28. Bodhi
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
BODHI
“ S o, you’re doing it?” Griffin asks, whispering as much as he can with both of us riding exercise bikes.
“Yeah.”
“Today?”
“Yep.”
“Before or after the game?”
“Before.”
He blows out a breath. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“What are we whispering about over here, gentlemen?” Ledger tosses his towel and water bottle on the floor and swings his leg over the bike on the opposite side of me.
Griffin gestures to me in the mirror in front of us. “He’s doing it today.”
Ledger glances at me. “You are?”
I nod confidently. “I am.”
“Before or after the game?”
“Before.”
He cringes. “Oooh, do you think that’s a good idea?”
“What’s a good idea?” Harrison grills, having pulled his earbuds from his ears.
Griffin tilts his head, nodding toward me. “Roche is doing it.”
Harrison’s brows shoot up. “Today?”
“Yeah,” Ledger answers.
“Wait…” He brings his hands to his hips and cocks his head. “Before or after the game?”
“Uh…before?” I pose it as a question this time because now that I’ve told Griffin and Ledger, their responses have me wondering if I’m making a horrible mistake.
Harrison shakes his head, doubtful. “You sure that’s a good idea, man?”
“I don’t know. I figured it’s the best option.”
“Hey guys!” Ella walks into the gym along side August. “What’s the word?”
In tandem, Griffin, Ledger, and Harrison all say, “Bodhi’s doing it.”
Ella stops and gives her husband a knowing glance before she asks, “Today?”
“Yeah.”
Ella moves toward one of the treadmills while August takes the last bike in the row. “Uh, dude, you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be a good time?”
“What’s not a good time?” Oliver asks, emerging from the bathroom. “Because I just took the biggest shit of my life and let me tell you, a good time was had by all.”
“You’re a sick fuck, Magallan,” Ledger says, laughing.
Oliver grins, accepting Ledger’s label but winks at him regardless. “But I have a good time.”
“Oliver, Bodhi says he’s doing it. Today.”
“Today?”
I nod.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Before or after the game?”
“After.”
Everyone’s heads turn toward me with looks of confusion on their faces.
“Dude,” August frowns. “That’s not what you just sa?—”
“I know it’s not what I just said but each and every one of you seem to think before the game is a bad idea so I changed my answer.” I turn my body while continuing to peddle. “Where the fuck is Bear?”
Oliver shrugs. “Goalie warmup. Why?”
I shake my head. “No reason.”
“So, if you do it after the game, and we lose…”
“We’re not going to lose, Ollenberg,” I scoff, passing Griffin a scornful look.
“I’m just saying if that were to happen, Coach will be in a pissy mood and that’s not going to do you any favors.”
Ugh. Obviously.
“But if I do it before the game?”
“I mean…” Ledger’s head bobs back and forth. “The guy’s in game mode. He’s going over plays and all the regular gameday shit. Is he going to have time for this?”
“Yeah,” Harrison adds. “Do you think before is a good time?”
A little irritated if not overwhelmed by all their concern for my timing I throw my arms up and shout, “Is there ever a good time to tell a man you’ve been fucking his daughter privately for months and now you want to date her publicly?”
“ROCHE!” a stern voice calls from the gym door.
The very wide-open door.
Fuuuuuuuuuck meeeeeeeee.
I’m dead.
He heard me, right?
He had to have heard me.
All the averted eyes in the room tells me yes, yes he heard every word.
“Coach?”
His nostrils flare and his jaw clenches and then I watch as he takes a steadying breath before he demands, “My Office. Now.”
“Sure thing, Coach.”
Oh fuck.
Shit.
Hell.
I might be a dead man.
Yep. That’s me.
Dead man walking.
I spring off the bike careful not to smash my nutsack though it’s all but shriveled up and died at the moment anyway. Then I reach for my water bottle and towel, wiping the sweat off my face. Everyone’s heads begin to rise as the guys and Ella all stare at me.
I square my shoulders and take a deep breath and tell them, “Well, I guess it’s happening now.”
“It was nice knowing you, Pickle Pants,” Harrison says.
“Thanks, Meers.”
Before I even make it to the door, Ella’s on me, wrapping her arms around my neck and giving me a huge hug. “You can do hard things, Bodhi Roche. Lumin believes in you.”
‘Thanks Ella.”
“You’re doing this for Corrigan.” She pulls back and looks me in the eye. “Because you love her.”
“I do love her.”
She swats my ass. “Then get in there and do what you have to do.”
I move silently down the hall inwardly pepping myself up because Ella is right. I’m doing this for Corrigan.
I’m doing this for us.
When I reach Coach’s office, I don’t even bother knocking. He’s sitting at his desk so I step inside the door and wait for his instruction.
“Sit.”
Yep. That’s all he says.
So, I move around to the other side of his desk and take a seat in one of the two chairs settled there.
Do I wait for him to start?
Or do I just take the bull by the horns?
He’s just staring at me.
Why isn’t he saying anything?
I should say something.
Okay. I’ll go.
“Look, Coach, I think we?—”
“I owe you an apology Roche,” he finally says, interrupting me.
I’m sorry…what now?
“Oh. Uh…”
I’m not really sure what to say here.
He wipes his hand down his face and then leans back into his big comfy office chair. “My daughter…she’s uh…” He fidgets with a pen in his hand, obsessively clicking it in and out.
Click click.
Click click.
Click click.
“Coach?”
“She loves you, Roche. Corrigan.” He finally raises his gaze to look me in the eye. “She loves you.”
“Sir…”
“Do you love her?”
His question actually throws me off guard. Never in a gazillion years did I think I would ever find myself sitting with Coach Hicks talking about love.
“I love her more than anything, Sir.”
His brow lifts. “More than hockey?”
“Without a shadow of a doubt. If being with your daughter means ending my hockey career, I’ll go clean out my locker right fucking now.”
“Well, let’s not go that far, son.”
“I’m not your son.”
Shit.
I squeeze my eyes closed in response to my own dickishness.
“I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t mean to be an asshole.”
“It’s alright.” He eyes me. “But you do realize if there’s a future with my daughter, you could end up being my son-in-law one day?”
“Yes, Sir. I understand.” I lift my head. “But you should understand that my father passed away several years ago and uh…we were really close. He didn’t get to see me make it into the league. He gave me everything, so the term son is…well, it’s…”
“I get it,” he says. “I’m sorry he didn’t get to see you move up. I’m sure he would’ve been damn proud to see all you’ve accomplished. You’ve come a long way.”
Fuck, why is he being so nice?
“Thank you, Coach.”
“So, back to my daughter.” He leans forward, propping his elbows up on his desk. “Your reputation with women precedes you. How do I know you’re going to be faithful to her and treat her how she deserves to be treated? Because I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of the things I’ve heard out of Boston.”
My cheeks heat and I shake my head in disbelief that I’m about to say these next words to my coach but fuck it.
Here goes nothing.
“Would it help if I told you none of those rumors have any truth to them whatsoever and that I was virgin before I met your daughter?”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man look both like he’s about to throw up but also fall over in shock. His jaw wide open, his brows pinch, and he cocks his head.
“Come again?”
Deep breath.
“I was a virgin, Sir. Before I met Corrigan.”
“A fucking virgin?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He bursts into laughter so hard and loud I fear he may end up losing his breath and dying of a heart attack right in front of my eyes.
“Oh fuck, Corrigan must’ve had a field day with you!” He laughs. “A fucking virgin!”
If you only knew.
Wiping tears from his eyes and finally calming down he says, “Well, damn Roche. I certainly hope she was gentle with you, because if she’s anything like her mother was…”
I shake my head trying not to cringe too hard. “Some things I don’t need to know, Sir. It’s probably best we don’t discuss it.”
“Fuck no, we’re not discussing it. There are some aspects of a daughter’s life her father does not need to know and this is one of them.” He shakes the thoughts from his head and continues. “Oh fuck…a virgin. That’s…” he shakes his head again. “That’s something. But listen, as I said when you came in here, I owe you an apology. My actions the other night were misguided, unprofessional, and a bit irrational.”
A bit?
“I’m sorry too, Sir,” I tell him. “I shouldn’t have even had her there in the first place.”
“Nah,” he waves me off, “Between you and me, I did the same thing with her mother on more than one occasion. But maybe don’t tell Corrigan that.” He winks and I finally allow myself to laugh.
Just a little bit.
“Deal.”
“So, what’s the plan for you two. Have you talked about it?”
“Uh, no. Not really. Honestly, because of all the time I spent focusing on hockey, I’ve never really been in a relationship before. So, I’d really like to date her.”
“Date her?” His brows lift. “Isn’t that what you two have been doing for a while now?”
If by dating you mean…fucking.
A lot of fucking.
Then yes.
“We never went out anywhere publicly because we didn’t want to risk being recognized and having you find out before we could talk to you about it. She didn’t want you to find out the way you did, obviously. Regardless though, Corrigan deserves to be taken out on fancy dates and fun dates and I want to be able to show her off in public as my girl.”
The corner of his mouth tips up just enough that I know he doesn’t mind the idea of that at all.
“You know the last guy she was with was a fucking twat. That’s what they say over there in England. They call them twats.”
“Right.” I nod, stifling my laugh. “She told me about him. But I promise you I have no intention of hurting Corrigan, Sir. I’m in love with her and if I have my way, she’ll be wearing my number for the rest of her hockey loving life.”
He nods, his eyes studying me for several seconds before he finally says, “Well, alright then.”
“Okay?”
“Not that you need my blessing,” he says. “Because my blessing doesn’t mean shit, but for what it’s worth, if my daughter has to fall in love with someone, I can appreciate the fact she’s fallen for you. You’re a good man, Bodhi. And I can see that you’re good for her. Thank you for being in her corner.”
Wow.
This is not at all how I expected this conversation to go.
“Uh, yeah. Of course. Anything she needs.”
Coach stands and holds out his hand. “Good luck to you, Roche. My daughter can be a feisty one. She’s headstrong for sure.”
Returning his handshake, I add, “She’s also compassionate, kind, funny as hell, and has great taste in food.”
I follow him as we head for the door of his office and he pats me on the back. “Mario’s?”
My eyes grow at the mention of our favorite Italian restaurant, the subject of which was our first textual encounter and I nod. “Mario’s.”
Once Coach is down the hall and out of earshot, I sprint to the locker room where the guys are getting dressed for tonight’s game against the Chicago Red Tails.
I push open the door and all heads turn, expectant faces watching me to decipher how our conversation went.
Am I a dead man?
Or do I live to see another day?
Taking the deepest fucking breath I think I’ve ever taken, I blow it out and crumble against the set of lockers next to me. “We’re good. I survived.”
I imagine a collective unclenching of everyone’s assholes happens around the room. Shoulders relax and smiles abound as the guys each give me their congratulations and pats on the back
“So, what are you going to do now?” Griffin asks me. “Is there a plan?”
Beaming back at him I nod. “Yeah. Actually, I do have a bit of a plan. I just need to find Ella first.”
“I just left her in her dressing room,” August tells me. “She’s getting into costume.”
“Perfect!”
I watch from my spot on the bench as Oliver faces off against Milo Landric to start the game. Landric wins and passes to Malone but Ollenberg’s on his tail as Malone moves the puck down the ice. There’s Blackstone taking it back and passing to Dayne. He goes for the setup and passes back to Magallan who tries to make it in but, no! Zeke Miller doesn’t allow it.
Ledger comes off his shift and I hit the ice running in his place as Meers takes the puck away from Shay. He sends the puck to Landric who tries to sidestep Ollenberg who is relentless in his block, but I cut inside and steal that little rubber fucker from right under Landric’s nose. With Foster and Nelson hot on my ass, I set up the play beautifully for Blackstone but he doesn’t hit the target.
Fuck!
I swing around the net to take possession back, sending the puck over to Magallan who shouts, “Yours, Roche! Here comes the assist!” He tosses to Blackstone who sets up one of the offensive plays we talked about when studying the tapes and then I spot my opening.
Yes!
Positioning myself between Foster and Nelson, I drive them back until I know I’m close enough, spin around the net like a rebounded play, and push the puck inside. The sirens go off and the net lights up and the home crowd is on their feet.
“LET’S GOOOOO!”
“FUCK YEAH!”
“THAT’A BOY PICKLE PANTS!”
The guys all crowd around me, giving me hugs and high fives, slapping my helmet and spanking my ass, but all I care about is the beautiful woman I see standing two rows behind the bench. The woman wearing my jersey with my number on her back. The woman cheering for me so loudly I can practically hear her voice over the entire arena. The woman I can’t wait to take home tonight.
The woman I can’t wait to sink myself into.
The love of my life.
My Corrigan.