Page 53 of Behind the Bench

She pulls back, but keeps her hands clasped behind my neck and looks me in the eyes. “Thank you, Lincoln. I haven’t let loose and had fun like this…well, let’s just say it’s been a long time.”

I slowly put my arms around her waist, “It’s been a long time for me too. You seem to bring out a side of me I haven’t seen in a while.”

We both seem to realize the gravity of our words as our eyes stay locked on one another. Neither one of us moves our hands. Both of us afraid to make the next move, but also afraid to let go.

Moving my right hand from her waist, I cup her cheek with my hand. “Ellie?—”

“Oh my god, you guys freaking killed it!” Sadie screams while wrapping her arm around Ellie’s neck, pulling her away from me into a hug. “I mean, Ellie, you were a teeny bit off-key but no one was even paying attention to that anyway. We were all way too busy being distracted by the tension up there.” She fans her face with her hand, “Ya’ll wereHOT!”

Hunter must notice that they just interrupted a moment and grabs Sadie’s arm to pull her away from Ellie. “Sadie, Ithink they were in the middle of something,” he says as he turns her toward him.

Sadie’s eyes move between me and Ellie before she seems to realize that Hunter’s right. “I knew it! Oopsies. Just pretend this never happened. We’ll be back at our table if you want to join when you’re done with…whatever this is.” She gestures her hands between the two of us.

Thank god. I need another minute alone with Ellie to let her know what’s going through my head.

Sadie and Hunter turn to leave, but Ellie jumps out of her seat. “You didn’t interrupt anything. We were just celebrating our performance.”

The hell we were.

“Ellie,” I say, trying to get her attention back on me.

She ignores my plea and hooks her arm through Sadie’s. She turns her head over her shoulder and finally meets my eye. “You’ll grab the next round, right, Lincoln?”

I swallow down the words I’ve been dying to say and give her a quick nod. “Sure. I got it.”

She shoots me that devastating smile of hers, and I want to beg her to stay with me but it’s too late. She’s already gone.

I turn on my barstool and rest my elbows on the bar, dropping my head into my hands.

The last time something like this happened, Ellie avoided me for two weeks and wouldn’t even be alone in a room with me. I get it. It’s terrifying and goes against everything we’ve ever known about each other. But there’s no denying that something is happening between us. Something more than two coaches working together to fix a hockey team, which is a whole other problem itself. No, it doesn’t go against any official HR policies, but things will definitely get sticky if we cross that line. Or, maybe they won’t. Maybe it will bring us even closer together.

This pull between us—I can’t avoid it anymore. It’s too strong and I won’t let her avoid it either.

I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to convince her that this isn’t a terrible idea. Thatwearen’t a terrible idea.

ThatI’mnot a terrible idea.

While I ponder the possibilities, I order our group another round of drinks. Once the bartender puts them down in front of me, I pick them up and turn to head to our table near the front of the stage.

As soon as I turn, my blood turns cold. Standing in front of Ellie and Sadie, blocking their way to the hallway where the bathrooms are, is Grayson fucking Sanders. He’s flanked by two guys I don’t know. I turn to put the drinks back on the bartop and haul ass over to where they’re all standing.

With each step, my blood pumps harder and harder. When I’m within ear shot I hear Grayson’s voice above the noise of the bar. “I get fired for talking shit, but Lincoln can fuck his assistant coach and no one bats an eye? How’s that fair, Barbie Girl?” He stumbles toward her and attempts to run his hand through her hair.

Ellie swats his hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me,” she says firmly, but looks extremely uncomfortable. Sadie looks around frantically, searching for help. My eyes lock with Sadie’s and her body visibly relaxes as she leans into Ellie’s side.

I know Ellie was pissed I interrupted her during the press conference, but there’s no way in hell I’m not stepping in to protect her right now.

Grayson reaches out to touch her again just as I step in between them. His hand grazes my chest, and I grab his wrist hard, twisting it away from my body. “Didn’t you hear the woman? Don’t fucking touch her.”

I throw his arm away from my body and he stumbles back into his buddies.

“Well, well, well. I was wondering when you’d come to Barbie’s rescue.”

His nickname for her has me gritting my teeth. My handsfist at my side as he takes a step toward me. Over his shoulder, I see Hunter making his way toward him but the split second it takes for me to look away is all it takes for Grayson to take a swing at me.

Luckily he’s drunk, so I’m able to duck out of the way and avoid most of the impact. I grab Grayson by the collar of his shirt and throw him up against the wall of the hallway. Hunter arrives in time to stand between us and Grayson’s buddies. I turn my head to see the girls at the bar. They’re talking animatedly with the bartender and pointing to us, probably explaining what happened.

I don’t have much time before they hopefully escort this asshole out of here, so I better make it count. Turning back to Grayson, I speak low, my voice laced with venom. “If you ever go near Ellie again, I swear it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” My grip on his collar tightens to reinforce the threat.

---