Chapter 42
Ash
I zero in on the goal as I streak down the ice on a breakaway the next night as we play the Maple Leafs at home.
I’ve done nothing all game, and I need to get my head on straight.
I sense one of the defenders on my heels, but I put him out of my mind and try to focus.
I’m one of the fastest skaters in the league, and it’s just me and the goalie.
I shoot the puck high, hoping to put it in over his shoulder, but the fucker manages to get his glove up just in time to deflect the shot. The puck tips up over the top of the goal, and the home crowd groans.
I swear violently. A couple years ago, that’s a shot I’d make ninety-nine times out of a hundred. Now I’m lucky to have a fifty-fifty chance at it. I thought my luck had changed after that last game in Tampa, but apparently not.
I swing around behind the goal, not looking at the faces of the disappointed fans. A Leafs defender says something to me as he skates by, but I’m oblivious.
The one thing I’ve got going for me tonight is that I can’t hear the chirping.
Several players have tried to get in my head, but their taunts go in one ear and out the other.
I’d call it progress, except that the reason I haven’t heard a word all night is because I can’t think about anything but Gray right now.
I head to the bench for the end of my shift, and my eyes immediately seek her out in the stands. My stomach lurches when I find her seat empty, and I panic as I look around.
I relax when I see her come down the stairs with a plastic cup of wine in hand. Because of course my girl would drink wine at a hockey game. At least she wasn’t here to see me miss an easy shot.
Having Gray spend the night at my place last night and waking up with her body curled against mine this morning was a special kind of heaven. I wish her first time sleeping there had been under different circumstances, but for the moment, I’ll take what I can get.
I really wanted to fuck her this morning, but she had a long night, and I didn’t push. She was jumpy as hell when we went to her place to get her things, and she only relaxed when an inventory of her underwear drawer and her box of dildos and vibrators yielded nothing obvious missing.
She blushed furiously when I saw all the toys she had, including a dildo shaped like a long tentacle, but I reminded her I had plenty of toys as well. I also made her pack the tentacle to bring to my place.
There hadn’t been time to use it, though. We went to bed almost as soon as we got home, and it took Gray a long time to fall asleep. She tossed fitfully next to me for nearly half an hour before I pulled her into my arms and she finally quieted enough to drift off.
She had an early class this morning, and I came to the rink for game prep, so I haven’t seen much of her.
For my own part, now that Gray knows about the intruder, I can’t help dwelling on who it is and whether the creep will be back again. My money is still on it being Drew, but I’ve had a security guy watching him as well, and Gray’s ex hasn’t come anywhere near her house.
“You okay, man?” Cote asks next to me. “You seem spaced out.”
I want to laugh. I’ve finally found a way to block out the trash talk, but it involves spending the whole game worrying about my girlfriend.
“Fine,” I say. “Just got some things on my mind.”
“Well fucking get them off your mind,” Mack snaps at me from my other side. “We need you to get your shit together.”
I purse my lips. He’s right. I do need to get my shit together. This thing with Gray’s stalker is a distraction I can’t afford right now.
The buzzer sounds the end of the game. We won 2-1, but it was no thanks to me.
Ash
When I get out of the shower forty-five minutes later, Cedric is waiting for me in the locker room.
“Mr. Kaladin wants to see you in his office,” he says.
I swear inwardly. This can’t be good. I hurriedly towel off and get dressed.
“You going out?” Kelsier asks me as I grab my stuff.
Tomorrow’s an off day, so some of the team are going out tonight for a few drinks.
“Probably not,” I say. “Just got called to the principal’s office. I have to go see Kaladin, then I should get Gray home. She had a rough night.”
I filled Kelsier in today on how I came clean to Gray last night about having her followed and about the perve who broke into her house.
“I’ll text you where we end up in case you change your mind,” he says. “Maybe Gray will want a drink after the last couple days.”
“Maybe. Text me, and we’ll see,” I say as I hustle out of the locker room to head for Kaladin’s office.
When I get up to the administrative floor a few minutes later, Kaladin’s assistant sends me right in. I feel sorry for the woman. It’s almost eleven o’clock at night, and she’s still working.
I enter the office and head straight for the desk. Kaladin is seated behind it, but he stands when I enter.
“Ash, good to see you again,” he says, but he’s not smiling. “Thanks for joining us.”
Us?
I glance at the other chair on this side of Kaladin’s desk, only now noticing there’s someone in it. My heart stops when I see Gray sitting there, looking as though she’d rather be anywhere else.
I whip my head back to Kaladin. “What is she doing here?”
Kaladin raises a brow at my demand, but I don’t back down. If he thinks he’s going to fire her because I can’t keep my head on straight, he’s got another thing coming.
“Why don’t you have a seat,” Kaladin says, gesturing to the empty chair next to me.
I glance at Gray, and she looks resigned.
We don’t know for sure why Kaladin wants to see us, though, so I sit down before I jump to any conclusions that might get us in trouble.
“I just wanted to check in with you both to see how things are going,” Kaladin says casually when we’re both seated. “We didn’t really have an opportunity to talk in depth the other night at the fundraiser.”
Gray and I look at each other. Neither of us is buying his nonchalance. We’re both here because I sucked tonight.
I open my mouth to speak, but Gray beats me to it.
“Mr. Gunnarsson and I are doing our best to find a solution that works for him,” she says cooly.
Kaladin nods slowly. “And do you have any idea when a solution might present itself?” he asks, tenting his fingers in front of him.
Gray cocks her head. “No. As I warned both him and your lawyers when I took on this project, Mr. Kaladin, an intervention for trash talk doesn’t yet exist, so it’s going to take some time to figure things out.
You’re asking me to create something in months that often takes researchers years to develop. ”
She looks and sounds every bit like a professor explaining to a student that all the information for the exam was in the study guide, so if he failed, it was his own damn fault.
It’s so fucking hot, and I have to talk my dick down so I don’t go full mast in the middle of Kaladin’s office.
I hope Gray feels better, because I need to be inside her when we get home.
I look at Kaladin and catch the brief look of surprise on his face at her reproach before he schools his expression.
“I see,” Kaladin says, “Anything to add, Mr. Gunnarsson?” he turns to me, and I have to wipe away the smirk that’s been slinking up my lips.
“I know my play tonight doesn’t reflect it,” I say seriously, “but we’ve made progress. Gra-…uh, Dr. Mackey has figured out why the trash talk gets under my skin, and we’ve been working on ways to help me ignore it, but it’s been hit or miss.”
Kaladin nods again slowly.
“Actually, I was able to pretty much ignore it all tonight,” I say, filling the silence. “I was distracted because of a personal matter, but I feel like we’re getting there.”
Kaladin’s gaze jumps between me and Gray, but I don’t dare look at her for fear he’ll see more than he needs to see between us.
“And how are the two of you getting along?” he asks. “How is the… fake relationship going?”
It takes everything I have not to react. I swear there’s a knowing look on Kaladin’s face, and that’s a good indication we’re fucked.
I shrug as indifferently as I can. “We’re fine. Dr. Mackey is a great teacher, and she knows her stuff. I’m in good hands.”
I didn’t mean to say the last part like that, and I see Gray shift in her seat out of the corner of my eye. I keep my eyes fixed on Kaladin, who looks between us again.
“So you’re not sleeping together then?” Kaladin asks, and I’m sure the color must drain from my face.
Gray handles the accusation far better. “Excuse me?” she says, and she’s either genuinely indignant Kaladin would ask such a thing, or she’s an amazing actress.
Kaladin turns his attention to her. “No offense meant, Dr. Mackey,” he says calmly. “I’ve just been hearing some interesting rumors, and I’m trying to determine their veracity. For instance, word has it you spent the night at Mr. Gunnarsson’s house last night.”
How the fuck does he know that? Maybe Gray was right, and he is having us followed.
Gray’s eyes widen and her mouth drops open. Her gaze darts to me, and I give her a look that hopefully says, ‘Trust me.’
The truth is about to set us free.
“She did spend the night at my place last night,” I tell Kaladin. “Someone broke into Dr. Mackey’s house a while ago, and she was afraid to be alone, so I invited her to stay with me for a while until things get sorted out.”
Granted the break-in was weeks ago…
Kaladin’s face instantly goes serious, his slightly smug look now gone. “Someone broke into your house?” he asks Gray, frowning deeply.
Her mouth works a bit, and I can almost see her trying to decide how much to tell him or how to spin it.
“Yes,” she says finally. “At first I thought it was just my mother coming over to drop something off, but…new evidence suggests there was someone else there.”
She glances at me, seeking reassurance, and I nod the barest amount.
“I did freak out a little last night,” she goes on, “and Ash graciously offered to let me stay with him so I didn’t have to be alone. Or stay with my parents,” she adds. “I can get you a copy of the police report if-”
Kaladin waves a hand. “That won’t be necessary. I believe you. Are you alright?”
Gray smiles sadly. “As alright as I can be knowing a stranger was wandering around my house.”
Kaladin turns to me. “She’s going to stay with you for a while?”
I see Gray’s head whip to me in my periphery, but I don’t look at her.
“For the near future,” I say. “Until we can be sure it’s safe for her to go home. I’m sorry. It’s why I played like shit tonight. I’ve just been worried about the doc’s safety.”
Kaladin nods seriously. “I can imagine. That’s very considerate of you to let her stay with you.”
There’s still a tone to his voice, but I just shrug. “I’ve got the space, plus a state-of-the-art security system.”
I practically feel Gray’s eyes boring holes in the side of my head, but I don’t look at her. Not only does this get us out of hot water with Kaladin, but now she has an excuse – and his blessing – to stay with me.
Kaladin turns to Gray. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” he tells her, and she nods. “Do you think it has to do with you working with Ash?” he adds.
Shit. This has the potential to backfire.
“I personally think it’s her piece of shit ex,” I say before Gray can answer. I turn to look at her finally, and her eyes are wide in an expression that I’m pretty sure means, ‘You should stop talking now.’
I never told her my theory about Drew, but it’s something we should discuss later.
“Alright,” Kaladin says, leaning back in his chair. “The two of you should get home and get some rest. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if there’s anything I can do.”
Gray and I rise, eager to be out of there. At least the last few minutes of panicked improvisation have fixed the situation in my pants.
“Thank you, Mr. Kaladin,” Gray says. “I appreciate the offer.”
We turn to head out, and I have to stop myself from putting a hand on the small of her back.
I open the door for Gray as we leave and look back at Kaladin. He meets my eyes, and I can tell from his expression that, while he may believe us about the break-in at Gray’s, he still thinks there’s something more going on between me and her.
I give him a reassuring nod. His nod back is full of warning. At least that’s how I take it.
It’s time for me and Gray to get back to work.