I roll my eyes at Ashton for planting the seed in my mom’s head that I’m the relationship bodyguard. “Yeah, Mom, I make sure no one messes with us. Well, the three of us. Drew can’t be seen in public with us.”
Mom frowns, saddened by my words. “It won’t be forever.”
“How did your parents take it?” Dad asks both Ashton and Mia. “Assuming you told them.”
“Dad will just think I’m sabotaging everyone’s lives and reputations, so I haven’t told him.” The bitterness in Ashton’s tone has Dad clasping his shoulder and squeezing.
“He’ll come around because he loves you,” Dad assures Ashton. “What about you, hon?”
Mia’s lip wobbles and her eyes water. “They, uh, my parents…” A tear streaks down her cheek. “They disowned me.”
“Oh, honey, no,” Mom cries out, standing to rush over to Mia. She hugs our girl, kissing the top of her head. “They’re rotten parents if that’s the case. You’re a sweet girl and deserve all the love, even if it comes from three people all at once. Screw them for being assholes!”
Drew and I laugh at Mom’s cursing. Dad shakes his head while Ashton smirks.
“You’re not mad?” I ask Dad.
He studies me for a moment. “You’re a grown man, Brayden. I trust you know what you’re doing. You’ve never been one to make bad decisions.” He smiles. “For the first time in years, I feel like I have my son back. You just needed to find the right relationship to bring your heart some peace.”
I shoot Drew a relieved look. “Thanks, Dad. It means a lot to me. To us.”
Mom pulls away from Mia, stroking her fingers through her hair. “I, for one, am thrilled you have these lovely people as your partners. Having a houseful of you wonderful kids makes this old woman very happy.”
“Old?” Ashton scoffs. “Please, Molly. People like my mother pay thousands of dollars a year to look like you. You’re a young hottie. If we’re not careful, people are going to think you’re a part of our harem.”
Dad grumbles. “Don’t call it a harem. And don’t invite my wife to it.”
“We could always use another daddy in the group,” Ashton jokes, ribbing my dad. “There can never be enough daddies.”
Mia smacks him and then everyone is laughing again.
Fuck, it feels good.
It feels really, really good.
“Brayden!”
I stop texting Mia to greet some guy from my English class named Eric. “What’s up, bro?”
His face is red and pinched. “Man, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someone just sent me this. I don’t know why, maybe because I’m your friend, but I thought you’d want to see. I hope it was just me because it looks really bad.”
My blood runs cold as I stare at the video playing on his phone. It’s the night of the Halloween party. The four of us dancing. It’s hot and erotic. Touching and rubbing and grinding. Everything is fine until Drew lifts his mask up. His face is as clear as day. And then my stupid ass walks over to him, boldly planting a kiss on his lips before pulling his mask back into place.
No.
Fucking no.
My phone buzzes.
I blink out of my daze to see a text from an unknown number. I click on it and see the same fucking video Eric just showed me. Shit. Fuck. There’s no way only the two of us received the video.
Then my phone goes off again. This time it’s Finn, asking why I was kissing Coach.
Another text comes through from another teammate. Then another and another…
Shit.
It’s been sent to a lot more people than Eric.
“Thanks, man,” I choke out. “Just, uh, delete it, please.”
“No problem,” he says. “Good luck.”
I take off in a sprint, rushing to Drew’s office to talk to him. Earlier he’d said he was working on some stuff. While I’m making the trek across campus, my phone buzzes again.
Mia: I just got a video text. OMG!!! Where is Drew?
I type as I head toward the athletic building.
Me: If I had to guess, with Curtis.
Mia: Oh no.
Me: Where’s Ashton?
Mia: Swimming. He’s going to freak.
Me: I’ll find Drew. Get ahold of Ashton.
Mia: Everything’s going to be okay. Love you.
Me: Love you too.
I sure as fuck hope so.
I’m winded by the time I enter the locker room. I head straight for Drew’s office. His secretary greets me with a smile.
“May I help you?”
“Is, uh, Coach Thompson in there?”
“He is,” she says. “He’s in an unscheduled meeting with Dean Carter, but I don’t anticipate it being much longer.”
I pace the locker room for twenty minutes, ignoring more texts from friends and teammates about the video that was seemingly sent to everyfuckingone. Eventually, the office door opens and Drew steps out.
Crushed.
Heartbroken.
Shamed.
This is bad.
This is so fucking bad.
I step out of the office with Curtis trailing behind me and come face to face with an ashen-looking Brayden. Our eyes meet and I can see the myriad of emotions flashing through his features. Anger. Hurt. Pity. He’s seen the video. I imagine everyone on campus has at this point. It was the reason for Curtis’s and my emergency meeting. The reason I’ve made the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.
“Drew,” Curtis says, extending his hand. “I’m truly sorry it’s come to this. If you ever need anything…”
I nod, shaking his hand back. “Thank you, sir. I’m sorry too.” I can hear the wateriness in my voice, so I take a deep breath. I can’t let Brayden see me upset. I can’t let him know how badly my heart is breaking. If he does, he’ll use it against me.
Curtis nods toward Brayden then disappears, I’m sure to give us some privacy. Not wanting anyone to overhear our conversation, I motion for him to enter my office. I swallow thickly. Correction: Old office.
Fuck, I’m going to miss this office.
This team.
This school.
It was my last link to hockey.
But more than anything, I’m going to miss the three people who quickly dug beneath the surface of my chest and buried themselves into my heart.
“I’ll tell everyone it’s my fault,” Bray blurts out the second I close the door behind me. “I asked you to the party and then I kissed—”
“Stop.” I hold up my hand, unable to listen to his pleas. I need to end this quick. Rip it off like a Band-Aid. Otherwise, I’ll lose my resolve. And I can’t do that. Not if I want to protect the three most important people in my life. “It’s over with. I already handled it.”
Brayden sighs, misunderstanding my words. “Okay, good. So Ashton’s dad said he’d take care of it? That’s good. Yeah…”
“No.” I shake my head. “His hands were tied. I’m the coach, and the video not only showed you kissing me, but I was dancing with Mia, another student here. Even Ashton was in the video.”
Brayden’s jaw clenches. “What do you mean his hands were tied?”