Chapter 20 #3
Mack chimes in. “I guess I get that. I never had to talk to girls because I was dating Gen. And now, not to sound like a douche, but these cheerleaders have been throwing themselves at me and it’s fucking awesome.
If I liked someone and she didn’t even look my way, I guess I would react the same way Nash did. ”
“Yeah, I get it too.” Tucker muses. “Last year I had this huge, hopeless crush on our team captain’s sister.
She was nice to me, but I don’t think she even noticed me.
I never had a problem finding hookups. But when I realized I really liked Bex, I was too scared to really put myself out there.
All I did was make a complete ass of myself. ”
Nash looks at us for a long moment. “I like Taryn. And being with her was fucking mind blowing. But I came here for a fresh start. I told myself I was here to focus on hockey and classes, period. And so far, I really like this team. I don’t know if I can put everything on the line for a woman.
Especially if she’s involved with two of my teammates.
This sounds like a fucking recipe for disaster and I don’t want a repeat of last year. ”
That last thing he said, piques our interest.
“What about last year?” Mack is the first to ask. “I thought you were benched because you were injured?”
Nash’s jaw ticks, his eyes avoiding ours. “I wasn’t going to talk about this. Coach Hiddink didn’t bench me because I was injured. He was punishing me because I fucked his wife.”
“Holy shit.” Tucker snickers. “I wasn’t expecting this plot twist.”
“Fuck off.” Nash bites out. “Look, I’m not proud of what happened, and I’m not looking for excuses, but I had no idea.
When I saw her in one of the bars on campus, I didn’t know she was my coach’s wife.
I didn’t even know that she was married.
She had been looking at me, and she was hot.
I asked if I could buy her a drink, and we hit it off.
I didn’t see a ring, and she never said she was married.
We hooked up a couple of times, and when Coach called me into his office, I was completely blindsided. ”
That’s rough. “How did he find out?” I ask.
“He got suspicious when she went out by herself late at night, and he looked at her phone. He found a few text messages. Some with photos she had been sending me.”
“Jeez,” Tucker says. “I don’t get it. If you didn’t know, why was he mad at you? He should have been mad at her.”
Nash barks out a bitter laugh. “He didn’t believe me.
He married someone almost twenty years younger than him, and I got caught in some fucked up jealousy spat between them.
Apparently she cheated because she was mad that he was working too much and not giving her the attention she needed.
She knew I was one of his players all along.
That’s why she went to a bar on campus. It fucked up everything.
I tried to apologize, to explain, but he wouldn’t believe me.
And the team stood by him. I had played hockey with those men for two years, and they just iced me out.
No one would even talk to me. That’s why I transferred.
I couldn’t take that anymore, and not playing was putting my career at risk. ”
I feel bad for him. “It sounds to me like you were collateral damage. Your coach took it out on you rather than his wife.”
“I agree with Col,” Tucker says. “Your teammates were assholes to shun you like that.”
Nash shrugs, but it’s obvious the way he was treated by his teammates still stings.
“I don’t even blame them too much. They were worried about being benched too if they showed any support for me.
But it doesn’t change the fact that I spent a whole year on the bench.
I let everyone believe that I was injured because I was worried about what the LA Gladiators would think if the whole story came out.
Would they believe me or a coach with twenty years of experience and a stellar reputation?
But I needed to play this year, so when I heard that a lot of your star players were graduating or going pro, I decided to come here. ”
“It sounds like you were caught between a rock and a hard place.” Tucker commiserates. “And dude, I should be going to the Gladiators too. We’re gonna be teammates.”
Nash runs a hand over his face. “That’s probably another reason why I should stay away from Taryn.
I don’t want any more bad blood between teammates.
Especially if we’re going to play together next year, too.
I shouldn’t have even told you any of this.
Now you might think that I go after other men’s women as a habit. ”
I can see why Nash might feel that way. “Nash, we wouldn’t think that about you, I promise.”
“Really?” he sounds skeptical.
“Seriously,” I try to reassure him. “My impression of you so far has been nothing but positive. And the fact that you immediately came clean about you and Taryn confirms that.”
“I agree.” Tucker backs me up. “And look, if you don’t want anything serious with Taryn, I would appreciate it if you told her so and stepped aside.
But if you like her, we need to continue being honest with each other until we figure it out.
If we’re grown up about this, it won’t affect us on or off the ice. ”
Nash looks troubled. “I don’t know. I came here to get away from women's drama, and I’m not sure I can be as chill as the two of you are.”
“Dude,” Tucker chuckles. “I have zero chill when it comes to Taryn. But it sounds like we’re all still getting to know her.
Like I said, I want her to want me without wondering, ‘What if?’ You don’t have to decide right now.
After all, it takes two to tango, and you might be the one she wants.
Which would suck, but I want her to be happy even if it isn’t with me. ”
Nash’s jaw tightens. “I doubt I’m the one she wants. After we hooked up, she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. It looked like a breakaway on the ice. Maybe I was too rough with her; I don’t know. I was so fucking turned on after that kiss in front of everyone.”
“That’s between you and her.” I drawl. “I’m with Tucker on this. Don’t shut her out. For as much as I want Taryn to myself, I want her to be happy.”
Nash is about to say something, but we’re all distracted by a rustling noise coming from a few feet away from the pool.
“What’s that?” Tucker’s head turns left and right, looking for the source of the noise. “Are there any wolves in these woods? Or bears?”
I throw my head back, laughing at his wide-eyed expression. “Dude, maybe if we were in an actual woodland. These are a few trees and some shrubs, and there are landscape gardeners maintaining the area.”
“I mean, there are bears in California.” Mack chuckles.
We hear the same noise again.
“Who’s there?” Tucker yells. “We’re four big, dangerous hockey players and we’re armed.”