Page 47 of Playing the Player

Josh looks genuinely offended. “I’m the captain.”

“Not in my eyes.” In the many years I have known Josh, I have never seen him as speechless as he is right now. I think he might cry.

“I can take you down to the arena later.” I offer. “There might be a few of the guys there.”

Liam’s head whips towards me. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, buddy. As long as it’s cool with your sister.”

Liam turns towards Sash, giving her massive puppy dog eyes. They look so similar when he does that. They look similar anyway, but with those big, round, brown eyes looking like that, you’d swear they’re the same person. How could she ever say no to him? “Please, Sashabear. I swear I will never run away again.”

“You shouldn't run away again anyway!” Sasha exclaims before turning towards me. “Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Of course. It’ll give me time to bond with my baby bro-in-law.”

Olivia bursts out laughing across the room. “Your bro-in-law?”

I shoot her a warning look. “Yeah. My baby bro-in-law because Sasha is my girlfriend.”

“Oh right.” She says, barely containing herself. “I forgot.”

“It’s true.” Liam pipes up, “I even walked in on them having sex this morning.”

Silence. Complete silence. Every head in the room slowly bounces between Sasha and me. Josh’s mouth drops open. Olivia freezes. Sasha looks like she’s ready to evaporate. And Liam is standing there as if nothing happened.

For fucks sake.

This kid is gonna get someone in trouble someday with that mouth of his.

I wonder if I was this exhausting when I was Liam’s age. He hasn’t shut his mouth since we got to the stadium. Knight thinks he’s awesome. Coach is pretending he doesn’t think the same. But judging by the tiny smile he keeps trying to hide behind those glares he’s aiming at me for bringing Liam here, I think he’s failing miserably.

It’s entertaining as hell. But underneath the laughs and jokes, I can see something that hits a little too close to home. Every time he says something, his eyes flick around the room, checking everyone’s reaction. Making sure they laughed. Making sure he wasn’t too much. Making sure he didn’t just say the wrong thing.

I used to do that. Hell, sometimes I still do.

The regret flashes across his face the second he thinks he’s gone too far. I know exactly what that feels like. The gears in his brain seem to be working a mile a minute. Just like mine does.

So I let him borrow some skates. I thought it would be a good idea to let Liam go onto the ice and hit the puck around for a bit. It usually helps me calm my racing thoughts so maybe it would help him too.

For a kid who has never been skating before, he’s a natural. His foot work is precise and his aim with the puck is better than most adult men. I should talk to Sasha about this. If Liam joined a hockey program now, he could be something special.

“Hey, Knight.” Liam shouts from center ice. “Can I shove you against the boards?”

“Only if you can catch me!” Knight takes off down the ice with Liam on his heel. Jesus, the kid is quick. Give him a few years and some proper coaching and he’d outskate most of our team.

Everyone except me, of course. I’m fast as fuck, blink and you’ll miss me. Am I cocky? Maybe. Accurate? Definitely.

I settle into the stands and pull out my phone, finding a text from Sash.

Angel: How’s he getting on?

I smile to myself as I tap out a reply.

Me: Really good. Your parents should get him into hockey.

She replies instantly, as if she’s been staring at her phone since she messaged me nearly an hour ago.

Angel: I don’t think so… too much money.