Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
EASTON
"Stop it." I poked Cruz in the knee to stop his leg from jiggling. He stopped for a few moments, then started again.
"I can't help it," he said. "How the fuck can you sit still?"
"Willpower." I sat back, knees and arms crossed and attempted to look cool, calm and collected. On the inside, I had an army of jumping frogs waiting to escape. Forget butterflies, these guys were leaping back and forth like they were on speed.
"You and me, we're kings of fake it till you make it." I glanced over at him.
"Yeah and it's about time we made it," he said. His bravado was back, but his eyes showed his continued nerves. A perfect match for mine.
Coach Foster strode over to the stands where we sat, waiting. "You guys did good out there. The AIHL reps were impressed with what they saw."
"Of course they were," Cruz said with all his usual swagger. "We're fucking awesome."
Coach snorted slightly, but he didn't disagree. His gaze returned to the reps, who were talking amongst themselves, conferring, making a decision that could change all our lives.
"What did they say about Dean?" Shaw asked, his voice low.
Coach's brow crinkled as he frowned. "A couple of them had concerns, but we had some support from…an interesting angle."
"Care to elaborate?" I asked.
"Aidan Draeger, the head coach of the Dusk Bay Demons didn't seem too concerned. He said it shouldn't reflect on the rest of you." Foster nodded slightly towards the other coach.
I hadn't met Aidan, but I'd seen him at games. He seemed intense but passionate about his team. He'd also dragged them from the bottom of the ladder to the very top. For that alone, he was well respected. The AIHL seemed to listen when he spoke. If that was the case, we were still in with a shot.
"He just became my favourite person," Cruz said. "Okay, third favourite person." He didn't look towards me, but I knew what he meant.
"He won't be in your top ten when the Demons are kicking our asses," I said.
"Who said they're going to kick our asses?" Shaw asked. "No reason we can't kick theirs."
"They have a proper arena to practice in," I said. "Legions of supporters and a shit load of merch." I couldn't wait for the day that was us. The first thing I'd do would be to buy Cat a hoodie with our logo on it. A big one so she could get lost in it. Her and her pregnant belly.
The idea of her carrying a child sent shivers through me. And a surge of blood straight to my cock. I didn't know what it was about the thought, just that I wanted it to happen. I didn't want to push her, but I did want to convince her.
"We have things they don't have," Shaw said. "The three of us, for one thing. Cat cheering us on."
"They probably have a goalie who's a normal dude," Cruz said. "I bet Phoenix DiMarco doesn't go around trying to kill people." He spoke lightly, but his eyes flashed with fury.
"Dean is locked away," I reminded him.
"Fucker should have—" Cruz shook his head and didn't finish.
He didn't need to. We all felt the same way.
More or less. I didn't regret not killing him, but only because of the repercussions I would have faced for doing it.
The satisfaction wouldn't have been worth messing up everything for the rest of my life and for the team.
And for Opal Springs. Not to mention I wouldn't have been able to fuck Cat.
I wouldn't have missed that for anything.
Words weren't enough to say how amazing her body was.
How good it felt to be inside her. The sounds she made when I made her come.
If I kept thinking like this, I was going to blow my load in my track pants, in front of everyone.
I took a deep breath and put a hand over Cruz's. "We dealt with him. Just like we'll deal with anything else that gets thrown at us."
He looked down at our hands before turning his around to lace our fingers together.
I twitched slightly, but I didn't pull away. Something about holding his hand felt right. As right as holding Cat's.
No one on the team said anything or looked at us funny.
The only one who looked at all was Shaw, and he wasn't even slightly surprised.
He actually nodded slightly, which it was about as close to a smile of approval as anyone got from him.
He was a judgy prick about some things, but he was a decent guy. We could share Cat with worse.
Cruz nodded. "Let anything try to stand in our way. We'll bowl that motherfucker down." He squeezed my hand.
"Yeah, we will," I agreed. I smiled at him, before turning my attention to the reps. They still stood with their heads together, talking and laughing. If I didn't know better, I'd guess they were off track.
"How long does it take?" I said in a low, harsh whisper. "Coach, aren't we the last ones they're seeing?"
"Yes we are." He was starting to look concerned. "It's possible they made a decision before they walked through those doors this morning."
"That would be bullshit." Cruz leaned forward as though he was about to jump up and confront them.
I tightened my grip on his hand and held him back. "Don't do anything rash. We can't assume. If it's a no this time, then we'll convince them next time."
"Yeah, don't fuck it up for us," Shaw said. He looked about as ready to jump out of his seat as Cruz.
Cruz grumbled something under his breath, but sat back. "I hate waiting."
"Literally no one on the face of the planet likes waiting," I said. "Waiting is the suckiest suck to ever suck."
Cruz looked at me sideways. "Can you stop saying suck so much? You're making my balls hurt."
I smirked. "Suck." I hadn't told him Cat and I fucked. He guessed as much when I returned home with a grin on my face like Cat got my cream, but I was done bragging about her and sharing details like some dumbass kid.
Cruz groaned. "Bro."
I grinned, but my balls were aching as much as his must have been.
I'd been thinking about him since that kiss and wondering how it would feel to touch him.
I wanted to be with him, but I wanted Cat to be involved too.
That meant her and Cruz resolving the shit between them.
Which they had to, because if they didn't I'd be stuck in a very uncomfortable middle.
"They're coming," Mitch Ward said.
"We're not—" Cruz started before realising the alternate centre was talking about the AIHL reps. "Fuck."
We all sat up straighter as the six of them took their time to stride over to us.
Five of them were dressed in suits, each looking expensive and official.
Aidan was dressed in track pants and a hoodie with the Demons’ logo on the front.
He looked like the kind of guy who didn't give a crap if he was supposed to look dressed up and fancy today.
He was going to be himself, no matter what.
I admired that. If I was going to choose a role model from these men, he would be it. Especially since he was a coach and former professional hockey player himself, not just a pencil pusher.
"Gentlemen, thanks for waiting," Herman Norris, the head of the reps, addressed us all.
He was in his late fifties, and from what I could gather, he was the money man.
If the Ghouls couldn't be profitable, he'd be the one to say so.
He would have been crunching everyone's numbers for the last few months.
It wasn't him I was worried about. Opal Springs would get behind us, I was certain of it.
So much was at stake for so many people.
No, my eyes went to Larry Givens. His concern seemed to focus on us as a team.
He'd been the one to scrutinise our skills the most closely.
He'd come to a lot of our games and watched with eagle eyes and an unreadable expression.
If we weren't up to scratch, it didn't matter how profitable we were, the AIHL wouldn't touch us.
They could very well approve the Ghouls and replace the whole damn team.
Not quickly, obviously, but they'd weed us out one by one.
That would be devastating, but in the back of my mind I'd considered the possibility for a long time. If that was what happened, I'd have no choice but to throw my support behind the team, even if I wasn't part of it.
"No problem." Kage Foster nodded to them. "We understand the importance of making the right choice."
"You also understand how complex this is," Herman said. "Especially in light of the actions of Dean Hayes. We need to consider the publicity that might be generated by his former association with the team."
"Former being the important word here." Aidan Draeger looked bored. Evidently he'd decided they'd discussed it enough, and that Herman was beating the proverbial dead horse.
Herman turned to him and pressed his lips hard together. "As you can see, we haven't reached a consensus on that matter. We don't want the AIHL being brought into disrepute by someone like that."
Dean was the fucking gift that went on giving. If he hadn't touched Cat, there'd be no need for any of these conversations. On the other hand, if he hadn't, he'd still be here with us, seething and hating. We were better off with him far, far away from any of us.
"We condemn the actions of Mr Hayes," Coach Foster said. "His actions towards Catalina Ryan were abhorrent. He in no way represented the Ghouls and what we stand for."
"Fucking right he didn't," Cruz said. "If any of us had any idea he was a psycho, we would have had him removed from the team."
"Yeah, we would," Shaw agreed.
A murmur went through the rest of us.
I cleared my throat. "If you don't mind me saying, I don't think it would be fair to judge all of us on the actions of one player.
Cat Ryan doesn't. She's in a relationship with a couple of us.
At first, she thought all hockey players were bad news.
But then she got to know us and she learned we were decent guys.
We make mistakes, like everyone else, but we've put everything into this.
There's nothing we wouldn't do for the team and for Opal Springs.
At the end of the day, this isn't just about us.
It's about the whole town and the way we can inspire, y'know, the next generation to chase their dreams. Dean Hayes stole a dream from Cat.
I hope you can appreciate that we don't want him to steal ours too. "
I looked down at my knees as the guys clapped and Cruz patted my shoulder.
"Well said, bro. That's exactly how I feel, but I couldn't have said it as well as that."
I glanced over at him. "You could have, but you would have added a few more 'fucks.'"
He grinned. He was a good looking guy, but when he smiled, he made my heart melt a little more. I'd cared about him for a long time, but admitting it to myself was easier now than it had been. Denying it was a big part of my dumbass kid past.
Was there anything in my life Cat hadn't changed? She swept in like an ice storm, cleared everything in her path and made it better.
Aidan gave me an approving nod and another glance at Herman. One that seemed to say 'I told you so.'
Herman was unmoved. "Of course I can appreciate the sentiment. However, it's in the best interest of the AIHL that we don't make a decision today. It seems we have more to discuss." He raised his eyebrows at Aidan.
Cruz growled softly, barely loud enough for me to hear.
I patted his back. "It's not a no."
"It's very much not a no," Aidan said. He looked almost as frustrated as we felt. It seemed clear he'd made up his mind and he wasn't letting Herman sway him. Unfortunately, Herman didn't seem to be swayed by him either.
I leaned over to the side to look at Larry, but couldn't tell what he or the other three were thinking.
None of them disagreed with Herman's decision.
Apparently they were open to further conversation.
I didn't like it, but I understood. The choice they had to make was a big one and they couldn't take it lightly.
No matter what me or Aidan or anyone else said.
"Thank you gentlemen for your time," Herman said. "We will be in touch as soon as we've come to a final decision.”
Coach nodded and walked with them to the door.
"Fuck," Shaw said once they were safely out of hearing.
"What he said." Cruz jerked his head towards the defenceman. "They might decide to go with an easier choice than us. Fuck Dean."
I wanted to disagree, but I couldn't. In spite of Aidan's assurance, there were five more voices making the decision.
"It's lucky for all of us he's not right here in front of me," I said. "I might not let go if he was." I curled my hand in a fist as though I could squeeze his throat again, until he took his last breath.
"I might not regret it if you didn't," Cruz said. "The little prick would have deserved it."
The mood of the whole team had taken a nosedive.
It wasn't a no, but it sure as hell felt like one.