Page 81 of The Closed Off Captain

“I’d love to meet Grandma May and thank her for raising such an amazing girl for my boy.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Mom.”

“Am I?” she asks innocently.

“Mom.”

“Are you going to go after her?” she asks.

“I have been,” I say, trying not to sound frustrated.

“Does she know that?” she asks pointedly. She sighs loudly at my silence. “Honestly, Gunner. You are so good at hockey; how are you so bad at this?”

"Thanks, Mom,” I say dryly.

“No, seriously. Women don’t want to play games.”

“I don’t either.”

“Gunner, you turned her down flat.”

“That was four years ago,” I reiterate.

“Well, I can guarantee that to her it feels like it was yesterday.”

I take in her words and really think about what she’s saying. It’s my turn to sigh. “I’ve made a mess of all of this.”

“Yes, you have; but you can make it right. This whole fake fiancé thing is just making everything even worse. Every time you do something in light of pursuing a relationship with her, I’m sure she just sees it as part of the fake relationship. Do you need to continue it?”

Clarity settles deep inside at her words. “I’m going to meet up with Jenny and explain to her in no uncertain terms what will happen if she ever comes near either Chloe or me again, and then we can end this fake relationship, so we can pursue a real one.”

“Yes. Good. Will it be okay for you to talk to Jenny?”

“Chloe doesn’t want me to, but it needs to be done.”

“If Chloe doesn’t want you to, though,” she says hesitantly.

“It’s my mess, and I’m going to deal with it and end it. I’ll deal with whatever consequences come from it. I don’t have her number. Can you get it for me?”

“Of course. And Gunner, remember who you are. You’re the boy who decided at eight that he wanted to make a career of hockey, and you’ve gone after that. Use that same tenacity to win over Chloe.”

Determination fuels me. “I gotta go, Mom. Thanks for calling and talking. I love you.”

“I love you too, Gunner.”

I hang up and glance at the time. Any extra time I had is long gone; I’ll have to put it off until after practice. I grab my bag and head inside, determination in every stride. Talking with my mom really brought clarity to me. I can’t imagine that Chloe wouldn't know I was interested in her. It blows my mind, and yet, I get it. From her perspective, she would see everything I’m doing under the guise of our fake relationship. It’s time to change that and fast.

I shove open the door to the locker room and take in several of the guys that are goofing around. I push all thoughts of Chloe to the back of my mind for now. Right now, we need to focus on hockey. We’ve got three games this week, and it’s time to get ready for them. “Hey,” I bark out. “Stop goofing around and get ready for practice.” The room settles somewhat, and we prepare for practice.

Coach Seers is in a mood during practice, and we pay for it. But it feels good. “You good?” Aiden asks as he skates next to me. We’re heading off the ice and back to the locker room.

“Yeah. Why?”

He shrugs. “Just checking.”

“Yo, Cap, why are you in such a mood?” Seb asks as he skates over to join us. “I thought you’d be in a good mood today after last night.”

I ignore him, and we step off the ice and head towards our room. “Hey, Coftman.” I turn at the sound of my name and see Trent heading towards me. “Where’s Chloe today?”

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