Chapter 10
SAM
Hell.
I am in fucking hell.
For years, my dick has been reliably dormant until I am emotionally ready to commit to someone unless I am drunk or pent up.
For the last three fucking weeks, it has been making itself known every time Isaiah Charming even breathes in my direction within a five mile radius.
It doesn’t hurt that he’s a genuine sweetheart of a kid.
Allie and Mikey adore him at the fan meets, and Roger’s crush seems to have shifted to him.
While it’s much more age appropriate, I can’t help feeling aggravated every time Roger – or his father – talks to me about his little crush.
“Are you sure you don’t mind driving me, Mr. Talbot?”
Glancing up from the screen in front of me, I watch Isaiah put his rolling carryon suitcase by the door.
We have an afternoon game today, followed by a trip to the children’s hospital before the holiday break starts.
The kid is also catching a red eye home to California to spend the holidays with his family.
They offered to come out here, but I still am not comfortable with offering up Pop’s room.
It would be rude to have them stay in a hotel, but I’m not ready to let go just yet.
Isaiah briefly meets my eyes before shuffling over to the coffee maker for his single cup of half-caffeinated coffee for the day.
The kid has a lot of quirks – to be expected of a goaltender, to be honest – but I think there’s something deeper at work.
Every time he stops himself for reaching for his phone when something new comes into the house or I tell him to follow the instructions on something, I feel like there’s something he’s not telling me.
“You know I don’t mind driving,” I tell him honestly.
Besides, after I drop him off at the airport, I’m going to be meeting Chase.
The man was down and out with a terrible bought of the flu that was apparently brought to him by his douchebag ex-husband.
Every game, I look up to the seats behind the Sanders family and wish they wouldn’t be empty.
Today is going to be the first time since before Thanksgiving that they won’t be.
Did I spend a bit more time on my appearance today? Perhaps. But I want Chase to want me as much as I want him, and I need to work out at least some of this sexual tension before I end up going after this twenty-one-year-old roommate of mine that I doubt is even interested in men.
By the time we pull into my spot at the arena, Isaiah has me feeling more nervous than I did in the championship tournaments back in my college days.
I know the kid wants his own space just as much as I do, but the fact that he doesn’t drive really limits his options for decent housing around here.
The complex where Chase lives would be perfect if the units didn’t cost six figures to start.
It’s at least within the city limits which would mean easier to grab a rideshare or a lift from another guy on the team.
“Thanks for the ride, Mr. Talbot,” he says before jumping out of the car before I even turn off the engine.
No matter how many times I tell him to call me Sam, he refuses to drop the title.
At some point, I will get an answer as to why, but that would require him to willingly stay in the same vicinity as me for longer than thirty seconds.
Chuckling, I make my way to my office and start preparing for the day. The players are all gearing up for warm-ups when the text alert chimes from my phone on the desk.
Chase: Running late
I take a moment to glance around to make sure everyone is still good and that Roger doesn’t need my help with anything before I reply.
I know he and I can get pretty absorbed in each other when it comes to our conversations and I don’t want to slack off on my actual job while I flirt with the sexiest man I’ve ever been around.
Me: at least ur not needed on the ice
Chase: my playing days are at least a decade in the rear view mirror
Me: guaranteed ur better on skates than me
Chase: *laughing emoji*
Me: I'm sure I'll hear Allie squeal when u get here
Chase: *heart emoji*
Instead of falling deeper into the conversation, I finish up some paperwork before I grab my bag of fix-its – as Miss Allie calls my repair kit – and follow the coaching staff out to the bench for warm-ups. Roger is already out there to dump the practice pucks and counting the sticks.
“Kid seems nervous,” Wally leans over the top of the boards to tell me when another Korean swear word can be heard from Isaiah in the crease while the guys are shooting at him.
“He seemed fine when we first came out, but one of the guys on the Tridents said something when he was up here stretching. I didn’t catch it. ”
Glancing over at the staff on the other bench, I see their coach smirking in Isaiah’s direction. I thought the guys in this league were supposed to be above tactics like this, but I guess they are afraid that with us having an actual goaltender in net that their lack of talent would get noticed.
“Doesn’t matter,” Coach calls over to us, dodging around Roger while he finishes placing all of the equipment away on the bench. “Charming is our guy until the Glads call him up. If he can’t handle the chirping, he needs to find another profession.”
While Coach ain’t wrong in theory, I get the feeling that whatever was said to Isaiah goes far beyond your average shit talk.