Page 82 of The Captain

“I kinda love being a coach, not gonna lie.” He rolls his shoulders and pretends to puff out his chest. “Gives me some power.”

I laugh and shove at his chest with my free hand. “Mm-hmm. You’d just love standing on the sidelines while everyone else played the game, right?”

He purses his lips and tilts his head to the side. “Hm, maybe not.”

“Right.” I nod and wave at Crew as he walks past. “So, I have some news. Could you go for some coffee or something?”

His eyes dim for a moment, and he gives me a sad smile. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I have another class tonight, and I need to work on my paper.”

I swallow the hurt at the rejection, even though he looks just as crushed as I feel for having to say no, and I shake my head, smiling to cover it up. “Okay. No worries.”

He grasps my hands with his, holding tightly. “What’s your news?”

Just then, some new families filter into the rink, and I nod at them. “Looks like your next class is here.”

Lincoln nods but turns back to me after he smiles at some of the kids. “They need a few minutes to lace up. What happened?”

I smile at the eagerness in his voice, at least I know he didn’t reject me because he’s over it. That’s something. “I talked with an agent today.”

His eyes widen with anticipation. “And?”

“And she’s drawing up a contract.”

“What?” He basically shouts the question, startling everyone in the vicinity, and I smile and nod. “You got an agent?”

“Looks that way.” I can’t stop the grin from my face, and when he picks me up and swings me around in excitement, I can’t help but laugh.

“Hell yeah!” he says, finally setting me down. Then, unexpectedly, he presses a kiss to my lips. It’s so brief, it’s like it barely happened. “I fucking told you they would love it!”

I nod my head. “You sure did.”

“Coach!” one of the younger boys, who looks like he came in alone, calls out, needing help with his laces, and Lincoln glances over.

“Just a sec, bud.” He turns back to me and smiles broadly. “I’m so happy for you, Sunshine. Bright things are coming.”

I nod and cross my arms over my chest, unable to keep the small smile off my face. “Yeah.”

“I gotta run, but I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

I nod again and head out the door.

And that night, when he calls me for the first time in months, I don’t decline.

TWENTY-SIX

Lincoln

Four Months Ago

Regret was a hard pill to swallow. Followed by guilt, it made it damn near impossible to keep down. But that was what was keeping me up at night.

The past week had been absolute hell.

I lost the respect of my team, lost the respect of my coach, damn near lost a relationship with my sister, and…I lost my girlfriend.

That one may be the worst of all.

I’d shown up the morning after we fought, ready to apologize, to get on my knees and beg her to forgive me, to understand why I’d been so upset, only for Vic to answer the door and send a glare my way.

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