Page 114 of The Closed Off Captain

I watch them go with a smile on my face. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this. I head to the media room to make sure everything runs smoothly there. Gunner and Aiden both take turns behind the microphone briefly before Sebastian takes over. He's always a favorite with the media, and he’s good at it. Coach Seers is last to go, and then it’s done. I find Gunner waiting for me in the hallway. He's talking to one of the assistant coaches, but as soon as he sees me, he finishes and walks towards me. “Ready to go?” He takes my bag from me.

“Yeah.”

We head out to his truck, and I shiver in the cold. It’s been snowing while we were inside. While it makes it more difficult to get home, it sure is beautiful. Gunner starts the heat, and I put my hands over the vents. “That was a great game,” I tell him as I rub my palms together. “Except for that little stunt you pulled.”

He glances over at me. “What stunt?”

I raise my eyebrows, even though I’m pretty sure he can’t see in the dark. “That fight with Jason Knight that put you in the penalty box.”

He makes a sound in the back of his throat. “He deserved worse than what I did to him.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Really? Because he offered me a job?”

He glances over at me. “That’s not the only reason.”

“What’s the other reason?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You could have cost us the game. Why did you fight him? You should have let it go.”

“I couldn’t.”

I sigh in exasperation. “Why not?”

He’s quiet a moment. “You don’t know what he said.”

“Well, enlighten me then.”

“No.”

“Gunner—”

“You don’t need to hear what he said. I took care of it.”

I turn to him; I can see his profile in the dark. His jaw is set. “He said something about me, didn’t he?”

His jaw tightens more, and I know I’m right. The fight drains from me. “Well, I guess I owe you a thank you then for beating the snot out of him for whatever he said. Thanks for having my back.”

He glances over at me again. “Always.”

My heart softens, and I reach out and take his hand and thread our fingers together. “And I’ll always have yours.” He squeezes my hand once, and I pull his hand over to rest on my thigh.

“I need to get gas.”

“Okay.”

We stop a little while later for gas. I work on posting some videos from tonight while he pumps the gas. A few minutes later, my door opens. “I need to run inside to use the restroom.”

“Okay.”

He disappears, and I get back to work. He takes a while, and I start to wonder if maybe he’s sick or something. Finally, he opens the door and climbs inside. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good.” He doesn’t say anything more, and I let it go. “Are you okay if we run to Aiden and Brielle’s really fast? I need to grab something there.”

“Sure.” I spend the rest of the ride updating our socials from the win tonight. I also use some of the footage from the press conference to piece together for a great reel. When we stop, I’m still busy working.

“It’s cold out. Come with me while I go inside.” He turns off the truck and climbs out before I get a chance to say anything. I was just going to wait in the car, but he waves me forward from outside my door.

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