Page 111 of These Pucking Boys: Part Two

“She’s very sick".”

“I see… well. Is accepting a trade to the Bobcats still?—”

“Out of the question? Absofuckinglutely.”

Larry curses under his breath. “Okay. All right, all right. I’ll see what I can do.”

He ends the call, but I can’t move. I’m still reeling from it. Hell. I knew that sex tape would have more repercussions, but I was too worried about June to think about them.

“Jake. What’s wrong?” She touches my back.

I turn around and circle her waist. “It’s nothing, my love.”

She frowns. “Don’t lie to me. That was your agent, wasn’t it? Are they firing you?”

I look at Lachy and Ryan standing in the back, then at her. “They want to buy out my contract. So, yeah.”

“That fucking cunt,” Ryan blurts out. “She wanted you gone so Malcolm would take your place as captain.”

June’s face crumbles. “That’s just awful.”

“If they fire you, then they have to get rid of me too,” Lachy pipes up.

“Maybe we should all walk. A change of scene might be exactly what we need,” Ryan agrees.

“No one is walking. And if they do fire me, I won’t have you two idiots quitting. What are the chances we’ll end up on the same team again?”

“Oh, but it’s okay for you to leave?” Ryan fires back. “What about June?”

“Who says I have to leave? I can retire.”

“Do you want to retire?” June asks in a small voice.

I look into her bright eyes and allow myself to get lost in them for a moment. “I’ve had a great career. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I had to stop playing in the NHL.”

She steps back, shaking her head. “No. You can’t retire. You love the game, and you have so many more years left in you. I won’t be the reason you end your dream prematurely.”

I stare at her, wondering how I could be so lucky to find a woman who knows me so well and still loves me so deeply.

The doorbell rings, breaking the tense moment. “That must be Doug.”

“I’ll get it,” Ryan says.

June widens her eyes. “Shit! I need to put pants on.”

She dashes back to my room, making me chuckle despite everything. We all spent the night there, piled up on top of each other on the mattress. There was no sex, we just wanted to be close to her. This situation has been awful. The level of violation affected everyone, not only June. I hate that the vultures took a moment that was supposed to be beautiful and turned it into something dirty.

“Good morning!” Doug says in an over-the-top cheery tone. “Oooh, is that a Jura Giga 10 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine?”

Ryan narrows his eyes. “Yes.”

Doug sets his laptop bag on the counter and moves to closer to Ryan’s beloved machine. “How do you like it? I’ve been dying to buy one.”

“I like it fine. Should we get it started?”

“Sure, sure. Let me make myself an espresso first.”

“Move away from the machine,” Ryan grits out.

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