24. Xander
“Hey, Williams. After post-game press, I wanna see you in my office.”
I look up from my spot in the locker room and see Coach Porter standing a dozen feet away.
The entire room falls quiet. Everyone is looking between me and him.
I clear my throat and try not to flinch at the lethal frown Coach Porter is aiming at me.
I nod. “Sure thing.”
He walks out and everyone turns to look at me.
“Dude…” Dylan shakes his head as he pulls on a shirt.
I huff out a breath. “Yeah. I know.”
“What were you thinking kissing his daughter in the middle of the game like that?” Dylan asks.
I shrug. I sit down and pull on a clean pair of socks. “I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to kiss my girlfriend.”
The room goes quiet once more. I look up. Everyone’s still staring at me.
Theo looks shocked. He tugs a hand through his soaking wet blond hair. “That’s really wholesome, man,” he says. Almost everyone nods along.
“You got caught up in the moment,” Blomdahl says as he towels off. “We’ve all been there.”
Half the room murmurs in agreement. The knot in my gut starts to loosen. Even though I’m about to get my ass kicked by Coach, it feels good to know my teammates support me.
I finish getting dressed, grab the stuffed bear Sophie gave me, and head to post-game press. It’s the same first few questions, asking me how it felt when I scored earlier and how I feel about my performance. Some of the reporters aim confused stares at the stuffed bear in my hand. I try not to laugh.
“I saw you took a little timeout to say hello to your girlfriend mid-game,” one of the reporters remarks.
I can’t help but grin. “I sure did.”
“That was a pretty romantic move. You had the whole arena on their feet cheering for you two,” she says. “Is this a new softer side that you’re showing everyone this season?”
My cheeks heat as I smile. “You could say it is.”
“Is she the reason for your hot streak these past few games? The Bashers have racked up quite a few wins in a row because of all the points you’re putting away each time you hit the ice.”
“Scoring goals is a team effort. I wouldn’t be able to do it if I didn’t have such skilled and talented teammates,” I say. As nice as it is to hear praise, I don’t like it when people ignore what my teammates do. They matter just as much as I do.
“You stopped playing to kiss your girlfriend,” the reporter says with a sly smile. She glances at the stuffed bear in my hand. “Maybe she’s your good luck charm?”
A grin splits my face. “She’s definitely is.”
“Now that you’re off the market, you’re breaking quite a few hearts,” another reporter says.
I chuckle. “I don’t know about that.”
“So what’s it like dating your coach’s daughter?”
That’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one. I know that reporter wants juicy details, but he’s not getting any.
I just aim a smile at him. “It’s been great.”
It’s the truth, but abbreviated. Because I could go on and on about how amazing it’s been even just being Sophie’s fake boyfriend. I’ve never smiled this much. Even just getting a text from her has me giddy. I live to see her smile and hear her laugh. And even though I’m about to walk into Coach Porter’s office and get ripped to shreds, it’s still great. Sophie is a dream girl and she’s worth all the trouble.
I answer a couple more questions before things wrap up, then walk to Coach Porter’s office. I’m glancing at my phone when Theo texts me.
You two are front page sports news lol
He texts me a screenshot of the homepage of the sports section of Denver’s main newspaper.
Hockey bad boy steals a kiss from his good girl
Under the headline is a photo of me and Sophie kissing in the middle of the game. I instantly smile.
Yeah, Coach is about to kick my ass for this. But it’s worth it. One kiss from Sophie is worth anything.
I slide my phone into my pocket and knock on Coach Porter’s closed door.
“Come in,” he says.
My heart is racing in my chest. I take a breath and open the door. Porter is frowning at his computer screen.
“You wanted to see me, Coach?”
“Yeah. Have a seat,” he orders. He doesn’t even look at me when he speaks.
I walk over and sit in the chair opposite him and his desk.
A handful of tense, quiet seconds pass of Porter staring at his computer before he finally looks at me, lethal frown still in place.
Every muscle in my body tenses in anticipation of what he’s about to do. Will he lunge across his desk and choke me out? Is he gearing up to punch me in the face?
I hold my breath. My heart is still pounding out of sheer anxiety.
He blinks at me. “I owe you an apology, Williams. And an explanation”
I gawk at him, stunned. “Um, what?”
He lets out a heavy sigh. His frown eases the slightest bit. “For the things I said to you when I found out about you and my daughter.”
“Oh…” I can’t think of anything else to say. I’m too shocked.
He glances off to the side, shaking his head. He turns to me again. “I need you to understand where I’m coming from. She’s my only child.”
I nod quickly. “I do.”
“Her whole life I’ve been protective of her.” He lets out a weak laugh. “Actually, overprotective is probably a better way to describe it.”
He goes quiet. I take in the look in his eyes. He looks so sad right now.
“After we lost my wife, I became even more protective of Sophie. Just the thought of anything happening to her…”
He trails off and swallows.
Pain and panic flash through me. Because I get it. No, I don’t have kids. I don’t know what it’s like to be protective of them. But I have Sophie. And the thought of anything ever happening to her is enough to make me spiral out of control.
I shouldn’t feel that way. This is a fake relationship.
But I do.
I don’t think too hard about what that means and instead refocus on my conversation with Coach Porter.
“I get it, Coach,” I tell him. “You don’t need to explain.”
His expression shifts to surprise.
“She’s your daughter, and you want the best for her. I understand that completely. Especially when it comes to seeing her with a guy like me.”
I pause, wanting to choose the right words before I speak.
“A woman like your daughter deserves the best. I can understand why you’d have your doubts about me, especially with the way that I’ve…behaved in the past,” I say quietly.
Another stretch of silence passes between us. Coach looks like he’s processing what I just said.
“Yeah. That’s exactly it,” he finally says. “I know that’s probably rough for you to hear.”
“It isn’t. It’s the truth.”
I mean what I say. Coach Porter knows my reputation, and he’s never cared for it. I can understand why he wouldn’t want his daughter to be with a guy who’s never had a serious relationship and treated hooking up like an Olympic sport.
He studies me, the look in his eyes shifting. That hard look of suspicion isn’t there anymore. I don’t know what exactly he’s feeling, but I can tell he doesn’t want to murder me anymore. That’s an improvement.
“Look, you’re a fantastic player, Williams. I’ve got zero complaints about you when it comes to your style of play and your role on my team. But as my daughter’s boyfriend, that’s a different story.”
I nod, understanding him completely. “Of course. I can separate the two, no problem.”
“Good.” He sighs. “I told Sophie this, and I’ll tell you now: you seem to make her happy and treat her well, and as long as you keep that up, I’m fine with the two of you together.”
I sit there and search for the right words. I know this is hard for him to say this to me. I’m the last guy on the planet he ever wanted his daughter to be with.
“Thank you,” I say. It doesn’t feel like enough though.
“And I’m sorry for how upset I was that day Sophie told me about you two. I crossed a line.”
I think back to what he said that day.
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
Yeah, it stung. But I understood then just like I understand now why he’d say it.
Because Sophie is incredible. I see now what a beautiful and brilliant person she is. I know now all the crap she’s been through, feeling isolated and lonely as she grew up faster than her friends and peers, attending school with people who were older than her and made her feel out of place. I know now all the shit she went through with her ex, feeling unwanted and dismissed.
She deserves so much better. She deserves so much more.
“I don’t blame you for saying that to me, Coach.”
He looks surprised. He straightens up in his chair. “You don’t?”
I shake my head. “Your daughter is the most amazing person I’ve ever met in my entire life. I’m honestly shocked that she even gives me the time of day. She’s a genius. And so kind and sweet and genuine. I’ve never met anyone like her. She deserves only the best.”
For a second, I feel embarrassed at just how I’ve rambled my feelings for Sophie to her dad.
But then I take in his expression. The hard line of his mouth eases. He’s not smiling, but he looks…pleased at what I’ve said.
“You really care about her, don’t you?”
“Yes. I really, really do.”
He lightly taps his palms on the desk and leans forward slightly as he looks at me. “Treat her right, Williams.”
“I will. I promise I will.”
He pushes away from the desk. “And let’s keep the PDA to a minimum during games, alright?”
I try my best to hold back a smile. “Will do.”
Together we stand up. He offers me his hand and I shake it.
I know he’s still not my biggest fan, but I understand why. And I’m okay with it. At the very least, he doesn’t hate the thought of me with his daughter. And he doesn’t want to kick my ass anymore. That’s good enough for me.
But even more important than that, Sophie doesn’t have to carry the stress of her dad disliking me anymore. She’ll be happier now that he isn’t constantly gunning for me. And as long as Sophie is happy, that’s all that matters to me.
I leave Coach’s office and grab my phone out of my pocket. When I see a text from Sophie, the smile I’ve been wearing for the past few days returns.
Sophie: Your little stunt got us on the front page of sports news
Me: Admit it. You love it.
Sophie: If you couldn’t tell by how bright red my face is, I absolutely did not love having the entire arena watch us kiss
Me: But the kiss was pretty hot? Right?
Sophie: OMG you’re shameless
Me: Duh.
Me: Come on, Sophie. Admit you like kissing me.
Sophie: I like kissing you
She sends a kissing emoji right after. I grin like an idiot the whole rest of the night.