Chapter 24
Can’t Fix This
~~Drakos~~
The next morning I’m still riding high from the win and a burn-up-the-sheets night with Aria.
Nothing can bring me down. Not even a call from a very serious sounding Michella.
My personal celebration was some of the best fun I’ve ever had.
When I woke this morning in Aria’s apartment, she was gone.
I found a note on top of my pile of discarded clothes.
Had a great night. See you soon, Aria
I let myself out and drove home. I’m deeply disappointed she wasn’t there but also relieved. Aria and I are on the edge of something scary and life-changing, and I’m the first to admit that my feet feel as if I’ve dunked them in an ice bucket.
Kirby’s drinking coffee while watching last night’s game on replay when I walk in the door. We were on fire last night and unstoppable. There are times when a guy just feels it. Last night we all felt it. The determination flowing through the locker room left no doubt who was going to win.
“Still basking in the glow?” I ask.
“Damn right.” Kirby’s grin spreads across his face, and his satisfaction at a game well played is obvious. He turns to regard me with those fucking all-knowing eyes. “What’re you up to? I didn’t expect you to be back this early.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I thought you might continue your celebration well into the day today.”
“You know?”
“What do you think?” At my surprised look, he snickers. “Don’t worry, I won’t mention it to anyone. Aria, I presume?”
“Yeah.”
Kirby sighs. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I hope I do too,” I mutter. I check the time. “Michella has news for me. I’ve gotta drive over to her office.”
“She can’t tell you over the phone?” Kirby finishes his coffee and sets the empty glass on the end table. He’s been odder than usual lately. As if he knows something I don’t.
“No, she says it has to be in person.”
“Hmmm.” Those wise brown eyes meet mine. “Are you prepared for whatever she has to say?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? None of this personally affects me.”
“Let’s hope not,” he mutters so softly I’m not sure I hear him correctly and dismiss what he says.
“Later.” I head for the door and drive to Gone Missing. Michella sits at her desk poring over a stack of papers. I guess not everything is digitized. She waves me to a plastic chair that has to be fifty years old. I sit down carefully, not sure it’ll hold my weight.
“What did you find out, Michella?”
“Before I tell you, I need to caution you. My advice is that you wait until the playoffs are over before I give my report.”
“If we’re lucky that would be a couple more months.”
“Let’s hope.” She smiles, but the underlying tension is obvious.
“Why should I wait?”
“Because the truth is explosive and could have an adverse effect on your game and the team.”
“Now I’m really curious. Do you honestly think I can wait?”
“I suggest you do.”
I consider her words. I don’t want her findings to destroy my newly resurrected mojo. Yet I can’t tolerate not knowing. I don’t understand why any of this information would affect me personally. Michella’s being overly sensitive.
“I want to know.”
“Did you meet an exotic dancer at an exclusive Vegas club and have a one-night stand with her?”
“What?” I jerk back as if slapped. “What the fuck does this have to do with my request?”
She levels me with an almost censuring glare. “Did you?”
“Vegas? Well, fuck, yeah, probably several on different occasions.”
“I’m talking six to seven years ago.”
“I don’t know.” I’m annoyed and also embarrassed to admit I’ve been with so many women, I don’t recall all of them.
“She went by the stage name of Delight.”
I’m immediately transported back to a time in my life when I was new to the league and making waves as a hot young player with great promise.
With more money than I knew what to do with, I had the world by the tail, was as horny as hell, and was full of myself.
Of all the women I had brief liaisons with, Delight sticks in my memory for multiple reasons.
She came on to me at the strip club. After she danced, we sat at a table together and drank way too much whiskey.
The girls at the club had signed agreements that they wouldn’t sleep with customers.
That didn’t stop her. I gave her my hotel room number, and minutes later, there she was.
She informed me she usually does it for money, but this time, she’d give me a freebie because I was so hot.
The sex was great though nothing close to what I have with Aria. No one has come that close.
“Okay, yeah, I remember her.”
My stomach rolls with fear as I sense where this is heading. I’m a careful guy, and what really stands out about Delight is that the condom broke right in the middle of my orgasm. She assured me she was on birth control. And I never thought another thing about it. Until now.
I stare at Michella, absolutely stricken by the implications. My throat goes dry, and my palms are sweaty. I place my shaky hands under the table so she can’t see them.
“Noah is mine?” On some deeper level I knew he’s my son even if I never articulated it.
Michella nods. “Delight is Anna Reed.”
“Fuck. I’m the deadbeat dad.”
“You are, though in your defense you didn’t know you had a son.”
“That’s why Aria hates me.” Maybe “hate” is a little too strong a word at this point in time, but she doesn’t trust me.
“That’d be my guess.”
“Do you have any idea if she knows I’m the father?”
“None. Anna was fired from her job for soliciting sex with club patrons. You weren’t the only one.”
“But perhaps the only one whose condom broke.”
“Drakos, what’re you going to do about this?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t mind a little unsolicited advice, I suggest you get an attorney.”
I shake my head. “I need to go. This is a lot to take in. Thanks.”
She hands over a folder full of the information she uncovered.
I take it and hustle my ass out of there.
I’m confused and conflicted and have never felt so helpless in my entire life.
We don’t play again for three days, for which I’m grateful.
I need time to sort this revelation out in my head and develop a plan.
A few hours later, I’m in the weight room, taking my frustrations out a stationary bike. My head hurts, my heart aches for the little boy I never knew as a baby, and my life is forever changed.
I’m a dad. A fucking dad. I have a son, and I desperately need to be a part of his life. I have to make up for lost time.
Yet I don’t know how to proceed in a manner that’ll do the least amount of damage to Noah.
“You’re looking unusually distressed for a guy who’s made it to round two of the playoffs.” Kirby stands in front of me. I’d been concentrating so hard on not thinking, I didn’t see him enter the room.
“I thought I was alone in here.” I swing my leg over the bike seat and grab a towel to wipe the sweat from my face.
“You were in your own little world. What’s going on?” Kirby’s gaze penetrates to my very soul, seeing things I don’t want him to see.
I shake my head, unable to articulate in words how I feel.
“Does this have to do with Michella’s news?”
“Yeah.”
Kirby cocks his head and regards me carefully. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
“Maybe later.” I throw the towel in a basket and leave the room. I feel Kirby’s eyes burning into my back long after I shut the door behind me.
I shower and change, then check the time. My feet carry me to Rink Three where the little kids are just starting practice. Thankfully, I don’t see Aria anywhere, but I do see Gardenia. She shoots a scathing glare in my direction, and I wonder what I’ve done to her. Does she know and blame me?
Ignoring the animosity radiating off Banger’s fiancée. I make my way down the bleachers until I’m in the first row. I ignore the curious stares from the parents. I only have eyes for Noah.
My son.
The son I never knew I had.
Aria and her sister kept this secret from me. But why? Why deny a son the right to know his father? Why all the hatred directed at me when no one gave me a chance to prove myself as a dad? I can be a dad. I know I can.
I’ll do the right thing. I want to be part of my boy’s life in the worst way.
I take in my kid as if seeing him for the first time.
My conscious mind now understands what my subconscious knew all along.
He’s the spitting image of me when I was his age, right down the blond hair and blue eyes.
He even has some of my hockey moves, though not as refined, which is to be expected of a young boy.
I’m bursting with pride yet filled with deep regret for the time we’ve lost together.
He looks like me, acts like me, is a part of me I never knew about.
I’m angry at Aria, resentful of her secrecy, yet I know alienating her further limits my time with my son until I get things straightened out legally.
First things first, I’ll demand a paternity test. Aria’s gonna love that.
When the kids finish practice, I escape through a side door in order to avoid Aria, who’ll be in the facility to pick up Noah. I don’t want to talk to her until I have a plan.
I walk toward the player lounge, but no one’s inside. I don’t want to be alone right now. I need company and distractions, not sitting at home fretting about what my next moves are. I’ll do enough of that later.
I sit down in one of the cushy theater seats and queue up our last game.
I analyze myself. I’m playing well, having gotten the earlier monkey off my back about the same time Aria stopped criticizing me.
Her replacement doesn’t have her clout or social media presence, and I couldn’t care less what he says.
The door opens to the lounge, and Wild enters. Talk about fate. He’s just the guy I need to talk to and might be the only one who’ll understand my current dilemma.
He grins and plops down next to me. “We’re peaking at just the right time.” He indicates the game on the big screen.
“We are.”
We watch for a while, each making comments regarding our own play and others. It’s all in the name of improving, not tearing the guys down.
“Roman’s gaining confidence,” Wild notes. He played with Roman on the Sockeyes before coming here. We’re both well aware of Roman’s biggest challenge. If things start going sideways, Roman collapses, and his play deteriorates.
“Yeah, he’s on a roll. Let’s hope he stays there.”
“No shit.”
We share a smile before I turn serious. “I’ve been meaning to ask your advice.”
Wild snorted and shook his head. “My advice? I’m not sure what I can do for you. You’re on top of your game now that Aria isn’t writing trash pieces on you.”
“It’s not about my game, but it is about Aria.”
“How so?” Wild’s brows knit together in confusion.
“You didn’t know about Leo. How did you tell him you were his dad, and how did you find it in your heart to forgive Addison?
” Addison had given birth to Leo and given him up for adoption years ago.
Wild never knew about his son until recently when Addison found Leo after his adoptive parents died and she regained custody.
Wild’s eyes narrow, and he scrutinizes me with interest. He answers my question in detail before adding, “I won’t shit you, man. Forgiving her was difficult, but I love her, and love finds a way. Why are you asking me these questions?”
“Because I just found out I have a son I didn’t know about.”
Wild’s face doesn’t reflect any emotion. He merely nods. “Does your son know about you?”
“He knows me, but he doesn’t know I’m his dad. I didn’t know either until today.”
“Damn. Today?”
“Yeah.”
“Who’s the kid?” Before I can answer, Wild nods almost to himself. “It’s Noah, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” I’m shocked how perceptive he is, or maybe it’s that obvious to my teammates because Noah and I do look a lot alike. “That explains why Aria attacked you relentlessly.”
“Not really. Why be mad at me when I didn’t know?”
“Maybe she thinks you did know and didn’t care. Have you discussed your revelation with her?”
“Not yet. I’m not sure if I should wait until we come back from Games One and Two in Dallas or if I should get it over with tonight.”
“Is it going to affect your game more to air out your grievances with her now or to wait until you don’t have the playoffs on your mind?”
“I don’t know.” I answer honestly because I really don’t.
“Seems like you need to figure that one out. We fly to Dallas at ten tomorrow morning. It’s now after 6:00 p.m. That’s up to you. Just keep your head in the game. We need you, Drakos.”
“I know. I don’t know what to do.”
He’s inadvertently putting additional pressure on me to make the right decision for me and the team. I don’t know what’s worse. Confronting Aria and getting it over with or waiting until playoffs end, which could be another couple months, if we’re lucky.
“Sorry, buddy. I can’t answer that one for you. I’ll say one thing though, Aria’s redeeming herself now that she’s not with All Hockey News. Is there a chance the two of you might become a couple?”
I laugh but immediately grow serious. “I don’t know. I’ve been sleeping with her on occasion.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
Wild snorts and slaps me on the back. “Good luck. And Drakos, being a dad is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Congratulations.” He winks and leaves me alone to my thoughts. He wasn’t much help, but he can’t fix this. That’s on Aria and me.