Chapter Four
ARCHER
If I buy this entire dress collection and mail it to Darcy, would that come off as obsessive?
“Earth to Moore.” Coach Morgan leans forward, tipping his head over my shoulder as I lean against the leg press with my back to the rest of the room.
I hustle and lock the screen. I didn’t notice him entering the gym, and we shouldn’t be checking our phones during any kind of session—definitely not the first one of preseason.
Coach narrows his eyes suspiciously when I spin around to face him. “Got a girl you’re shopping for?”
A couple of the boys snort out a laugh, Jack and Sawyer included as they spot each other at the bench press. I’m guessing if any one of them knew the real reason I was scouring the internet for the exact dress Darcy wore, their reaction wouldn’t be as lighthearted.
I pull off my backward cap and run a hand through my sweat-soaked hair, demonstrating I’ve put a shift in during conditioning. I remain quiet, thinking better than to respond.
His eyes close further, but he drops the inquisition.
Thank fuck. “I’ve got high hopes for you this season, and I want your full attention on hockey and nowhere else.
” He leans closer to me, voice dropping an octave.
“I know I don’t get to call the shots on your personal life—and I’m not trying to either—but take it from me: These are the prime years of your career. Do not waste them on girls.”
Despite Coach’s best efforts to keep our conversation discreet, Sawyer’s ears prick up, and as he pauses with the Olympic bar mid-rep, Jack takes it back from him and replaces it on the rack.
I turn back to Coach, anticipating my captain to head over any second.
After Darcy left my apartment, I picked up Sawyer’s call and told him exactly what happened with the dark-haired guy and his likely still-bruised jaw. Following a bunch of expletives, he reamed me out for being a reckless idiot.
My crush on Darcy Thompson isn’t exactly news to Sawyer—he’s gathered that over the past two years. What he isn’t aware of is the depth of my obsession.
I told Sawyer a version of the truth, centered around the way the guy spoke about her in a derogatory manner, only leaving out the part where I claimed she was seeing someone on the Blades. Sawyer was convinced the guy would report me and plaster it all over the internet.
Mercifully, nothing came of it. Not a single whisper made beyond the four walls of that restroom.
Maybe the prick did wipe Darcy and my face from his mind after all. Or maybe he didn’t want to open a dialogue explaining why I had landed one on him in the first place.
Bringing my attention back to Coach, I offer him a reassuring smile. “I have my eyes on the playoffs and a new shutout record.”
He hums something inaudible before speaking up, tucking an iPad under his arm. “The playoffs are the minimum. I think we have the potential to go all the way this season, and I need you firing on all cylinders to make that happen.”
“You got it,” I reply.
Seemingly satisfied, he spins on his heel and strides away right as I salute him.
Immediately, Sawyer’s across the room, arms folded over his chest. I’ve played with my captain for a number of seasons.
He lost his wife, Sophie, several years ago, and I saw him in his darkest days.
I hated to see him that way, but at least he generally kept to himself.
Now that he’s engaged to his dream girl, Collins, he’s out of his shell and content.
I can’t lie and say I’m not happy to see the real Sawyer back with us.
I just wish the newest version of my captain weren’t so fucking perceptive.
“Our coach just unwittingly caught you dress shopping for his stepdaughter, didn’t he?”
I reinforce my headshake with a puzzled look, contemplating if I can pass it off as shopping for my sister’s birthday. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, Cap.”
He just grins, one that leaves no mistaking he’s onto me. Taking a second, he checks his surroundings, likely making sure Jack is out of earshot. “Tell me the truth, Archer. Is this a case of you wanting to fuck her because you know she’s off-limits, or are you actually serious about her?”
I collect my towel from the leg press and wrap it around my neck, giving myself a moment. Instinctively, my eyes track Jack as he steps onto a treadmill, talking with some of the other guys.
“Archer”—Sawyer quietly demands my attention—“you recently punched a guy because of this girl, and lately, you’ve been acting like she’s the only thing you can think about.
That, and I haven’t actually seen you leave a bar with a girl, or two, since I can remember.
Come to think of it, the last time I’m aware of you fucking around, it was with Kassie.
You know, the one you had no idea was engaged to a former teammate. ”
He chuckles darkly, not finding the recollection funny. Neither do I; that was a shit show I’ll never forget.
“You weren’t even mentally present at my and Collins’s engagement meal,” he continues. “So, I’m asking you straight—as a friend, but also as your captain—what is going on with you and Darcy Thompson?”
My heart rate kicks up when Sawyer says her full name. I know there isn’t a chance of either Coach or Jack hearing him, but that’s not what’s having this effect on me.
It’s her . Always Darcy. The one girl who makes me feel emotions beyond sharing a lust-filled night in my bed.
My physiological reaction answers Sawyer’s question. I don’t even need to think about it. “My borderline presence is no coincidence.” Using the towel, I swipe at the perspiration beading above my brow. “She’s on my mind constantly.”
He scrubs a hand over his jaw, unsurprised. “I know that feeling all too well, buddy. With Collins, I?—”
I hold up a hand between us, cutting him off. “No offense, but this isn’t anything like what you have with Collins.”
That does surprise my friend, maybe even annoy him. “I’m going to need you to elaborate,” he replies.
Gripping the back of my neck, I search for adequate words.
“It’s all-consuming, paralyzing. An overwhelming urge to protect, mixed with a fear of rejection.
Like if I was to make a move, she’d laugh in my face and crush me right there and then.
It’s a voice telling me to back the fuck off, persistently drowned out by the deafening need to touch her and confirm that her body would mold to mine in the way I’ve always known it would. ”
“Archer, I, um …” Sawyer trails off, and I’m relieved he does, as I continue my ramble.
“I’m pretty sure the space where I exist borders heaven and hell—I get to see her on the regular, but mainly when we’re out and she’s being hit on by pricks like the one from the bar. And I can’t have that, man. I can’t stand it for much longer.”
My confession hangs in the air between us, and Sawyer never takes his eyes off mine as he draws a pull from his water bottle.
After a beat of silence, he finally speaks. “I mean, I know Jack is aware you find his sister hot, but are you being real with me right now?”
Given the reputation I’ve built for myself over the years, I probably shouldn’t be frustrated at his doubt.
I blow out an exasperated breath. “Yes, I’m being for real. You think I want to feel this way?”
He shrugs. “Maybe. You want her, right?”
“Yes,” I clip, still frustrated. Briefly, I motion toward the treadmills, specifically at Jack.
“But as if being the best friend of her older brother and having her stepdad as my coach weren’t complex enough, the real kicker is, none of what I’ve just confessed to you is reciprocated.
She might find me good-looking, but that’s about as far as it goes.
I could see that on Sunday when she showed up at my apartment to return the credit card I’d drunkenly thrust at her right after I punched the prick. ”
Sawyer’s eyes grow wide. “Wait. You only told me about the punching part.” He thumbs over his shoulder to nothing. “You’re telling me you had her in your apartment the following morning?”
I roll my shoulders back, trying to ease some of the tension in them. “Nothing happened, if that’s what you’re getting at. Allegedly, I said she could buy whatever she wanted, which tracks since I was contemplating an entire dress collection five minutes ago.”
It’s almost like Sawyer’s only catching up with the program now, brows raised all the way to his hairline. “Are you telling me you want to date her?”
I pin him with a look that cannot be misconstrued.
“I don’t want any other man to so much as breathe in her direction.
They aren’t worthy and won’t treat her right.
” I point at my chest just as Jack steps off the treadmill and starts in our direction.
“She does something to me that I can’t control. ”
Sawyer opens his mouth to reply when Jack sidles up next to him, his golden retriever smile instantly cutting through the tension.
“We’ve all agreed on Lloyd’s for tonight. The regular hangout seems like the obvious choice to break in the rookies with our preseason tradition.” He bumps me lightly on the shoulder with his fist. “What do you say, party boy? There’s bound to be a girl you can hook up with from there.”
I guess it’s pointless, holding anything at my place since Darcy won’t be coming.
Jack’s reference to girls rolls around in my gut like spoiled food I ate the night before. This is really what he thinks of me, isn’t it? There isn’t a chance in hell he’ll ever take me seriously.
I glance quickly at Sawyer, and his empathetic expression confirms my fears.
“I’m not sure Archer’s looking to hook up tonight.” Sawyer speaks directly to Jack.
He snaps his fingers in response, the platinum wedding band he refuses to remove since marrying Kendra sparkling, even mocking me.
“Oh, that’s right. You were buying dresses for a girl.
” He edges closer, his humor emphatic. “Please tell me it isn’t Kassie again because that was a mess the first time around. ”
Jack looks across at Sawyer, expecting him to laugh along with his gibe. Instead, our captain shifts awkwardly, adjusting his weight from one foot to the next.
“All right, I think we can call it. I’ve been impressed with everyone’s work ethic and attitude today, and I want it to be the benchmark over the next few weeks and into the regular season.” Coach’s announcement acts like a beacon, slicing through the awkward atmosphere.
I slap my thigh and reset myself, eager to change the subject. “I’m going to head for the showers, and I’ll see everyone later tonight.”
Jack loiters for a second, eyes locked on Sawyer’s back as our captain makes a break for it toward the locker room.
I go to spin away, but my center’s hand stops me.
“You really have a girl? Like, for real?”
From absolutely nowhere, I find a casual smile, along with a lie I’ll no doubt regret. “Ugh … yeah. It’s early on, but we’re dating, and I just want to see how it goes. I don’t want to fuck it up.”
When he releases my arm, his eyes soften, kicking up my guilt. “Oh, cool. I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to?—”
“It’s fine,” I quickly counter, desperate to bring a second conversation to an end in as many minutes. “Like I said, it’s early days, and she’s not keen on taking things to the next level. She likes to keep her life private.”
He nods in understanding. “I get that. Plus, you’re one of the more famous NHL players, I guess.”
I puff out my chest with pride. “Hell yeah, I am.”
He deadpans, “Can I at least know her name?”
Shit. I really didn’t think this through.
“Abbie,” I blurt out. “Her name is Abbie.”
He waggles his brows. “Nice name. Where did you meet her?”
For fuck’s sake.
“On an away series in Dallas. We hooked up a few times in between Destroyers games, and I guess it’s grown from there.”
He looks practically giddy. “Oh, so a physical thing that’s turned into more?”
“Yep, something like that,” I reply, wiping at new perspiration forming above my brow.
He reaches out and pats me on the shoulder, a wry smile pulling at his lips, blue eyes sparkling beneath the gym lighting. “I guess I don’t need to worry about you trying to fuck my sister anymore then.”
I think we both know that despite his jovial tone, there’s nothing lighthearted about my best friend’s statement.
I scratch at my bare chest, feeling like the ultimate douche, but powerless to halt the wheels I’ve set into motion. “Jack Morgan being correct in his observations—I guess there’s a first time for everything.”