by Kat Mizera
Christ, he was thinking about Cassie again and it had to stop. She lived here now and even if he’d been willing to risk the friendship, he would never go there with a roommate. They needed her and one night of sex could ruin everything. Besides, he liked having her in his life in general, so he couldn’t fuck it up.
Nope, tomorrow night he was going to find a sexy, interested groupie and let her bang his brains out. That would put all thoughts of women who cooked and played hockey out of his head completely. He’d stood up the woman he’d had a date with the night he and Ryder had taken Cassie to dinner, because they’d been having such a good time. But he wouldn’t do that again. A night of mind-blowing sex would get Cassie out of his head. That was the plan and he was sticking to it. Period.
He got Ryder and Vik to go out the next night, and they found a table of four ladies who made it clear they were interested with flirtatious smiles and knowing looks. Vik immediately hooked up with the shy, quiet one—that seemed to be his M.O.—and Ryder was talking to both a blonde and redhead. Leaving the brunette for Logan. She was pretty enough, with big brown eyes, a fantastic rack, and a great smile. She seemed content to sit and talk for a while, letting him buy her drinks as the others danced and made out. Logan tried his best to work up the interest to go back to her place, but as the night wore on, it seemed like his sexual get-up-and-go had headed out much earlier. She leaned in for a kiss, but when his lips touched hers, nothing happened.
Damn.
What the hell was wrong with him?
All he was thinking about was getting home, maybe hanging out with Cassie and relaxing a little. Since when did he want to go home instead of getting laid?
“You wanna dance, Logan?” The brunette seemed to sense something was off and was trying to salvage the evening.
“Uh, sure.” He let her lead him to the dance floor and absently put a hand on her hips as she swayed them from side to side.
She definitely didn’t move like Cassie.
Cassie had called herself a mediocre dancer but that wasn’t true. His partner tonight was the one who was a mediocre dancer, and Logan closed his eyes, urging himself to stop thinking about Cassie. This woman—Brenda? Rhonda? Something with a D—was sexy, interested, and not looking for anything beyond sex. So why the fuck couldn’t he muster up even the slightest bit of sexual attraction?
This was a hot damn mess and he excused himself to the men’s room, taking a leak and washing his hands. For whatever reason, he wasn’t even a little bit tempted to go back out to the sexy brunette waiting for him. Not only was it a weird mental place for him, his buddies could never find out it was because of Cassie. He wasn’t a designated driver tonight since they’d taken an Uber to the bar, but he didn’t want to stay, and leaving was the only way to salvage his reputation.
Without a word, he slipped out of the restroom and hurried to the nearest exit. He texted Ryder that he wasn’t feeling well and was going home, and then he called for an Uber. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but hanging out with a brunette who didn’t do anything for him wasn’t going to fix it.
“What happened to you last night?” Ryder asked him the next morning after the morning skate.
“My stomach was off,” Logan said, walking back toward the locker room. “I figured I should cut my losses and get some sleep.”
“Feeling better today?”
“Yeah, took an antacid and went to bed.” That wasn’t entirely true, either, but he wasn’t going to tell Ryder that.
When he’d gotten home, Cassie had been studying in living room and he’d told her the same lie about the upset stomach. She’d been the one to dig up a bottle of Tums and had given it to him, asking if there was anything she could do for him. He’d pretended to take one and then hung out on the couch with her for an hour, talking about her psychology class until they’d gone to their separate beds.
He’d had no choice but to crash because if Ryder got home and found them hanging out on the couch, he’d know something was up, and he had to get a handle on this attraction he had to her before anyone found out.
“So we’re going to be in New York next week,” Jude said, interrupting his thoughts. “And we have a day off between games. I was gonna get tickets to a Knicks game. Who’s in?”
“Hell, yeah!” Ryder nodded. “Let me know how much.”
“I’m down,” Kane called out. “Haven’t been to a game in a while.”
“What is Knicks?” Vik asked, frowning.
Logan looked over at him. “The New York Knicks? Basketball?”
“I know nothing of this sport.”
“Oh, well, then this is the perfect opportunity to teach you.”
“Yes, okay, I go.”
Logan wasn’t a huge basketball fan but a night out with the guys for something that wasn’t hockey-related sounded like a damn good distraction.
“I’ll go,” Sergei said, joining them. “We haven’t had a night out like that in ages. Get tickets for Dani and me.”
“What, no invitation for your poor, pregnant coach?” Head coach Laurel Caldwell walked into the locker room with a grin. She was having a baby this coming summer but had told them she was determined to make it through the season.
“You into basketball, Coach?” Logan asked her.
“I love most competitive sports,” she said. “Obviously, hockey is my jam, but I’m good with football, basketball, even rugby. Baseball bores me a little, but Gage loves it, so he drags me to some games in the summer. I’m thinking I’ll get a break this year since I’ll be so pregnant.” Her husband, Gage, owned the Blizzard, and they were all like extended family within the organization.
“I’ll get you a ticket, Coach!” Jude yelled out.
She gave him a thumbs-up. “Okay, boys, see you back here at three for the game. Go rest up. We need to kick some ass tonight.”
Everyone began to scatter, and Logan turned his thoughts to hockey. Whatever was going on with his libido wouldn’t be solved tonight, and they had a game to win. He’d been on a scoring streak, which needed to be his focus. Now if he could get his dick in agreement, he might be able to get laid sometime in the near future.
13
Starting a new waitressing job was usually a hassle, but Cassie didn’t mind this time around. Gil’s was a popular steakhouse in Anchorage, with high-end food and prices, but a laid-back, casual setting. Since she knew Deirdre, who’d worked there for over a year, she settled in quickly. The hardest part was memorizing the menu, but she’d done that fairly quickly and now it was just a matter of getting better shifts. Restaurants almost always put new waitstaff on the schedule for the slower times, to help them get acclimated with everything, but Cassie couldn’t afford to work Monday-night shifts for long. Her goal was to get a Friday or Saturday within a couple of weeks, which meant busting her ass to learn all the menu items, get familiar with the extensive wine list, and upsell her customers as much as possible to show management she was making them money.
With Logan and Ryder on the road again, she had to spend extra time with Coco, but at the same time, she wasn’t nearly as busy as she’d been working at the club, so settling into a new job was much easier. The only negative in her life right now was that hockey season was coming to a close, and it was more bittersweet than she’d thought it would be. She both dreaded and looked forward to practice every afternoon because there weren’t many left and she wasn’t sure how she’d feel about never playing on a team again.
“Cass, you have a minute?” Coach Azure called to her after practice on Wednesday, and Cassie looked up in surprise.
“Sure, Coach.” She put her bag down in the hall and followed him to his office.
“You working tonight?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, not tonight.”
“Okay, so we have a few minutes. I wanted to talk to you about something.” He shut his office door behind him.
“Shoot.” She sank into the chair across from him.
&
nbsp; “Are you going to play hockey going forward?”
“Nah. I’ve already played four years here since I’ve been a part-time student, and NCAA regulations make it tricky for me, so I’m done. I could probably fight to play one more year but I honestly don’t have time because I have to work.”
He nodded. “That’s what I thought, but I wanted to be sure because I have something I want you to think about.”
“Okay.” She was intrigued.
“What if you came on as my assistant coach? With Tara gone I need help, and though I’ve interviewed a handful of potential candidates, none of them feel right.”
“You want me to coach with you?” She was both shocked and honored.
“It’ll probably be a little complicated with your class schedule next semester, but if we could make it work, it would be amazing.”
Cassie hesitated. “Coach, I really want to, but I have to make money and because I’m friends with Tara, I know how little it pays.”
He nodded. “I know. That part sucks, but I’m trying to work out a deal. If I can get you on here as a state employee, I believe your tuition over at the university would be vastly discounted. It’s a special program they’re doing to encourage public school employees to pursue higher education. I don’t know the details yet, but I’m talking to the administration here. If I can get you on staff that way, I’m positive your tuition would be less than half.”
“Oh, wow.” That changed everything. If tuition were that low, and she was still living with Logan and Ryder, she could do it. She might have to take out a little bit of money in student loans, but the end result would probably only be about five or six thousand dollars total, for two years, if tuition was reduced by half.
“Have I got your attention?” He was grinning at her and she nodded.
“Yes. You definitely have.”
“I can’t promise anything yet, but think about it and we’ll talk once the administrators get back to me. I wanted to throw it out there because there’s no point in my going to bat for you if you’re not interested.”
“I’m totally interested,” she said firmly. “I can’t even tell you how interested I am. This is an amazing opportunity and I’m honored you want me to coach with you.”
“You’ve been my shining star the last four years, and I hate to see you go. Bringing you on as a coach would be beneficial to both of us.”
“Absolutely. Thank you.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything, one way or the other.”
“Great. See you tomorrow.”
She was high on life as she headed home. She’d take out Coco, make something for dinner, and work on a project that was due on Monday. She wasn’t working many hours at the restaurant yet, both because she was new and because of hockey, so it kind of worked out for the best short-term. She was working the dinner shift tomorrow night, from six until closing, and then lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Her new boss understood she had a hockey game Saturday night, so he’d promised to cut her first once the crowd died down, but it would be a little harrowing until she got the hang of this new schedule.
Of course, hockey would be over in three weeks, and she wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore, which worked out with easing into her new job, too.
She called Charli after she took Coco out, to tell her the news.
“That’s incredible!” Charli said enthusiastically. “Tara was so excited when she was offered the job, and though, of course, her life with Donovan is more important, she was bummed to leave it. I’m sure she’ll be psyched to hear you’re going to take it.”
“Well, the only way I can take it is if they hire me as a regular employee or something. I don’t yet understand what he was talking about, but if they can get me some special status that gives me a discount on tuition, then I’m golden. Even if I have to take out a few thousand in student loans, it’s nothing like what it would have been otherwise.”
“I’m really glad for you.”
“So, how are you feeling?”
“I feel great,” Charli said.
“Do you know the sex yet?”
She giggled. “Yup.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“We’re trying to keep it a secret but it’s killing me—it’s a little girl!”
“Yay!” Both women laughed and squealed together.
“Miikka is over the moon. He wants literally the whole house to be pink. I’m having to talk him off the ledge with that. I’m girlie, but that’s a bit much.”
“Aren’t you guys moving?”
“That’s the plan. We just put the house up for sale and we’ve started to get serious about looking for a new one, but he’s so busy and by the time I get off work, I’m exhausted.”
“Are you still going to teach when the baby comes?”
Charli was quiet for an extra beat. “To be honest, I don’t know. I love teaching, but five-year-olds are a lot of work, and I don’t think I can teach kindergarten all day and then come home to a newborn all night. As much as it pains me, probably not. I may take a year off to see where we are, but deep down, I know Miikka wants a bunch of kids and I want to enjoy them. Besides, if Miikka got traded, I probably couldn’t teach wherever he got traded to, so in a way, my early retirement is inevitable.”
“You think he’ll get traded?” Cassie asked in surprise.
“Right now? No. But that’s part of this life. At some point, he probably will. There’s a lot of turnover here, and we know it could happen at any time.”
“That must be scary when you’re pregnant.”
“Actually, it’s not. As long as Miikka and I are together, I’m not afraid. He’ll be wherever I am when the time comes because I’m due in July, and for anything that happens while he’s on the road, I have a good support system here. If we move, well, it’ll take getting used to, but Miikka is my rock. I know he’ll take care of whatever I need.”
“That must be nice,” Cassie said quietly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone I could count on. Neither of my two husbands ever gave a shit about what I needed. My second husband paid the bills and stuff, but he didn’t care what was good for me, only what was good for him. And my first husband, well, love is wasted on the young.”
“Tell me about it,” Charli murmured. “I didn’t marry my first love, but he broke my heart in so many ways. It took a while to get past it, but now I have Miikka.”
“I don’t think there’s that kind of happily ever after in my future, girlfriend.”
“Never say never. I thought the same thing and then one flat tire was all it took for Miikka to come riding in like a red-haired knight in shining armor.”
Cassie laughed. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a romantic?”
“Pretty much everyone.”
As the idea of coaching started to take root, Cassie did some research on what it would entail. She knew what she expected of a coach, but she came to the game from a different perspective since she hadn’t started playing seriously until high school and only went to college part-time. She’d morphed into a weird combination of big sister and mentor to many of the girls on the team, but once she was in an official capacity, it would be different. If it happened, she had to be prepared to take on a more significant role, one that would encompass helping the newer players who were still finding their confidence, as well as helping Coach Azure sell the cohesive system the team was expected to follow to win games.
Late on Friday night, after another devastating loss, she was frustrated enough to reach out to Logan. Now that coaching was on the horizon, she needed to know what someone like him would get from a coach, and maybe he’d give her ideas about how to reach the players who weren’t playing their best as they skated toward the end of the season.
“Hey, Cassie. What’s up?” Logan sounded surprised to hear from her when he answered the phone.
“I need some advice. Do you have a few minutes?”
“Sure. I’m back at th
e hotel, hunkered down for the night.”
“Great.” She told him about Coach Azure’s offer as well as the team’s ongoing struggles. “So my first question,” she said slowly, “is what does a guy like you, who’s essentially a superstar, get from coaching? And I’m being real here, not stroking your ego or any bullshit like that.”
“Well.” He sounded thoughtful. “I guess at my level, the rules are a little different. Mostly, I expect my coach to get the most out of the rest of the guys, so I don’t have to do it all myself. Don’t get me wrong, I still have to do my part and buy into whatever our system is, and it’s different for every team, every coach, etc. On the flip side, no matter who you are or what level you’re at, every guy on any team needs a coach who’s clear in his expectations and lets you know your role. I still expect him or her to tell me what I need to do to keep my job and, especially when I first started in the NHL, to fit me in the right role for my skills. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have a chance of succeeding, no matter how much raw talent I have.”
“That’s interesting, and now that you say it, I think that’s the crux of the problem at Tudor. These girls aren’t the most skilled or they’d be playing for Division I teams, right? So we have less talent and an overworked, understaffed coaching situation that just doesn’t get the most out of them because they haven’t been clear in doling out roles.”
“Can I say something between you and me?”
“Sure.”
“Coach Azure is a nice guy, and he knows hockey, but he just doesn’t have the respect. I see it when I’m there, the way the girls mostly do their own thing, instead of zoning in on the game and what he’s telling them to do. If you get this job, you need to command not just respect, but a way to make them listen.”
“That’s what I’m worried about, being able to get them to listen.”
“You make them listen by helping them not just play within the system in place, but understanding their role on the team, beyond being a center or defenseman or whatever. If you can show them how their particular role fits into the overall system you have in place, if you can make that click, they’re not only going to listen, they’re going to respect you. That right there is the magic formula.”