12. Cameron #2
I wasn’t going to badmouth the team I spent three years with, but…he was right. I smiled politely and gave a little shrug.
“So, you enlisted the promising future star yourself,” Mr. Manning concluded.
I would be a liar if I said I was numb to flattery. To be seen as the promising future star of hockey was very near to the fulfillment of all my hopes and dreams.
“Indeed. And it was the best damn decision I made in ages,” Coach Murray said.
I smiled at that, too, but a sense of dread filled me sooner than I was able to process it. I hurried to speak. “I’m only as good as the coach that trains me and the captain that leads the team.”
When I looked at Coach Murray, he seemed well pleased with the first part of that sentence, but even more so with the last.
“That would be Riley Brooks,” Mr. Manning said.
“Yes, Sir.” Tightness in my chest awfully resembled anxiety.
Mr. Manning nodded. “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Riley before.”
I didn’t let my surprise show. He’d never mentioned it. I was sure he had his reasons, so I simply waited for the conversation to move along.
“Like I said, talking about specific teams right now is almost pointless. Drafting won’t start for some time.
But I’m sure you’re aware that scouts have been watching the Titans intently and your name has been coming up in certain circles.
It’s good that you are familiar with the West Coast already.
” Mr. Manning smiled so brightly at the hint that there was a West Coast team interested in me, but my stomach felt hollow.
I had only just gotten a sense of home again.
I had only just found something I enjoyed in my life that didn’t involve ice and skates and brutal physical combat.
No matter how much I loved the sport, my life had been a desolate desert in all the years of isolation.
Would an offer so lucrative and life-changing come at the cost of ripping me away from the first place where I felt like I belonged?
When I closed my eyes and imagined that place, it wasn’t a location.
It didn’t have mountains and lakes or cities and towns.
It was Riley’s blue gaze. It was Riley’s lips on mine and his heated breath washing over my neck whenever I made him feel particularly good.
“The West Coast is…amazing,” I said, fighting against the fear choking me. This was it, right? This was the thing I had been hoping for my entire teenage and adult life.
“What I would like you to do, Cameron, is to keep my card and consider joining forces with me. I feel lucky enough to have been in the presence of several people mentioning your name, then to discover you are still not represented by someone who would protect your interests and fight tooth and nail to get you the best deal there is.”
The knot in my throat was the result of far too many emotions swirling around me at once.
I was beaming with pride that I had accomplished this much, no matter the amount of sweat and blood it had taken.
I was desperate to stay in my small bubble for a while longer and slow down the passage of time if I could, just to earn a few more nights with Riley.
And I was moved by the prospect of having an experienced fighter representing my interests at the big table.
I took the card from Jason Manning and thanked him.
“Remember this, if you will. You are a talented and devoted player, Cameron. You deserve the freedom to focus on your skill and on doing what you love. That is the best I can offer all the players I represent.” Then, he went on dropping names that I was well familiar with.
Jason Manning represented some of the country’s biggest stars.
Not only were they the highest paid hockey players, but they were the living legends that had inspired me as a boy.
“This is definitely something I’ll think of a lot,” I admitted. “I’m, uh, honestly just very surprised that you know of me, Mr. Manning.”
“The pleasure and honor are all mine, my friend. Call me Jason,” he said.
“Thank you. Jason.” I tucked his card inside my pocket and mused aloud. “The West Coast.”
Jason laughed. “Could be. Could very well be.”
When we shook hands and I left the office, I was buzzing with excitement that I wanted to share. Except…I couldn’t. It had a sharp edge of finality to it. I headed down the hallway and spotted Caden leaving at the door on the far end, then made my way after him at my own pace.
I guarded my thoughts as I left the building and headed to the team house. I couldn’t just spill this excitement to Riley’s face and flaunt my ticket to the West Coast again. Wouldn’t that be the final blow to the little bit of happiness we had managed to carve out for ourselves?
Even though we both knew this was just a fling to pass the time and help us vent, I also wanted it to be so much more than that.
But I couldn’t let myself imagine a future like that.
If I did, it would be as though I wrote off my own future that I had worked so hard for.
And his, too. Separately or together, we had far too much to lose.
So, when I got to the team house, I kept to myself in my room and waited for him. And when Riley knocked around ten that night, I didn’t hesitate. I leaped at him and kissed him, ruining every chance at having a conversation that we might have had.
We made out until our faces were sore and Riley was so horny that he was humping my leg in desperation. “Need you. Want you. Can’t stop this.”
I replied with all the same words, blocking out all other thoughts.
They were true. I needed him and I wanted him, too.
I couldn’t stop kissing him. If I did, I would have to tell him about Jason.
And he would take it as well as he could.
It would be betrayal all over again. And yet, it had been inevitable from the start.
I grabbed him and led him to my bed. “Tonight, you’re going to ride me,” I told him. “You’ll be good for me and you’ll ride me until you come.”
His eyes were glazed with lust as he listened, following my lead and immersing himself in our game of passion.
We undressed and pleasured each other in all the ways we could.
Then, he did what he had been told. Sitting down on me, he rested his hands on my chest and rode me cowboy-style until we fucked each other’s brains out and were left in a sweaty heap of gasping bodies.
I hugged him for a long time after we’d thrown ourselves over the edge of our orgasms and soared in delight.
I held him so hard that even breathing was hard, let alone talking.
And in all that, we somehow did the unimaginable.
We fell asleep in my room.