Page 34 of No Pucks Given
I sighed. I should have known this was coming. It was actually a miracle that she’d been a perfect child thus far.
“I know, and I never claimed to be your dad. I’m your mom’s boyfriend, but she asked me to make sure you did your stretching and your homework. I heard you’re a pretty good flyer, so I arranged for a coach to work with us today.”
Her eyebrows knitted together in a way that reminded me so much of her mother. If it were Siobhan, I would have kissed the furrowed brows away. But this was her daughter, so it meant just plastering on a smile and praying that she would stop fighting me on everything.
She crossed her arms and didn’t move. “Don’t you work out enough?”
I smiled and stood up. “Yes, I work out a lot, but it’s good to do something a bit different. Besides, I’m only there to be your base during your private lesson with Miss Elisa.”
Elisa ran a cheer gym and was a former champion flyer who really built a reputation for teaching champions. Out of all the coaches at her gym, she was the hardest to get a private session with since everyone wanted her time.
Stephanie perked up and looked at me. “I have a private with Miss Elisa?”
I nodded. “Yup. Go get changed, or else we’re going to miss it."
She jumped off the sofa and ran upstairs. I had found what would make her move, which was good.
I went upstairs to grab my athletic tape. Coach would kill me if I ended up fucking up my wrist by tossing a kid around in a gym. But I used to help Natalie with stunts when she was a kid, and it shouldn’t be too hard. What Coach didn’t know wouldn’t hurt me or my contract.
By the time I got downstairs, she was waiting at the door with her hair in a high ponytail with a bow, wearing her cheer uniform, and carrying a bag. She rushed to the rental car and hopped inside to buckle herself into her car seat. Everything about her actions spoke of her impatience. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”
Good to know I found the right lever to pull when she was being a stinker. Just offer her a private lesson with one of her favorite coaches.
We drove to the tumbling gym in relative silence. Sure, there was music in the background, but it was soft and didn’t really pump either of us up.
As we got out of the car, she ran into the gym with her bag. I followed behind her with my trusty white athletic tape. The moment I opened the door, I saw Stephanie switching into her white tennis shoes. I cursed and headed back to the car to get my sneakers. They wouldn’t be white, but they were never used outside either.
When I walked back into the gym, Stephanie was already on the floor being walked through her warm-up routine. I focused on taping my wrists and switching out my sneakers.
It was fucking weird to be back in a cheer gym. I’d always felt a wee bit bad about how Natalie couldn’t succeed more at cheer since we were a hockey family. Sure, she still managed to go to Worlds, but she never could reach her full potential. There were times when I would help Natalie with her stunts so she could get better, but I knew she missed out by being at the rink so often.
Just like back then, I had to be careful about people finding out that I was helping Stephanie. The Legacy would kill me if anything happened to me. We were in season. So it meant hiring Stephanie’s favorite coach to help out.
Thankfully, Miss Elisa sent me several videos showing me the proper fundamentals of being the main base—a term I never knew before. Stephanie could get the most out of her position practice, and neither of us would get hurt in the process.
One of the first skills Miss Elisa wanted to work on was a handstand toss. Sure, I was now grown with the capability to lift hundreds of pounds on a regular basis, but I couldn’t get over how easy it was to toss Stephanie in the air. It was like lifting a feather compared to the strength I needed to lift Natalie back in the day.
We continued to work on several stunts, and Stephanie’s form got stronger and stronger with each and every lift, especially as she started to trust that I would catch her.
We’d been working for about an hour when the gym door opened. I half expected it to be the next class, but instead, it was my favorite person in the whole world. It was great to see her since she wasn’t sure how early she could get away.
As much as I wanted to acknowledge her, I had to focus on the last few lifts that Miss Elisa wanted us to do.
Stephanie absolutely nailed her stunts with straight legs and arms with pointed feet. I loved seeing the confidence on her face grow. Hell, the smile on both her and her mom’s faces told me that this super-secret workout hidden from the Legacy was worth it.
The private session wrapped up, and Stephanie ran to her mom with a big hug. From that moment, I knew I was back to being just the boyfriend in Stephanie’s eyes. I didn’t even need to be told that Steph would ride home with her mom.
What did surprise me was that, ten minutes after we left the gym, I got a text from Siobhan.
Thanks again for setting up the private. Steph can’t stop raving about you. Apparently, we can’t break up since you’re fun and actually care about her sport. Not just your own thing.
I looked at the text again, trying not to react. It was sweet to hear that. While I knew Stephanie and I were building our bond, I couldn’t tell if she actually liked me. Hopefully, the next time I had to coax her to do stuff around the house, it wouldn’t be such a battle.
Chapter 32
Siobhan
The season flew by. Carter and the rest of the Legacy were killing it. They were chasing the President’s Cup, which was awarded to the team with the most points from wins and going to overtime. It would be such a coup if they were the best team going into the playoffs.
