Page 36 of Dreams on the Ice

My money isn’t going to be coming my way anytime soon.

I am well and truly fucked when it comes to that.

“Get some rest. Come back ready to kick ass at practice, and it will blow over.”

Thanking him, I stand from the chair and clear my throat. “Coach?” I call out again. He grunts, and his eyes find mine. “Thanks for not busting my balls too much.”

I’m not sure what I expect, but it isn’t a smirk. “Just get your shit together. That’s the only thanks I want.”

With that, I walk out of his office. My friends, teammates, and brothers—they’re all of that rolled into one—are waiting for me by my locker. Arching a brow in question, I approach them. Alexei clears his throat and then rocks back on his heels.

“Coach rip your ass apart?” he asks.

Shaking my head, I let out a chuckle. “Not the way I thought he would. Basically, he told me to get thicker skin and get my shit together.”

Lev laughs, then shrugs his shoulder before he speaks, his Russian accent not as thick as it was even last season. He almost sounds American now. I miss his and Alexei’s thick accents that nobody could understand. They also sounded scary as fuck. It was great.

“Getting your shit together doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but I can understand why it’s not in this case. The social media storm is intense,” Reid murmurs.

I feel like he’s trying to tell me something without actually saying it. This makes me think that he’s been following things, and it’s bigger than anything I could have imagined. I have only seen Kiki’s original video. I’m sure she’s done more. She wants the attention, and she’s getting it, so she’s not going to stop—except from me. She’s not getting shit from me.

“I don’t want to know,” I grumble.

“I think you should know,” Otto says.

He’s been quiet about all this. Almost too quiet. The fact that he’s speaking up right now makes me hesitate.

“Well, I know that people have been harassing Brooklynn a bit, calling the salon and stuff. There’s zero truth to anything Kiki is saying. It will blow over.”

It’s Otto who groans, and then Lev clears his throat, but it’s Otto who speaks. “Grace said that Brooklynn has lost over half of her clients,” he says, his voice gentle, as if he’s speaking to a spooked animal.

What the fuck.

“She didn’t tell me,” I murmur. Then I respond to my own observation. “She wouldn’t.”

I run my fingers through my hair, tugging on the ends.

I fucked up.

Big time.

Shit.

BROOKLYNN

The Tipsy Tavern is buzzing. Sascha and Jake have joined us, along with all the players’ girlfriends and friends. The cake is in the back.

Thankfully, Ayden helped me out with that, no doubt understanding how upset I’ve been. But I did preorder pitchers of beer and appetizers and paid to have the whole bar closed down for the night.

Twenty-five was supposed to be his big birthday, and I wanted to give Forrest everything he’s dreamed of for this day. But I didn’t account for all this drama with Kiki, for his father talking to me or for me having a conversation with my own.

I didn’t account for my having to break up with him so he could succeed in life.

That part sucks the worst.

But I won’t do it tonight.

No, for tonight, I’m going to plaster on my biggest and fakest smile. I’m going to kiss him and tell himHappy birthday. We’re going to have fun, eat cake, and then we’re going to have mind-blowing sex one last time.

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