Like Ben said before, he and I were friends, and he had come to me in a seething rage when he was called into the GM’s office about it. He’d been shaking, not crying, though I could hear the thickness in his voice, telling me he was barely holding it all back.
It was hard for me to stay calm about it. Ben and I were close. We shared similar childhood experiences…oh, and an ex—sort of. It was hard to consider Journey an ex when we did nothing more than flirt, have three dinner dates, and one very failed attempt to fuck.
But that’s what he called me, so…
“When is his last day? And has there been any noise about a replacement?”
I slowed my speed for the cooldown and took a calming breath. I was happy for Alexio. Noah was a raging asshole to his players, and no one liked him. If he’d been a good coach, I could understand the reason they kept him for so fucking long, but he wasn’t. The Glaciers had so much fucking potential, especially since their recent acquisitions.
All of it was in spite of Noah.
“No one’s said anything. You should ask Ben if he knows. Or text Alexio. Or maybe Vanya.”
Fuck. I had no idea if Daniel was capable of seeing the flinch I gave, but I couldn’t help it. My entire body burned with the memory of Vanya and everything he did to me. My ass was sore, my muscles were like jelly, and all I wanted was more.
Which could absolutelynotfucking happen again.
“I have a meeting with Ben later today. I’ll ask him,” I said, distracting myself as best I could. I needed to find out who the fuck let my stalker through the security gates twice anyway, and Ben was the one who could do that kind of digging.
He was nice, and sighted people found him ridiculously attractive—obvious in the fact that they tended to give him whatever he asked for.
And it would possibly keep me from thinking about Vanya. At least until our game was over.
I stilled my legs and waited for my body to catch up to the fact that I was no longer moving, and then I stepped off and held the handle while the room swayed back and forth under my feet. It took a moment for me to gain my full balance, and then I grabbed my towel and swiped all the sweat off the back of my neck.
“You gonna be here a while?”
“Mm. I need to get my steps in before practice,” Daniel said.
I wrinkled my nose and grabbed my water bottle, chugging enough to make my stomach hurt, before snatching my cane from the wall. “I’m gonna shower and make a few calls. See you on the ice for drills.”
He muttered something like a goodbye in French, but I wasn’t paying close attention. I patted my pocket for my phone, then pulled it out and tapped my earbud to turn it on before finding Ben’s number.
When I’d gotten to the arena, he wasn’t in his office, and I didn’t want to wait around all day.
“Micah? Tell me there’s not a crisis.”
“Not really. I heard about Brown though.”
Ben burst into laughter. “Yeah. I didn’t mind waking up to that news.”
I grinned as I turned the corner and stepped into the locker room. I turned my head from left to right, but I was pretty sure I was alone, which was good because I was in no mood for conversation.
“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked.
“Oh, uh…” I set my cane against my stall and grabbed my towel. “Are you here? Some shit happened, and I need your help.”
“Tell me you’re not feuding with another player,” he begged.
That was…fair, really. But luckily, I was keeping to myself this season. “No.”
“And you’re not in some messy breakup? You didn’t fuck someone’s husband, or?—”
“Jesus, dude.” That one hurt.
“Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry, and it was partly my fault because I was the one who’d cultivated that reputation. “But yeah, I’m here. You want to meet me in my office?”
“Mm. I’m gonna shower off my stank, and then I’ll be in.” I hung up before he could make another cutting remark about how slutty I was. Normally, I could take it. Today, I was feeling tender.
