Page 28 of The Puck Daddy

Adrian: Help! What did you think? ADVICE NEEDED ASAP.

Stopping by my favorite restaurant, I order their seasoned grilled chicken, a large spinach and arugula salad, and a side of their garlic asparagus. I snap a few photos and send them to Theo. My phone vibrates so quickly, I think it must be Felix replying to my earlier texts, but instead, it’s Theo.

Theo: That looks good, sweet boy. Are you eating now?

A small smile fills my lips as I reread the message he sent. He’s recently started calling me ‘sweet boy’ through texts, and I love it. I’m desperate to hear him call me that in person, though. The morning we met up for coffee, he confessed that Felix had mentioned seeing him at the local kink club. A part of me was wildly jealous until he said that he never played with anyone there and probably won’t be back for a while.

I secretly hoped that I was the reason he didn’t need to go, especially with the way he already seems to be Daddy-ing me.

I ended up making a confession of my own: that I was a boy looking for a Daddy. Did he purposely send me all these caring, sweet texts because he wants to be the one to fill that role, or is it just in his nature?

Adrian: I am. I walked down to the open patch of grass in front of the quad and picked a bench to sit at.

I don’t admit I’m avoiding Delfy House since there’s another party everyone is setting up for. Felix is right; I need to find somewhere else to live. But I don’t have many options this deep into the school year, or with my limited funds.

Theo: I wish I could be there with you, but this next exam I have on Monday is a big one. Forgive me?

Adrian: Nothing to forgive. I’ll see you soon.

God, why did I have to meet Theo now? Why couldn’t we have met sooner? With the Ice Dragons being so close to gettinginto the playoffs, Coach Wilson has us starting practice half an hour earlier, which means from now on, I’m attending one of Professor Higgens’ other classes, rather than the early morning one with Theo.

Theo: I’ll be studying all night. Text me in the morning and tell me how your night went.

Adrian: I will. Have a good night, Theo.

He doesn’t need to know I accidentally typed in Daddy and erased it before hitting send.

When another text message comes through, this time it’s from my brother.

Felix: My advice—make that man your Daddy.

I smile to myself, half tempted to reply to Felix that it’s too late.

Chapter 13

I see you.

Theo

Tuesday morning, the day after my big exam, I wake up feeling refreshed. Despite that, there’s a lot on my mind. From the fact that both my mother and Grant keep blowing up my phone with texts, to the fact that I’m falling for my perfect boy—and he doesn’t even know it.

Now that my exam is over, the millions of little thoughts that have been circling around in my head come forth, asking for attention. Realizing I’m not going to be able to sleep, I decide it’s finally time to visit the one place I’ve been avoiding, and the place I know will help me sort this all out.

Finding parking this early at the arena isn’t hard to do. Not that many people take advantage of the early morning free skate unless they’re one of the hockey players. And even then, they aren’t here every day, since they still practice like crazy throughout the school week.

Pulling out my old skates that I sharpened earlier in the week, I get ready to go onto the rink. As soon as the cold air hits my face and my blades touch the ice, I feel like I’m home. I spend the next two hours skating while sorting the jumbled mess in my brain into proper thoughts.

“Walsh!”

Instinctively, I straighten my shoulders as the voice triggers a wave of memories. I turn around and see Coach Wilson standing at the edge of the ice like a drill sergeant.

“Coach,” I nod my head in respect.

That familiar stern look on his face melts away, and it’s replaced with a warm smile. I blink. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the man smile like that before, and if so, it definitely wasn’t aimed at me.

I skate toward him, and his grin grows. “Well, I’ll be damned, it is you. Seeing you on the ice threw me back a decade. I thought I lost my damn mind.”

To my shock, Coach Wilson throws his arms around me in a comforting hug. It’s ironic that I looked up to this man as if he were a fatherly figure when I was in college. Back then, he wasonly in his mid-thirties, probably close to my age now. There are a few wrinkles around the corners of his eyes, and his stomach is a little rounder in the middle, but Coach Wilson is a damn good-looking man, and I never even noticed—not that I would, with my tastes back then straying toward a smaller, more submissive man.

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