Page 15 of Coast to Coast

Monica: Let’s just say that this is the one thing PJ and I have agreed on in over 10 years.

PJ and Monica had once been as close as she and I were. Juno and I joked that we were always waiting for the part in the story where the friends became lovers. Instead, we were stuck in the enemies’ cycle of their story, or at least the point in time when they actively avoided being anywhere near each other. Neither of them would say what had led them to this point.

Me: For real, this man is…

Monica: Off the table.

Me: So I am going to have to stand back and watch him go off with nameless, faceless women?

Monica: Yeah, if that’s what he wants. If there’s any consolation, he’s not someone I need to run damage control on very often. Outside of the big reveal of Crew’s paternity, he’s been squeaky clean.

Me: Well, I guess that’s fine for you. You won’t be listening to the squeak of his bed frame while lying in bed one room over.

Monica: Piece of advice? Avoid the thirst trap videos. He’s a person, and you are now paid handsomely to care for his child. Let the random women lust over him, not you…

We said goodnight, and I did my best to put myself to sleep, eventually caving and reaching into my nightstand for my favorite vibrator, Wanda. I fired it up and was just getting warmed up when I realized that I couldn’t get the image of Tom’s eyes locked with mine from across the bar while I played. I chucked Wanda against the wall in frustration. If I fantasized about Tom, I’d never be able to stop my mind from going there when I spent more time with him.

TOM

Itossed and turned all night, fighting a battle with my mind that refused to let go of the image of Calliope on stage. I couldn’t get past the thought that she had so many layers, and I wanted to learn as much as possible about her. It was not where I wanted my head to be right before I returned home for preseason and where this woman would live in my house.

I eventually managed to fall asleep, only to wake up rock hard, thinking of her curls fisted in my hands as she took me deep in her throat. I quickly rubbed one out, hoping it would get her out of my system. It didn’t.

I checked in on the team group chat to see when everyone planned to return to town. While we all lived in Denver during the season, not all my teammates had American citizenship. Some returned to the Czech Republic or other states in the US. I was born in Canada, and once I knew I had an American son, I worked for dual citizenship, which I completed this summer.

We had all stayed connected over the summer, continuing the bond formed while away from friends and family for so much of the year. While the team would look very different from the way it had at the end of last season, some veterans had retired,free agents signed elsewhere, and an entire crew of rookies would be looking for a permanent spot on the roster.

Damon Amari had become one of my best friends. We’d both been signed last year and handled the ups and downs of the first year in the NHL together. While I now counted Sam as a friend and knew I could trust him as my son’s stepfather and guardian, I didn’t realize that a year ago. Damon was there for me, just like I was there when his girlfriend Kayleigh left him.

During the season, the team and their WAGs formed a tight-knit community. Several teammates lived in the same complex where I owned a condo. This meant the women had the support of the other women while we traveled. Most of us lived away from close friends and family, and those with small kids had the hardest time.

Without a live-in nanny, I would rarely see Crew. Last year, Sam and Kelsey bent over backward to accommodate my travel schedule, but with the new baby coming, there was no way it would work without a live-in nanny.

My attraction for Calliope aside, I wasn’t sure exactly how I would handle having someone else live in my home and take care of my son. Thankfully, we had Monica, and instead of the Crew’s three parents waging a battle to determine his custody arrangement, she handled the schedule for us. That included planning travel for what could be the most contentious events.

It helped that Sam and I respected each other immensely, so yes, we shared Father’s Day. Since my season was done by summer, we agreed to do whatever we had to do to be together that day. Last year, Crew and I went to Sam’s game. The Minutemen had an away game in the Bronx, and then we all went to his mother’s house in the Hamptons for a huge family cookout.

While conceiving a child through a one-night stand was not ideal, it prevented a lot of lingering hurt that camefrom breakups between young parents. There was no hint of chemistry between Kelsey and me, positive or negative. I’d come to care for her as my son's mother, but the only jealousy I felt watching her and Sam was for what they had together. I wanted a relationship like theirs, even if dating was next to impossible at this stage.

Amari and Kayleigh appeared to have a strong relationship on the surface, but it had crumbled midway through last year's season. Hockey had a way of breaking even the strongest bonds, especially if a lack of trust weakened the bonds. Did some of the guys cheat? Yes. But it wasn’t universal. Heck, some couples had an open relationship. While I did my best to stay out of the personal drama, I knew Kayleigh could trust Amari, and he hadn’t touched another woman; even after the breakup, I hoped for his sake and his career that they could get their shit together.

Gumby: I’m back, bitches.

I could hear Alex Bendik’s heavy accent as I read the text. He loved to swear in English, and while his grasp of the language had come a long way, those were some of the first words he’d been comfortable using. He also realized that the more he swore, the more the media avoided interviewing him. He’d earned his nickname because he needed to be bendy as a goalie, so while we initially called him Bendy, it soon morphed into Gumby the more we watched him in action.

I made plans to meet up with him and Damon once I got back into town and filled him in on the nanny situation. While I knew neither Damon nor Alex would be a threat to Calliope, it was concerning that their first questions asked how hot the new nanny was. If that was their first instinct, there were plenty of dogs on the team, several of whom lived within my condocomplex that would be all over her. Her only hope might be if they thought she was off the table or she was mine.

I rifled through my phone and found Calliope in my contacts. I hesitated before reaching out, unsure how to approach this, and I was pretty sure Sam and Kelsey would disapprove of me fake dating the nanny. But once the idea formed in my brain, it seemed the most reasonable option.

Me: It’s Tom. I’m not sure if you have my number saved in your contacts.

Calliope: Got it. What’s up?

Me: Do you have time later today to meet and go over some details?

Calliope: Sure. I can meet at noon. Is everything okay?

Me: Noon works for me. Pick a café and send me the address. We can meet there.

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