17. Goose
Chapter 17
Goose
“Goose, get your shit! You’re with me this afternoon.”
My head popped up from where I sat, tying my shoes at my stall in the locker room, freshly showered after practice.
Maddox was in the doorway, arms folded, the usual scowl gracing his face.
Rising to my feet, I shrugged on my leather jacket. “Sorry, Coach. I’m off the clock.” When I crossed the room and reached where he stood, he didn’t budge, blocking my path to exit.
“It wasn’t a request.”
After yesterday, I wasn’t in the mood to be chummy with him. “Care to show me where it states in my contract that I have to spend time after-hours with a guy who insulted my girl right to her face?”
His head dropped back as he blew out a heavy breath. “That’s why I’m taking you out. To apologize.”
“Oooh, shit! Is Coach paying?” Jenner’s voice rang out as he stepped into the main locker area from the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Is your name Goose?” Maddox shot back.
“No, but as his captain, I feel as though I should step in and act as a moderator while the two of you hash this out.”
“You’re a pain in my ass,” our surly coach grumbled under his breath.
I threw my arms wide. “I’m right here. Say what you need to say.”
“Wish I could.” Maddox rolled his eyes. “But I have to show proof.”
Raising an eyebrow, I asked, “Why do you need proof?”
Braxton chimed in, “Because his wife’s got him sleeping on the couch, and his old man bones can’t handle it for a second night in a row.”
Not gonna lie. That kind of karmic retribution had my spirits rising.
“Interesting.” A smile crept onto my face. “What kind of proof does the lovely Bristol require?” Maddox murmured something unintelligible, so I coaxed, “Don’t be shy, big guy.”
“A photo! Okay?” The frustration in his voice had me smirking.
“Oh yeah? What kind of photo? One of you kissing my ass?”
His jaw clenched so tight that a muscle in his cheek twitched before he gritted out, “Don’t push it.”
I stepped closer, getting into his space. “Oh, I’m gonna push it. Because if memory serves, the last man to talk badly to your wife had his face rearranged. You’d be getting off easy puckering up against my smooth, tightly toned ass.”
“Goose does have a hell of a nice ass. You could do worse, Coach.” Jenner’s glee couldn’t be contained.
Throwing his hands up, Maddox turned to walk away. “You know what? This isn’t worth it. I’ll suffer on the couch.”
Having played with him enough, I decided to grant mercy, even if he didn’t deserve it.
“Hold on. Wait!” I called after him.
Maddox peeked over his shoulder from halfway down the hall. “I’m done fucking around. You either let me apologize, or I’m heading up to my office to watch film.”
“I’ll let you take me out.” The tension in his shoulders eased, and when he spun around to face me, I added, “On one condition.”
“Great, can’t wait to hear this.”
“Jenner and Braxton get to come too.”
Braxton let out a whoop from behind me. “Free food and a show? This day just got a whole lot better.”
“I’m so happy I might cry.” Jenner clapped his hands. “Watching Maddox eat crow is a rare treat.”
“Can it, Knight!” Maddox barked. “In this building, I’m your coach, not your best friend. You’d do well to remember that.”
“Fair,” Jenner mused. “I can hold it in until we reach our destination. It’ll be worth the wait.”
Gotta love my buddies for having both my and Gemma’s backs. They weren’t going to let Maddox off easy, especially since his apology would likely be uttered through gritted teeth to appease his wife.
“I’ll be at Archer’s. You idiots can meet me there.” Our coach turned on his heel and walked away.
Jenner gripped my shoulder. “You know, if Gemma hadn’t looked so shell-shocked yesterday, I’d have started a slow clap for the way she got Bristol to go off on Maddox. No matter how tough he likes to act, it’s nice to know she’s got his balls in a jar.”
My laughter echoed throughout the room. Yeah, she sure did.
The middle of the day was quiet in a place like Archer’s. With staffing on the light side, Maddox was at the bar ordering our food while the rest of us settled in at a table in the back corner.
Jenner eyed his best friend. “You’d think he would have learned his lesson after the shit he pulled with Evie.”
When I’d joined the team a few years back, Jenner had been single—miserably so. He and Evie were divorced, and she was living back with her family in Oklahoma. But she came back, and they’d remarried. Maddox, being the protective brute that he was, hadn’t taken it easy on the woman who’d broken his buddy’s heart, giving her a hard time until Jenner was forced to set him straight.
“If Dakota were here, she’d say his heart was in the right place,” Braxton said. “Even if she spent all of last night commiserating on the phone with Bristol, validating the choice to kick him out of their bedroom until he made it right.”
Stretching my legs beneath the table, I sighed. “Kinda botched the great first impression I was hoping for after talking up how the team is one giant family.”
Braxton snickered. “Pretty sure you made up for it with an impression of your own.”
Jenner’s brows drew down. “What are you talking about?”
Cracking his knuckles, Braxton sat back in his chair. “Oh, I was just minding my own business, having doubled back to the locker room because Dakota’s phone must’ve fallen out of her jacket when we grabbed them to go home, when I heard this weird banging sound.”
“Banging sound? Like pipes knocking or something?”
“It was louder than that, a heavier thumping almost.” His whiskey eyes sparkled, watching me shift in my seat. “I was able to trace it to the physical therapy room. But you can imagine my surprise when the door was locked.”
“Wait. That door’s never locked,” Jenner remarked with a tilt of his head.
“That’s exactly what I said!” Braxton’s lips curved into a wicked grin.
Yeah, he was lining up for the kill. And I knew better than to try and stop him. The minute I opened my mouth yesterday inside that room and made Gemma come so loud her screams still echoed in my ears, I knew what we did would circulate. A hockey team was no better than a bunch of high-school girls when it came to gossip. They ate that shit up.
Jenner placed his crossed forearms on the table, leaning in. “Did you ever figure out what it was?”
Braxton slid his gaze to me. “Why don’t you ask Goose?”
“Why would I ask—“ Jenner’s brown eyes went comically large. “No fucking way! You were the banging? Or should I say, the one doing the banging? In the physical therapy room?”
“The fuck?” Maddox’s booming voice had all three of us whipping our heads to face him, identical guilty expressions on our faces. His narrowed eyes landed on me. “Don’t you have a home?” He dropped into a seat, arms folded, expression stormy. “You seriously couldn’t control yourself?”
Jenner tried to come to my defense. “Aw, come on. You know what it’s like at the beginning, when it’s all hot and heavy, and you can’t get enough of each other.”
Maddox held a hand up, silencing him. “I know the lines get blurred because you play a game for a living, but that’s our place of business. You need to treat it as such.”
Braxton fake coughed. “Says the guy who was getting blown under his desk with McCall in the room.”
Well, shit. This just got interesting. Time to grab the popcorn and see how this plays out.
“What?!” Jenner roared. Turning to his best friend, he asked, “Did that really happen?”
Maddox shot Braxton a death glare. “No idea what he’s talking about.”
Sitting back, Braxton clasped both hands behind his head. “You keep forgetting I’m married to your wife’s best friend. Trust me. I wish I didn’t know half the shit I overhear about your sex life.”
Jenner let out a low whistle. “Damn. I mean, I’ve seen the cannon you’re packing in the shower, but I didn’t realize your balls were that big.”
A warning growl rumbled from Maddox’s chest. “It’s not like I planned it.”
“You didn’t stop it either, from the sounds of it,” Jenner shot back.
“What did you want me to do? Say, ‘Sorry, Jared, I can’t focus on a damn word you’re saying right now. Why, you ask? Do you remember that new reporter, the hot, too-young-for-me redhead? Yeah, she’s under my desk right now, sucking me off while she hides from you.’ Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.”
I chuckled. “And you’re worried about Gemma being too much for me? Sounds like you’ve got more than you can handle yourself, Coach.”
Maddox groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Don’t remind me.”
Braxton, the bastard, brought the conversation back to my tryst at the rink. “All I’m saying is my shoulder is tight as hell from the check I took last week, but I’m not setting foot in that room for treatment until they disinfect it from top to bottom. After our little chat on the plane last week, I bet your DNA is all over the place.”
“Jesus,” I huffed. “You act like I’ve got toxic jizz or something.”
“It’s jizz that’s not mine. I don’t need to come in contact with it, okay?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Maddox cut in. I knew I was in trouble when his sharp green stare zeroed in on me. “Why would there be jizz? Are you not wrapping it up?”
“I did that time,“ I said in my defense.
“ That time?! “ A vein pulsed at his temple. “You just met this girl. It should be every time!”
“Ooh. Is our coach with the whoopsie baby on the way about to lecture us about safe sex?” Jenner tossed me a wink as he jumped in to save me from Maddox’s wrath.
Braxton leaned into it. “It’s actually impressive you were able to conceive. With how old you are, I’d expect you to be shooting loads of dust.”
Jenner smirked, all in on the tag team of our uptight friend/coach. “Tell me, Maddox: is the baby going to call you daddy or grandpa?”
“Fuck off,” Maddox snapped. “I’m four years older than you, and you have babies at home.”
Touching his temple, Jenner remarked, “Yeah, but you’re going gray. Those four years are hitting you hard trying to keep up with a hot young wife.”
Under his breath, I could have sworn I heard Maddox say, “Tell me about it.”
“I swear I heard his knee pop the other day,” Braxton declared.
The joking mood of the group died instantly, and Braxton cursed softly when he realized he’d gotten carried away.
We might have fun teasing Maddox about being the oldest guy of our group at almost thirty-nine, but the only reason he was our coach instead of our teammate was because he’d suffered a career-ending knee injury, forcing him into early retirement. It was a sore spot—one you didn’t poke at unless you had a death wish.
I leaned closer to Braxton beside me. “That one took it too far.”
His swallow was audible. “Yup.”
Shoving his chair back, Maddox stood, pointing in my direction. “We’re even.”
“What about your picture?” I called out to his back as he strode away.
Spinning around, he crossed both arms over his massive chest. “Have a feeling I won’t need one.” He tilted his head toward my companions. “Blabbermouth One and Blabbermouth Two will have word getting back to Bristol before I make it home. Isn’t that right, boys?”
Jenner and Braxton murmured words of agreement.
“Good.” As a parting shot, he added, “Better be ready to skate your asses off when I see you tomorrow.”
Jenner elbowed Braxton. “Dude, why’d you have to go and fuck it all up?”
Braxton winced before hanging his head. “Sorry, that was my bad.” He pulled out his phone. “Maybe he’ll be in a better mood once he gets a full night’s rest in his own bed.”
“Doubtful.” Jenner chuckled. “Unless we have Bristol watching over us like guardian angel tomorrow, we are fucked.”
“That can be arranged.” Tapping away at his phone, Braxton smirked. “Oops, my finger slipped and arranged for the girls to have a day at a spa that specializes in prenatal massage. Dammit. I’m sure Bristol will just hate me now.”
“Pure evil. I like it.” Jenner offered him an appraising nod. Turning back to me, he asked, “You all good? We kinda killed your apology.”
I shrugged. “You know me, can’t hold a grudge. Gemma, on the other hand . . .”
“Yeah.” He nodded in understanding. “How about a re-do? Bring her over for Christmas at our place.”
Cocking my head, I eyed him. “Is this your way of trying to sucker me into playing Santa again to terrify a bunch of small children?”
That idea had crashed and burned the last time we tried it, with Ollie screaming his head off and hiding from me. It about damn near broke my heart to see my little buddy so scared.
Jenner smiled. “Come on. Every parent has those pictures of red-faced babies struggling in Santa’s hold. It’s like a right of passage.”
“Sorry. Not interested in terrorizing your kids.”
“Fine. We can make some mall Santa do the honors. Join us as our friend, with your girl. Evie was kinda bummed Maddox scared her away before she got a chance to chat. I bet they could bond over his fucked-up way of trying to protect us from the women we love.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m still in damage control mode. It took a lot for her to even get out of the car yesterday, and then some knucklehead”—my gaze shifted to Braxton—“couldn’t take the hint and walk away when we were having a private moment. Pretty sure she’s not gonna be ready to come face-to-face with a man who knows what she sounds like when she comes. A man that’s not me.”
Jenner cringed. “Yeah, that’s not great.”
Braxton groaned, raking a hand over his jaw. “Seriously didn’t think you were gonna finish with me there. That takes balls, man.”
“So, thanks for the offer, but I think we’re gonna take a little time to let the dust settle,” I declared. “Have a quiet Christmas alone.”
An alarm blared, and Jenner reached into his pocket, hissing under his breath when his phone came into view. “Shit. Gotta go. Naptime is over, and it’s all hands on deck. Catch you guys tomorrow.”
Rising to his feet, he was out the door in a flash.
“Funny how fast life changes,” Braxton mused.
“You’re telling me.” I sighed.
Only a few months ago, I was on the outside looking in, envious of my friends with wives and families. Now, I had Gemma in my life, and if I had anything to say about it, we’d be joining the ranks of parenthood before too long.
Some might call me crazy, but when you found the person you’re supposed to be with, what was the point of waiting to start your life together?