I've spent years keeping that part of my life separate. My teammates know my family is from Wisconsin. They know my mom is loud and my sisters are annoying. They don't know about the hospital visits or the monthly payments that eat up half my salary.
Theo knows because Theo is my best friend, and he was there when I needed someone. But everyone else gets the version of Ethan Ward that smiles for the cameras and keeps his personal life locked away.
And now Natalie Cross knows. Not everything, but enough. More than she should.
I scrub my hands over my face.
This can't happen again. I can’t be fucking vulnerable like that again. Natalie is not my friend. She's my physical therapist. She's here to fix my knee. Then she'll move on to the next patient, and I'll just be another file in her cabinet.
No more vulnerability. No more letting pretty women with pretty eyes see the parts of me that I keep hidden. I grab my crutches and head to my bedroom to get ready for the pool session.
5
Ethan
The pool room is quiet when I arrive. The water shimmers under the bright overhead lights, and the smell of chlorine fills my lungs.
I make my way toward the edge slowly, my crutches clicking against the wet tile. My swim trunks hang low on my hips, and my knee is bare, the surgical scar still angry and pink against my skin. Every step sends a dull ache up my leg, but I grit my teeth and keep moving.
Natalie is already here, setting up some equipment by the edge of the pool. She's wearing a black one-piece swimsuit, and her hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail.
Her figure is athletic. Toned arms and lean legs, but it's her breasts that catch my attention. They are full, round, and straining against the fabric. A perfect handful. The low neckline shows just enough cleavage to make my imagination run wild.
What the fuck is wrong with me?This is a therapy session, not a strip club.
Her gaze rakes over me quickly, and a part of me wonders if she’s thinking about my body the way I am hers. “You’re early,” she says, but doesn’t sound disappointed by it.
“So are you.”
“I like to be prepared.” She gestures toward the ramp. “Ready to get in?”
I make my way down the ramp, gripping the handrail as the warm water rises around my legs, my hips, and then my chest. The heat feels good on my knee. That's the only thing that feels good right now.
Natalie slips into the pool and wades over to me. The water comes up to her shoulders, but when she moves closer, I can see the outline of her body beneath the surface. I fix my eyes on the far wall.
“We're going to work on some resistance exercises today,” she says. “The water supports your weight, so you can move in ways that would be too painful on land. Sound good?”
“Sure.”
She positions herself beside me and places her hands on my thigh, just above my knee. Her fingers are warm and firm, and my cock twitches in response.Fuck.I clench my jaw and try to think about anything else.
Defensive formations. Penalty statistics. The playoffs. But her hands are moving up my thigh, and all I can think about is how long it's been since a woman touched me like this. Even if it's clinical and means nothing. My body doesn't know the difference.
It just knows that a beautiful woman is touching me, and it's been a long time since anyone has.
“I'm going to guide your leg through some movements,” she says. “Tell me if anything hurts.”
She bends my knee slowly. I stare at the ceiling and try to think about hockey. Anything but the way her fingers feel against my skin.
“Good,” she murmurs. “That's good. Now let's try some extension.”
She straightens my leg, then bends it again. “You're tense. Try to relax.”
“I'm relaxed.”
“You're not.” She looks up at me, and her hazel eyes are filled with concern. “Is it your dad? Are you still worried about him?”
That and a thousand other things. Like, what the fuck am I going to do if the Renegades don’t renew my contract? What will become of my father? Bella and Lucy can’t afford his hospital bills.
