Chapter 14
Evan
I lay in bed, the blankets down at my waist, my arm draped around Bianca, who slept soundly on my chest. I was afraid if I let her go she’d disappear and everything would be back to the way it was before.
She’d fallen asleep in my arms shortly after four this morning, when we’d finally collapsed against one another for the third time. I dozed for about two hours before the reminder of what today was hit me.
I felt her stir against me, and she lifted her head, looking up at me.
“You’re awake? Everything okay?” she asked.
“I’ve been awake for a while,” I said, running my fingers over her arm.
“How long? What time is it?” she asked, lifting her head, trying to find my alarm clock.
“Long enough to allow my brain to think too much.” I chuckled. “Surgery is today.”
“Yeah, I guess we should probably get up,” she said, moving to kick the covers off her, only I stopped her.
“We have time,” I whispered.
“Oh, I know, I just thought…”
“Don’t think. Recovery is four to six months, maybe longer, and well, I just got a taste of you for the first time, and the thought of not being able to have you again for a while is driving me crazy.”
She looked up at me and brought her hand to my cheek. “I will be here when you’re able,” she whispered.
“So I guess that means you don’t regret what happened last night, now that morning is here?”
Shock lined her eyes. “No!” she cried. “Do you?”
“Are you kidding me? Please tell me you are joking.”
She smiled up at me. “Then you better make it up to me before we have to head to the hospital,” she murmured, looking at me with want in her eyes as she climbed on top of me, kissing me.
Beads of sweat lined my forehead as I lay in bed, my shoulder throbbing despite the pain medication Bianca had given me well before dinner. She was sleeping in her room, in one of my T-shirts she’d stolen from my closet because she said she wanted to feel close to me while I recovered.
I’d asked her to monitor my pain levels and only allow me pain meds as needed, and everything had been going fine until tonight.
I’d told her I’d been fine when we went to bed and that I really needed nothing more for pain.
Most nights she’d check in on me around three, waking me to make sure I was okay, except for tonight.
It was a little after four and I hadn’t heard a sound from her room.
I carefully sat up, adjusting the sling, and padded down the hallway. Her bedroom door was open a crack, just like it had been the entire week. I knocked softly.
“Bianca?” I whispered.
I poked my head into her room and saw that she sat up immediately, rubbing her eyes. She reached for her bedside table and turned on the small lamp, bathing the room in warm light.
“Is it your shoulder?” she asked, concern lining her voice.
“No. I mean, yes, but that isn’t why I am here.”
She slid over in her bed. “Come in,” she whispered, patting the empty bed beside her.
I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Her room smelled exactly like her, like lavender and vanilla.
“Can’t sleep?”
“No,” I said, sitting down, bringing my legs around, leaning back while she adjusted a couple of pillows behind me for support.
“You should have taken your pain meds,” she said, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
I could feel her watching me as I sat there, looking straight ahead.
“It’s not the pain that’s keeping me awake.”
“Talk to me. What is it?” she said, adjusting how she was sitting to face me, her knee hitting mine.
“You’ve been taking care of me.”
“I know.”
“Taking time off work.”
“Sort of. Remember, my father has assigned me to you only now.”
“I’ve been all those things I swore I’d never be.”
“And I am still here. Are you noticing a pattern?”
“Yeah, I’m starting too.”
Bianca let out a breath and placed her hand on my knee. “I like your vulnerability. It doesn’t scare me. It never has.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, taking a deep breath. “But my dad—”
“We’ve gone over this with your counselor. You aren’t your father. Needing help after surgery, letting someone who loves you take care of you is trusting, Evan.”
“What about your father? What is he going to think?” I questioned.
Bianca shrugged. “I don’t care. I meant what I said to you before the surgery. I love you and I’m choosing you. Not some silly version of you in your head. If my father doesn’t like it, that is too bad for him.”
Bianca shifted herself so she was beside me, leaning against the headboard. She leaned over and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“I want your lips on mine,” I murmured.
Carefully, she got up and straddled my lap, resting her hands on my chest, careful of my shoulder. I wrapped my one good arm around her waist and leaned forward, kissing her softly.
She kissed me a little harder, her fingers curled into my shirt, tugging me closer. Her lips trembled against mine. I slid my good hand under the hem of my T-shirt, finding her warm, bare skin. I could feel myself growing harder as she shifted on my lap, grinding against me.
“We should…” She moaned. “You are still recovering.”
“I know,” I whispered, allowing my fingers to trace the lace band of her panties as she rested her forehead against mine, her eyes closed.
“You need your rest. Timing matters.”
“I know, but right now, I need you more.”
I watched her as she climbed off me, adjusting the covers before doing anything else.
“Lie down,” she whispered.
Carefully, I slid down, allowing her to adjust the pillows behind me. Then she threw the covers over me, lay down beside me, and rested her head against my chest. I closed my eyes as she drew circles on my chest while my good arm wrapped around her.
A Month Later
“I don’t think I have ever been this nervous walking into the Lair before,” I said to Bianca as she pulled the door open for me.
“Not even for the playoffs?” she questioned.
“Nope, not playoffs or games. Never. And before you ask, not even when your father called me into his office after I’d done something wrong.”
Bianca let out a little giggle as she pressed the call button for the elevator.
“Oh, come on, Daddy has never done anything of the sort.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, both of us knowing exactly what he could be like.
I’d come in to meet with the coach to sign a couple things, and I had decided that today was as good a day as any to tell her father about us. I’d spent months pretending I didn’t want her, and now it was time to tell the world. I didn’t care any more about the consequences.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” I asked as I watched the number on the elevator descending.
“I told you, I made my choice.”
We entered the elevator, making our way up to the coach’s office. The moment we stepped out, Coach Alan was in the hallway, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. I’d stared at that look every day, and it had never made my heart hammer in my chest the way it was right now.
“Evan, Bianca, my office, now!” he barked.
I looked over at Bianca, who glanced at me and then picked up her pace, walking into his office while I followed. The moment the door clicked shut behind me, I knew there was no turning back.
Coach made his way over to his desk, where he stood with his back to us, looking down over the practice arena. I looked up at the clock. It would have been the middle of practice, which meant he should have been down there, instead of up here.
“I take it rehab is going well?” he questioned.
Bianca looked over at me. “Yes, very.”
“Good. There is something else I want to discuss with the two of you.”
“Okay.”
“I hear from sources that you two are together?”
“Sources??? What sources?” Bianca questioned, panic lining her face as she glanced at me.
“Teams talk, Bianca,” her father bit out, then looked at me. “I’ve heard it in locker rooms, in games, during practices, and I’ve seen the way the two of you interact. I’m always watching.”
I squared my shoulders and looked at Coach Alan, ready for his words, while Bianca sat there with her face in her hands. Of the two of us, I should have known that he was always watching.
“Yes, sir, we are.”
Coach stood there, his back still to the pair of us as he looked out the window.
“If you can allow us to explain, Daddy,” Bianca said, standing up from the chair she was sitting in.
“No need. I’ve known for weeks. Saw it coming.”
I glanced over at Bianca, who stood there with a look of shock on her face. “Why didn’t you say anything?” she questioned. “Why didn’t you ask me?”
“Well, first, because the two of you needed to figure it out for yourselves. I knew the pair of you would be good for each other. Besides, I’ve always known you’ve crushed on him.
Why do you think out of everyone in this organization, I thought Evan was the better choice for you to stay with instead of one of the girls.
You both needed to choose one another, and it looks like you did that, even if I meddled in it.
Plus, I didn’t want to give you permission. ”
Relief flooded me, but I could still see the panic on Bianca’s face.
“Your father’s story isn’t yours, Evan. You aren’t him and Bianca isn’t your mother. You will get to write a different ending.”
I nodded. Although the coach was a hard-ass on the rink, he had known my backstory and had always done what he could to build me up. I’d just never really listened.
Coach then turned around and looked at Bianca.
“You, my dear, I know you knew about his injury. Hell, we all knew something was up. We overheard some of the other players talking about it, and when I went into his file I saw a few of the notes you’d made citing no action was needed.
While I am shocked that you compromised your professional ethics for him, that was a choice you made and now you are going to have to own it. ”
Bianca sat there, looking at the floor. Then she surprised me by looking up at her father. “I know, I am sorry, and I do own it, but I’d do it again because for once in my life he was never after anything, unlike the rest of them.”
The room was quiet as Coach Alan looked down at his desktop. “You should know that I am deeply disappointed with you, and many of the staff think you should be let go.”
“I understand, and if that is the decision of the team, then I will pack my things up. I will respect the decision because I know what I did was wrong.”
“Not so fast. I also know that just the same as Evan, you have your reasons why you did what you did. I know how you felt about Marcus Grant when he got injured.”
“That’s right, I was horrified that the team’s trainer didn’t take his injury so seriously. You already knew that was why I went to school to become an athletic trainer.”
Coach Alan nodded his head and then looked to his daughter.
“Bianca, even back then I could read things, and talk ran rampant. I knew you were seeing him, and I know you only started researching into this career so you could help him get better. When he pushed you away, it devastated you. You may think I never paid attention to you, but I did. So, while that situation may have been the force behind the schooling and career choice, I think your choice in your past relationships were because when someone showed you attention and said they wanted help, and you could provide that help, you were driven to them. Even if they were only out to benefit themselves and hurt you.”
Bianca looked at the ground, afraid to look up as her father cleared his throat.
“Bianca, I am glad to hear you say that you are taking ownership of this. That is one thing not a lot of people would do. That alone speaks volumes, and so, while the others are entitled to their opinions, I have defended you. You are hands down one of the best trainers this team has had, even with the situation at hand, and because of that, you are staying on.”
I could see the tears building in Bianca’s eyes as she looked up at her father. “You are going to keep me.”
“Yes, we are. You have earned your place here. Just don’t make me regret defending you.”
“I won’t. I promise. Which means I really should get down to my office,” she said, standing up.
“You’ll be welcomed back. Now, the pair of you, make this relationship count. Evan, get well. The team needs you. And now the two of you get out of my office.”
Coach Alan walked over to the door, pulling it open, and we both walked out into the hallway, stopping immediately as we came face-to-face with the entire team.
“Oh, yeah, and no more hiding. If you two are going to do this relationship thing, do it right. Let your teammates know so they can be happy for you and so they can stop the gossip mill.”
Nightly, Kells, and Cromwell all stood there grinning like idiots at the two of us, but the rest of them just watched, eyes wide.
I grabbed Bianca with my good arm and pulled her into me, lowered my lips to hers, and kissed her right there in front of everyone. They all cheered, of course. Nightly, Kells, and Cromwell were the loudest, which meant I knew immediately who was responsible for the rumors.
“Fuck, finally!” Nightly yelled out, causing the entire team to laugh as they all crowded around us.
“Bianca, you need to talk with us so we can warn you about this guy,” Kells said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and leading her away from me.
“Don’t listen to a word that guy is going to tell you,” I called as she glanced over her shoulder, laughing at whatever Kells had said.
“I won’t.” She winked, laughing back at me.