Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

JAGGER

I slumped down in the stands. "This is bullshit."

Mitch glanced over at me. "Which part? The part where we have to interact with kids, or the part about being back at the skating rink where we used to train and play before we went pro? Or the part where you have to go out in public and be seen by actual people?"

"All of it," I said with a grunt. "I don't remember signing up to be a junior hockey coach."

"It's in the small print of your contract." Kage stopped in front of us. "Right under the bit where you agreed to be a role model for kids everywhere to look up to. In order to continue to expand, the AIHL wants to encourage participation and enthusiasm at a grassroots level. That includes getting out of bed and doing things like this. If that interrupts your social calendar, too bad."

Any other time he would have said ‘too fucking bad,’ his Canadian drawl making the words strangely hot. Today though, the rink was swarming with children aged between ten and fourteen. No doubt he didn't want to offend their sensitive little fucking ears. As if they didn't hear words like that at school. Hell, they probably said them more than I did.

I scowled at him. "I should have had my agent read my contract carefully. I would have insisted on leaving that part out."

We all knew there was no such clause in any of our contracts. It came under the umbrella of ‘stuff the team expected us to do, for the good of the community and the sport as a whole.’ Yeah, that was a mouthful.

It didn't mean I wasn't going to bitch about it once in a while though. Since Shaw got together with Cat, and lightened up slightly, someone had to be the grumpy asshole of the team. I'd delegated that role to myself. It was a comfortable fit, most of the time.

Mitch playfully punched me on the arm. "No you wouldn't. Even your grumpy ass enjoys this stuff as much as the rest of us do."

I punched him back, just as hard. "Says you."

He rubbed his arm and grinned. "Yeah, says me. Because you know it's true. You want those kids to idolise you." He jerked his thumb towards the closest of them.

They were watching us, while pretending not to watch us. If any of them looked at us straight on, it was usually with wide eyes and hero worship-like admiration. Exactly how kid-Jagger would have looked at people like me.

If they knew the real me, they'd idolise somebody else, someone more deserving. Someone like Mitch or Kage.

"You're projecting," I told him. "You want them to idolise you . You want them to think you’re a good guy.” Which he was. He was a much better person than I would ever be.

If he could, he'd be here at the rink with the kids every day, helping them to become the best versions of themselves. Sometimes I wondered if I was another of his projects. Maybe, deep down, he thought he could make me into something, someone, better than I was.

I didn't like his chances. Sooner or later, he was going to figure out I was a lost cause.

“I don't care what they think of me, as long as they support the Ghouls." Most of Opal Springs supported us. The construction of our arena was a huge boost to the economy. It had created hundreds of jobs and continued to do so as the town grew.

That growth was a bonus, on top of the fact we played the best sport in the world, and one of the fastest growing in Australia.

Of course, some people bitched that Opal Springs was getting too big, but you couldn't please everyone. Those who did were usually shot down—verbally—by the rest of the town. Mostly, we saved the violence for the ice.

He shook his head, undeterred. "You're so full of it. Right, Coach?" He glanced over at Kage.

"He's full of something all right," Kage said. His Canadian accent was more pronounced when he spoke slowly, derisively. "He's as grumpy as a pissed off moose."

"I'd flip you off, but I have more class than that," I said. "In my head, I'm sticking up two middle fingers at both of you." I smirked at them.

"You're not flipping us off because there are children present," Kage said. "Whether you want to admit it or not, you care about them and your reputation. Especially since your reputation is important to your inclusion on the team." He returned my smirk.

"Threatening people is not classy," I remarked. "Especially when they happen to be the best centre in the league."

"I don't know," Mitch said slowly, "Coast Riggs is pretty good. I'm not too shabby either."

I looked at him evenly. I stood by what I said. I was good at my job and I'd own every bit of it. I didn't give a fuck what anyone else thought, not even Mitch. Not even Eden. Not when it came to my skills on the ice.

They could question everything else about me and I wouldn't give a shit. This was the one thing I was good at. The one thing I was proud of. The hill I'd ultimately die on if I had to. Which I wouldn't, because I had money in the bank to back up my claim. This was the Ghouls’ season to smash all the other teams. We weren't new anymore. It was time for us to dominate.

Dominating made me think of Eden lying spread in front of Mitch and me, taking his cock while I rammed into him.

My balls were instantly heavier. I hadn't seen or texted her for days. I was currently trying to convince myself and my cock that I didn't miss her. I'd kept Mitch at arm's length and was also trying to convince myself I didn't miss him either.

How was that going for me? Not so great, if I’m honest.

All my life, I'd tried to avoid complicated situations. After I finished school, I became a tiler. Tiles didn't argue with you, they just let you lay them, and cut them. The rest of my time, I played hockey, and fucked by the hour. At the end of the night, I went home alone to enjoy my own space. Everything was easy.

Now, nothing was easy. I felt as though I hit a puck square into the centre of the basket, but somehow the fucking thing got tangled in the net. I couldn't just whack it with a stick and smash it loose. Now it was stuck, I had two options: walk away, or get tangled up with it.

I didn't like either fucking option.

"Get your skates on and get out there." Kage jerked his head towards the ice. "Be a role model, not a dickhead." Evidently, he was done with being nice.

"Yes, Coach," Mitch said cheerfully. Did he always have to be so fucking happy? He was like a sunny day when you really wanted rain and storm clouds. Usually, I liked that about him, but today it was rubbing me the wrong way.

I couldn't take things in my stride the way he did. I didn't want to. I wanted to skate at my own pace. What was wrong with that? Nothing, that’s what. If there was, too fucking bad. This was who I was. Who I'd always be.

Kage looked at me, one eyebrow raised until I nodded.

"Got it," I said simply. I leaned over and started to pull on my skates.

The asshole actually waited until I was lacing them up before he moved on to annoy the shit out of someone else. Don't get me wrong, he was a fucking good coach, but I didn't need him busting my ass. I already had Mitch for that.

Also, I hadn’t missed seeing him checking out Eden when he thought no one was looking. He might take the situation as permission to move in on her, if we weren’t careful. What would it mean if he did? I’d pushed her away, but she was still my woman. If he hurt her, I’d break his face. When it came to her, I wouldn’t rule out violence, wherever it may occur.

I checked my laces, and glanced over to Mitch. He was bent over his own skates, toned body in the usual track pants and Ghouls hoodie. The way it felt to be buried inside him flooded into my brain and body, making my cock harder. I wasn't going to compare fucking him to fucking Eden. My cock loved them both equally. He didn't care who he was inside, as long as it was warm and tight.

I should start to think more with my head and less with my dick.

"I know what you're thinking," Mitch said without looking around. "You're wishing Eden was here so we could slip off to the locker rooms for a quick fuck."

That was what I was thinking now. The asshole knew just what to say to get straight into my brain. And straight to my cock.

"You're projecting again," I said.

He glanced over at me and grinned. I tried to ignore the way my heart flipped, but resisting my attraction to him was virtually impossible. As impossible as resisting my attraction to Eden.

So, why was I trying to resist? Apart from making my life complicated, that was. No, there was more to it than that. No way in the world was I going to admit I was scared of commitment, or getting hurt. Fuck that.

No, I told myself I liked my life as it was and didn't need or want it to change. If we weren't training, we were playing and if we weren't playing, we were travelling to games. And if we weren't doing that, we were doing interviews and grassroots training days for kids, like this.

When was I supposed to fit in a relationship?

I glanced over at Cruz, when he laughed so loud it almost echoed through the rink.

He stood on the edge, his arm draped over Easton's shoulders, relaxed and comfortable. Even Shaw, who stood a couple of metres away, was almost smiling. At the same time, he was shaking his head at them.

Toby and Cole stood on the other side of the rink. Toby was talking; his hands moved as he seemed to be describing something. Cole nodded every so often, and smiled now and again, while keeping an eye on everything around him.

It seemed like everyone around me had their shit together. With each other.

Could I do that too? Did I want to? What was the alternative? Mitch and Eden would be done with me if I turned my back on them. I wouldn't blame them. I'd be done with me too. Maybe they were better off without me. They'd be cute together.

Although, even if I was inclined to give people couple names, I didn’t know what the hell theirs would be. Meden or Eitch? Neither had a ring to them. The first sounded like some weird Greek monster. The kind with snakes for hair. The second sounded like the symptom of some nasty rash. I wanted to scratch just thinking about it.

"I'm not projecting, I'm saying we have the same taste in hobbies," Mitch said. "Especially fuc— being intimate."

I eyed him. "I suppose we do. What are you going to do if I don't want in?"

I didn't need to explain what I was referring to. We both understood.

He shrugged. "Keep trying to convince you to change your mind, I guess."

"And if I won't?" I asked.

"Then I'll keep trying harder, harder, harder," he said rhythmically. He even moved his hips in time to his words.

Fuck.

"Stop that," I snapped. "The kids don't need to see me with a boner."

He grinned. "Not sorry."

"I'm shocked," I said sarcastically. "You're such a—" I stopped short as a familiar head of purple hair appeared in the corner of my eye.

What the hell was Eden doing here?