Chapter 38 - June
June
The second half of the hockey season went by a lot quicker than the first. Now that nobody was distracting the team with threats and deadly peanut butter cookies, the team was able to get into a nice groove. We went on a seven-game winning streak, then won six of the next eight after that.
We put a pause on our romantic adventures when we were on the road—no more sneaking around stairwells for hotel room quickies.
But when we were at home, we found a way to juggle my time among the three men.
Sometimes I went home with Rhett, and other times Cole came back to my place.
Elias lived half an hour from the arena, so he usually came home with me when we wanted to hook up.
And Rhett and Cole continued sharing me in wonderful, toe-curling threesomes.
They were more rare—both men liked their alone time with me—but when they happened, the sparks of our chemistry really flew.
The way they passed me back and forth on the bed like I was a sex toy fulfilled my fantasies in a way that I never imagined.
But it wasn’t just physical. We watched TV together, went to the movies and shared popcorn. The four of us started going out for pizza on Friday nights when we didn’t have a game scheduled. Between the four of us, we shared three pizzas: one pepperoni, one meat lovers, and one Hawaiian.
Elias was the one who liked pineapple, and the rest of us teased him mercilessly for it.
At the end of the season, we finished in second place in our conference. The first round of the playoffs was against the Washington Capitals. It was an intense matchup, eventually going to a decisive Game Seven.
Rhett got into a fight in the second period. When he skated out of the penalty box and back to the bench, he saw me glaring at him.
“They jabbed an elbow into Elias while he was in the crease! I had to throw fists.”
“You’ve done a good job of avoiding fights this season,” I admitted. “So I’ll allow it this once.”
We ended up winning the game in the third period, and the celebratory sex I had with Cole and Rhett that night was rough and hard and full of energy. The three of us passed out in bed, nude and glistening with sweat.
The second round of the playoffs didn’t go so well. After winning the first game against the Boston Bruins, the Reapers lost the next four in a row to get knocked out.
The season was over.
The mood in the locker room after the game was funereal. I walked through the room, lightly touching arms and whispering words of encouragement. I felt so protective of the players after a full season taking care of them, and hated seeing their dreams crushed.
“You should make a speech,” Rhett was whispering to Cole.
“I’m bad at speeches.”
“You’re the captain. It’s your job.”
“He’s not wrong,” I told him.
Cole’s gaze hardened. “All right. I’ll say a few words.”
“Oh, so you’ll do it if June tells you to, but not me?”
“Correct,” Cole said. “I trust her opinion significantly more than yours.”
“Now you’re just being mean,” Rhett complained.
Cole cleared his throat, then began to step up onto one of the benches to give his speech.
But before he could, Elias clapped his hands over his head a single time, causing everyone in the room to look in his direction. He swept his gaze across the room slowly, meeting every eye, before speaking.
“Life is short, and the hockey season is long. Sometimes, it is easy to forget how far we have come. I forget this quite often. One month into our season, we were suffering a great many injuries. Rhett missed several weeks with a damaged shoulder. Cole’s knee was a constant issue.
I spent the first half of the season hiding an oblique injury. ”
“You hid what?” Coach Jay said.
“And yet, we persevered through these injuries,” Elias continued.
“We healed. We practiced. We improved individually, and as a team! We made it to the playoffs as the number two seed. Yes, we hoped we would go farther than the second round. But at the beginning of the season, we would have been overjoyed to learn that we would make it this far.”
His voice boomed with confidence and leadership.
“We should be proud. We should be happy. And we should be hungry for next season, where we will come back and win the Stanley Cup!”
Everyone cheered. I glanced at Cole—he looked as shocked as I felt.
“Didn’t know he had it in him,” Cole said. “If I ever get traded, I think we know who should take over as captain.”
Elias moved through the locker room, hugging each player and kissing them on the cheek. “Since when did he get so affectionate?” O’Malley wondered out loud.
Rhett elbowed me in the ribs and smiled.
After everyone had left, I stayed in my office to finish up all my paperwork. As we transitioned from the playoffs to the off-season, there was an entire new database for me to upload everything into.
Coach Jay knocked on my door. “I need to see you in my office, when you get a chance.”
I quickly finished up what I was working on and then joined him. “Take a seat,” he said, gesturing.
I tried not to feel anxious as I sat down. “Sorry about how things ended, Coach.”
“Me too. But Elias was right. We did better than our pre-season expectations. On a selfish level, I’m happy my job is safe.
” He closed his laptop and turned his attention to me.
“And speaking of jobs… you were only hired by the Reapers on a one-year contract. Technically, your employment terminates at midnight tonight.”
“Oh,” I said. I’d forgotten all about this. When I signed all the paperwork last October, I was just thrilled to be working for the team. I hadn’t even thought about the future.
“So… are you going to renew my contract? For another year?”
“We are not,” he said.
I felt my heart deflate. I wasn’t ready for this job to end. It had only just begun!
But Jay said, “I’ve recommended to the team ownership that we extend a five-year contract to you. With a pay raise to begin with, followed by hefty yearly increases based on team performance, just like the rest of the coaching staff.”
I heard myself gasp. I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“You do want to work here another five years,” Jay said with a frown. “Right?”
“Yes! Yes of course!” I threw myself out of my chair and reached across the desk to hug him. “Thank you. Thank you so much. This dream means so much to me.”
“You’ve done a hell of a job, June. I didn’t think anyone could replace Andy, but you’ve exceeded all my expectations. The team stayed mostly healthy this season, all things considered. I believe you were a big part of that.”
I beamed. “Thank you.”
“But you have the off-season cut out for you,” he added.
“We have six players still on the I/R list who I want ready to go by the first puck drop next season. Not to mention I need conditioning programs for everyone else, to keep them healthy and in shape. O’Malley is famous for putting on twenty pounds in the summer.
He blames it on his mom’s homemade chocolate cake. ”
“I’ll make sure to pencil him in for extra cardio,” I said with a smile.
“We’ll talk more about this in the coming weeks. For now, we all deserve some time off. I don’t want to even think about hockey until I’ve spent ten straight days on a beach in the Caribbean.”
“That sounds really nice,” I agreed. “Thank you, Jay. I promise I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.” His smile faded. “One more piece of advice, if I may?”
“Of course.”
“Fill out the employee relationship disclosure form,” he said. “Three of them.”
I stood there, frozen. How did he know?
“If you’re wondering how I know,” he said slowly, “I’m observant. I know what goes on with my players.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not getting on your case,” he added. “Just telling you how to protect yourself. Relationships aren’t prohibited between players and employees, but the organization wants to know about it.”
“I… okay,” I managed to get out. “I’ll, um, do that.”
“No rush. But it would be ideal if you did it before next season. The paparazzi are always hovering around, and things would go poorly if they were the ones to break any story.”
“Understood.”
“Now, from a personal perspective?” He tilted his head to the side.
“I’ve never seen Rhett or Cole this happy before.
Since you started dating them, they’ve been the best versions of themselves.
And Elias…” He snorted. “Did you see the speech he made in the locker room today? I’ve never heard him speak a full sentence to me, let alone a goddamn motivational speech.
You’re good for them, June. I really mean that. ”
“Thank you, Jay. It’s nice to hear that from someone else.”
He nodded. “But seriously, fill out those disclosure forms. It’ll make my job of protecting you from any drama easier.”
When I was outside, I sent a group text to the boys.
Me: Do you guys have plans tonight?
Cole: Nope.
Elias: No
Rhett: Not me. Just wallowing in my misery. Why?
Me: Want to come over and take your frustrations out on me?
Rhett: I do, but I’m not sure which of us you’re talking to.
Me: All three of you.