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I watch him do it and follow. I like the way none of them talk to me like I’m a baby. I hate that.

“Do you know what the most important lesson to ice skating is?” Alastair asks once I’m in front of him.

“What?” I ask.

“Learning how to fall without hurting yourself. You will fall a lot when you first start out. Heck, I fall while I’m playing hockey. I slide, get slammed into the boards, and get run head first into things,” he says as my jaw drops. “But none of that matters if you break your butt.”

“Ready to fall?” Ci asks, grinning.

It feels like they’re asking me something else but I nod anyway.

Sure; let’s fall. To cold, sore butts and confusing days, I guess.

CHAPTER

THIRTY

CIARAN

Noor’s son is tough, but I can’t help but wonder at what’s going on behind his eyes. They say that “old souls” live in tiny children, and I can see that in Zayn.

We’ve had two lessons with him this week, and he’s done really well at both. However, each time, he’s been hyper focused on his mom before moving to his lesson. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but he always seems to find it.

Alastair, Draven, and I all had to approve our new commute to San Diego twice a week with our coach. He needs to rearrange our workouts and when we meet with our trainers to keep our schedule in line with our contracts, which is going to be a huge pain in the ass for him. It’s not ideal, but we’re going to be traveling anyway for games over the next couple of weeks on this coast.

We’ll have to work with our coach to ensure we can keep this up. Six weeks will fly by in a blink of an eye, and we explained this was important to us. Thankfully, he was in a good mood when we came to him about it. Sometimes, life just happens.

I’m hoping that Noor is willing to make it a more permanent part of her life, and we'll need to figure out what that’ll mean for our careers when that happens.

I have my date tonight with Noor, and I’m wearing a hole into the carpet of the hotel as I fuss over what I’m wearing.

“If Zayn was any older and caught wind of your date, I have the feeling he’d be waiting with a shotgun on the porch of his house,” Alastair teases me as I snort.

“He’s intense,” I admit. “There are times he feels like a live wire…”

“But how much of that is actually biology,” Draven asks, gazing pointedly at the man in question. “Think about it. That doesn’t come from Noor. You’re intense as fuck, Alastair.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that. I have a feeling that part of it is from watching his mom struggle with POTS,” Alastair sighs. “I don’t think it’s all biology.”

“Imagine seeing your mom weave on her feet, not be able to get enough air, or play when you want to,” I say, my voice feeling like gravel in my throat. “She looks like she’s doing better than she did when we first met her in high school, but still. It has to do something to a kid.”

“It makes him stronger,” Alastair grunts. “He has an empathy I can’t imagine having as a child.”

“That’s true,” I agree, pulling at my tie as I glare in the mirror.

“Lose the tie and you’ll be fine,” Draven decides, coming closer. He opens the top of my navy shirt, fixes my jacket, and then kisses me until I can’t breathe. The sting of his teeth sinking into my bottom lip has me groaning, and he grinds his erection into mine as he squeezes my ass. “You’re gorgeous, dah-ling. Now, stop fucking with it and finish up.”

I can’t help but laugh at his fake accent, shaking my head as I check myself over once last time.

“While you two finish eye fucking each other, I’ll offer a change of subject,” Alastair drawls. “Do you think Zayn can tell we like his mom?”

“Fuck yes he does,” I grin. “I’m not exactly sure what to do about that though. Do we lean into it? We signed a contract that said we would be good little hockey players.”

“But if he figures it out himself…” Alastair’s sharp nod is sexy as he follows what I’m saying. “Not yet, though. I have a feeling he doesn’t know if he likes us or not, and that could blow up in our faces.”

“He’s started standing in front of Noor when we come in for the lesson. Have you noticed that?” I ask, grabbing my shoes. They’re not super fancy, but they’re not trainers either.

I’ll be able to walk to dinner after the first part of my date with Noor tonight. Alastair and Draven are going to wait for me, and then we’re going to drive to Anaheim, where our next game is tomorrow. It’s not far, and I’ll be able to catch a nap.