Page 56 of Goalie interference

“Ash,” Reed hummed, smiling and nodding his head at him briefly. “Glad to see a concussion hasn’t broken your spirit.”

“You think he heard me talking about us having sex?” Ash whispered to me–only his whispering right now might as well have been normal talking.

“I think New York heard you, baby,” I chuckled, kissing his head again when he offered it to me.

It wasn’t an offer–it was a demand…

He was just so pretty that I wasn’t saying no.

“That’ll take some getting used to,” Reed huffed, taking the empty seat next to me with a heavy thud. “Not the gay thing–you know I’m okay with that. Just that, uh…Ash not acting like Ash thing–that’s new.”

Ash was still stiff, eyeing Reed like he was still trying to figure out if Reed was on to us. I put him out of his misery and just told him that Reed knew–only that started a new wave of dramatic questions that he didn’t know he was actually yelling.

Ash was a dramatic guy, even without the drugs.

“...and you can’t fire him–that would be wrong,” Ash babbled on, making us both laugh at how long it had been going on already. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever had, and yeah, we’re dating, but like, that doesn’t affect his coaching or anything–we had a deal about that. He loves me, and I love him, and he makes my insides all happy and–”

“And you’re not helping anymore,” I interrupted, covering his mouth and laughing with Reed anyway.

Ash’s brows furrowed, and I could feel his mouth form a pout under my hand. “Don’t pout,” I warned, removing my hand to find a pout very much stuck on his face anyway.

“You know,” Reed breathed, catching his breath from laughing. “Remember when I said that it was different for you and me–dating someone his age? I take it back.”

“Hey!” Ash yelled, wincing when it was too loud for even him. “It’s fine–we’re fine. He’s so in love with me–I could be way younger–”

“No, you could not–don’t say that again,” I scolded, earning another pout from the baby. “He’s just loopy right now.”

Reed just laughed, amused by this whole thing and confusing me deeply. I didn’t say anything when he first walked in, but that was mostly for Ash’s sake– I didn’t want to have the you fired discussion when Ash was all whiny and sad still.

“Are you here to fire me–I’m getting some mixed signals from you, sitting here like my friend,” I finally asked, petting Ash’s soft hair a few times like it was for his comfort.

“No,” Reed huffed, waving me off like that was a ridiculous notion. “Are you kidding? I mean, maybe, if it were any other player and you were any other coach, but come on.”

He leaned forward some, his face still amused but serious. “Ash isn’t fighting for first string, and you’re not some predator–you're thirty-four. I wouldn’t bat an eye at you two on the street–well, maybe I would because I know you two, and Ash has a loud mouth–”

“Fuck you–”

“Stop it,” I scolded, offering my hand to Ash to keep him busy.

He took it happily, moving it to his cheek and preening like it was all he needed. “So, you’re not…You’re not going to fire me, then what? Just giving me the chance to quit?”

My head refused to accept that he was here for any other reason. We may have been friends, but friendship didn’t mean blind loyalty when I was clearly crossing a moral, professional line.

“God, no,” Reed almost laughed, hand on his chest like he was actually scared. “It took me five tries to get a coach Ash will actually listen to, and you have him trained like a dog now. I don’t really care how you did it–just keep it at home, and don’t you know…force my hand–I don’t want to tell the dean this. This is a nightmare on paper, you know that, right?”

“And don’t be dragging him out with us either,” he went on, waving me off dismissively. “I see enough of the kid at practice.”

Ash was all happy and giddy, kissing the side of my hand like he had no cares in the world about Reed being there.

He was loopy from the drugs, sure, but I knew a lot of that was also me–he never had to worry about anything when I was around.

He’d never have to worry about anything again.

I’d make sure of it.

Chapter 28

Ash