7. Xander
Idrop my gear bag in front of my spot in the locker room and get ready for practice.
“Yo, Williams.” I look up at Dylan, who’s sitting on the bench and putting on his gear. “I forgot to pack clean undies today. Can I borrow some panties from you?”
Our teammates laugh. So I do.
“Yeah, what kind do you wear?” I ask. “There’s a black lace thong I think you’d like.”
More laughs.
I turn to Theo to ask him a question but notice him frowning at his phone screen.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“Uh…” He looks at me. “Have you seen this?”
He walks over and shows me his phone. When I see the image on the screen, I grab the phone from his hand.
“What the…” I gawk at a photo of me kissing Sophie last night in front of that bar. It’s the lead photo on a popular sports website.
Bashers panty dropper shares a kiss with head coach’s daughter
My stomach hits the floor as I read the headline.
“How the fuck…” I mutter.
There must have been paparazzi lurking outside the crowded street of that bar. I should have known. Photographers pop up in that neighborhood all the time because it’s trendy with a lot of upscale bars and restaurants. Players from all of Denver’s pro sports teams hang out there all the time.
My teammates crowd around me to look. The entire room falls silent.
“Dude…”
“Oh, man…”
“If Porter sees that, you’re dead.”
I glare at Dylan. “No fucking shit.”
“Williams!”
The sound of Porter yelling turns my blood to ice. A lightning bolt of panic throttles me. I almost drop Theo’s phone as I go to give it back to him.
All of my teammates step away the moment he appears in the locker room.
I hold my breath, every muscle in my body tense as I take in the irate expression on Porter’s face.
There’s a murderous gleam in his eyes as he glowers at me and he’s balling his hands into fists. He looks like he’s about to jump me.
“My office. Now.” His voice is barely above a whisper, but it’s somehow more terrifying than when he yelled a second ago.
“Y-Yes, sir.”
He stomps out of the locker room. Before I follow, I take a slow, deep breath.
Theo claps a hand on my shoulder. “Good luck, dude.”
Every instinct is telling me to sprint as fast as I can out of here. I’m one thousand percent certain Porter is about to murder me with his bare hands.
But even if I do run away, he’ll hunt me down.
This is Coach Porter’s daughter we’re talking about. No way on god’s green earth is he going to let me, the biggest manwhore in the NHL, get away with kissing her.
I will my legs to step forward and walk out of the locker room and down the hall to his office. I just need to get this over with.
But then I hear Sophie’s voice.
“Dad. Just take a second, okay?”
“Honey, you don’t understand. This guy is bad news. A low-life.”
I stop dead in my tracks. I don’t know why it hurts to hear Porter say those things about me. I know the guy doesn’t like me. He doesn’t like anyone, really. Yeah, I’m good at hockey and probably the best player on his team, but I also fuck around off the ice. A lot. He knows my reputation with women, and he’s made it clear he’s not a fan. It’s no surprise that he wouldn’t want his daughter within fifty feet of me.
But there’s something about hearing him say those words to Sophie…
I don’t want her to think I’m a piece of garbage.
I start walking again.
“Dad. Xander and I are dating.”
I stop dead in my tracks once more. What the…what is Sophie talking about?
“W-What?” Porter’s voice just jumped an octave. He’s shocked and pissed.
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but it’s the truth. We’re together and you need to accept it.”
“Honey, have you lost your…”
I stumble the rest of the way to the office and stand in the doorway. Porter’s frowning at his daughter, but he doesn’t look mad. More like concerned.
When he aims his gaze at me, that murder-glare is back in full force.
He moves toward me, but she puts a hand on his chest, stopping him.
“Dad. That’s enough.”
I stare at him, face red, nostrils flaring, aching to whoop my ass.
I hold my breath, my heart pounding as I wait for the moment he pushes Sophie aside and pummels me right here in the middle of his office.
But to my total shock, he takes a step back.
“Xander and I are a couple. You need to accept it,” Sophie repeats, her voice calm and firm.
He looks down at her, his stare softening the slightest bit.
“I know you love me. And I know you want to look out for me. But I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions. You’ve babied me my whole life. You need to let me do what I want for once.”
I hold my breath as I watch the two of them. Porter takes a breath. I can tell he’s clenching his jaw by the way the muscle at the side of his face is bulging through his skin.
He huffs out a breath. “Fine.”
He doesn’t even look at me as he walks past me and out of the office. But then he stops and turns around, aiming a hard stare at me.
“Understand one thing, Williams: that’s my baby girl. My only child. No man on this planet will ever be good enough for her. Least of all you. If you hurt her, I’ll make your life a living hell.”
“Dad—”
He turns to Sophie. “That’s all I’ll say.”
Porter walks off, leaving me and Sophie alone in his office. A faint door slam echoes down the hall.
Of all the things Porter said, I don’t blame him one bit for that. Because I get it. She’s his kid. He only wants the best for her.
She walks over and shuts the door. “I’m sorry I lied about us dating,” she quickly says. “I saw the photo earlier and heard my dad freaking out, and I panicked. My brain thought that telling him we’re dating sounded better than telling him I randomly ran into my ex and wanted to make him jealous by kissing you.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
“And I’m so, so sorry for what he said to you.”
I start to say it’s all fine, but she shakes her head.
“It’s not though.” Her expression is pained as she looks at me. “What my dad said was out of line.”
I let out a weak laugh. “It really wasn’t. You’re his little girl. I’m a guy who doesn’t have the greatest reputation when it comes to women. I get why he’d be upset.”
We’re quiet for a long moment.
She crosses her arms over her chest and bites her lip, like she’s gearing up to say something. “This is gonna sound crazy, but…I think we should do it.”
“Do what?”
“Fake date each other.”