“Why are you doing this?” He gets in my face. “You ran when we were younger. Then, for whatever bullshit reason, you quit the NHL, and now you’re just going to quit coaching here without even putting up a fight.”
I open my mouth to argue, but he continues. “And don’t you dare say you’re doing it for me! You always, always take the easy way out. Shit got hard with us and you bailed! Shit went down in the NHL and you bailed! And now, shit gets a little tough, and surprise, fucking surprise, you bail.”
“I’m doing it for all three of you,” I tell him calmly, needing him to understand, while on the inside, I’m about one step away from losing my shit. “Mia’s dream is to one day write screenplays in Hollywood, and Ashton wants to become a doctor. And you… You’ve worked your entire life to one day be able to play in the NHL.” This shit will follow them everywhere they go and I can’t let that happen. I’m in a position where I can protect them and that’s what I’m going to do.
“And what about you?” he hisses.
“Bray.” I frame his face with my palms, hoping it will calm him down. I don’t want the last time I see him, for God knows how long, to be like this. “I love you for caring about me, but I always knew my time with hockey was limited.” I flinch, realizing what I just admitted, and quickly continue. “I chose to leave the NHL, and coming to coach here was the only way to have a piece of hockey with me, while getting to be close to you.”
Brayden’s face softens. “So, what happens now? Maybe… maybe you can get a job coaching somewhere else.”
Knowing what I say next is going to destroy us both, I lean in and press my mouth to his. I take a moment to try and memorize everything about the kiss, hoping when I’m alone, I’ll be able to close my eyes and remember how he felt—strong yet soft lips, how he tasted—like peppermint and something uniquely Brayden, how he smelled—like pine trees and snow. My heart sinks, remembering Christmas is right around the corner. It would’ve been our first one together, and now I won’t be there with them.
“Drew,” he says, forcing me from my thoughts. “What happens now?”
“Now, I leave,” I tell him. His eyes widen in disbelief. “You have four months left of your hockey season and a semester left of college, and then soon after, you’ll be drafted. I can’t stay here, on campus, muddying up your reputation. As long as I’m here, people will talk, and if you have any chance of entering the draft without this hanging over you, I have to stay out of the equation.”
“No.” He jerks his head out of my hands. “No. You’re not leaving. Ashton’s apartment isn’t technically on campus…”
“It’s not, but this is a small school in a small town. It’s best I leave so people can find the next scandal to gossip about. If I stay, they’ll put the pieces together, that we’re all together. It’s bad enough you’re publicly dating Ashton and Mia. We can’t risk adding your coach, a former NHL player, to the mix.”
“No,” he says again. “No. You’re not leaving.”
“Yes, I am.” I step away from him. “And I’m leaving today. While in my meeting with Curtis, I got a flight scheduled for a couple hours from now.” I didn’t plan to see any of them before I left. I had hoped to grab my stuff from the apartment and leave before they could get to me and try to convince me to stay. I know it sounds selfish as fuck, but I couldn’t chance the three of them cornering me, just like Brayden’s doing now.
Brayden’s features morph into anger. “Are you fucking serious right now? Just like that? You were going to pack up and leave without saying a word to any of us! We were supposed to be in this together,” he spits. “I come out of class and find out about the video and meanwhile you’re already planning your getaway.” His palm hits the center of my chest and I stumble back. “Fuck this and fuck you!” he roars. “We were never in this together.”
He stalks out of the office, slamming the door behind him, and I take several breaths, trying to calm my breathing. I know what I’m doing is the right thing, and one day Brayden, Ashton, and Mia will understand that, but right now, it fucking hurts.
In the time Curtis learned of the video from the person who brought it to his attention, to his meeting with me, it had been sent to virtually everyone. Curtis assured me he would do everything in his power to work with the IT department to get the video shut down and to find out who’s responsible for spreading it. In return, I told him I would walk away, so the school isn’t caught up in a scandal. I don’t give a fuck about the school, but I do care about Brayden, and if the NHL thinks he’s a risk before he gets drafted, they will blacklist his ass so fast, and I won’t let that happen to him. He deserves to get drafted, to play in the NHL. He deserves to know how amazing it is to play your heart out in front of thousands of hockey fans and to win a ring. To have people wearing your number and asking for autographs. And I won’t be the reason he loses it all before he gets it.