he skated.

This is next level.

No. It's next-next-next level.

I need to be better than I've ever been…

With a renewed sense of belief, Tommy seized the moment and began to fire off quicker passes, harder shots, and all the while make sure that he was tracking back and forth to cover defense too. He was playing like his life depended on it, and Tommy could tell from the reaction of the other players that he was getting noticed too.

‘That's it, show these old sonsofbitches what you can do,' Jack Steel called out from the sideline.

Jack was Tommy's hero growing up, and even though he had retired it was still nerve wracking to be playing with him watching on alongside Coach Tremaine. But to hear Jack praise him in front of everyone was a big morale boost.

After the practice match ended, Tommy showered and got himself changed quickly. There would be a team debrief in the analysis room and he didn't want to be late. Tommy might have shone on the ice, but he knew he could undo all his good work if he was tardy for the meeting.

However just before he left the locker room, Tommy took out his phone and typed out a message to Paolo. He felt elated from having done so well and decided that whether Paolo wanted the message or not, he was going to receive it…

TOMMY: Yay! You should have seen me on the ice. Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm an Ice Bear now. So… what do you think of that? XoXo

But before Tommy hit send, he had a change of heart. Paolo had asked him not to message, and Tommy suddenly felt very vulnerable and unsure of himself. So instead of hitting send, Tommy simply hit delete and put his phone back in his pocket.

And just like that, Tommy walked out of the locker room alongside Travis.

‘So… you wanted to know all about the one and a half jockstrap?' Travis said, a look of pure mischief in his eyes. ‘Well, listen up…'

The two Littles began to talk and giggle conspiratorially as they made their way to the analysis room. Tommy might still have been pining for his Daddy Paolo, but it certainly looked like he'd made a new friend.

I'm an Ice Bear now.

And that counts for something.

If Paolo wants to know what I'm doing, that grump can message me himself.