Page 59 of The Puck Decoy

Unknown : I’ve got what you need. Come to the office tomorrow.

Josh : I’ll be there

There is no response after that, not that I’m surprised. Lincoln doesn’t strike me as a man of many words, yet his message leaves my body buzzing. He’s found it, whatever it is, it’s enough for my father’s downfall, and that thought excites me more than it should. After years of his tyranny, and political bullshit about family matters while he sticks his dick in anything other than my mother, I can’t wait to witness his downfall.

The rest of the class passes in a blur, and as I make my way over to the gym for practice, my mind is dizzy with the possibilities of what he might have found. Even the cold tensionof the locker room can’t seem to snap me out of it, although I do note that Archer actively avoids looking at Daemon after what happened. Coach spoke to them both separately about the incident, and whatever Daemon said to him seemed to cool him down.

By the time we all hit the ice we are one big happy family again, or more like estranged cousins at least, but hey, it works for us. After a killer workout, I am working on some drills when Levi finds me.

“Hey man, missed you at the house last night,” he says, coming to a stop beside me, watching me work.

I keep my focus on what I’m doing as I reply, “I spent the night at Hallie’s.” My voice is loud enough that Gray and Reign hear it and holla at me like a pair of idiots, causing Coach to snap at them both.

Levi watches me quietly, before he moves in a little closer and lowers his voice to only be heard by me. “You’re taking this a little far aren’t you?” he asks, and my stare flicks over to him in question. “Playing house with Sanders,” he explains with a shrug. “Look I get all the shit with your dad, and she is fucking hot, but come on, this is a little much don’t you think?”

Fire and resentment burn up inside of me as I give one of my best friends of almost eight years my full attention. “We’ve been friends a long time, Levi, and trust me when I say that’s the only reason you are still standing right now,” I spit, causing most of the other players on the ice to turn our way. “But I will only tell you this once, stay the fuck out of my business, and keep your eyes off my fucking wife.”

I turn away before he can respond, or I can do something stupid that we will both regret, ignoring every prick that stares at me as I storm off the ice. Coach yells my name but practice is almost over anyway, and I will not be held responsible for my actions if I stay on that ice. So instead I hit the showers early,trying and failing to let the scalding water erase the anger inside of me. Yes, Levi might have some fucking insight on my situation with Hallie, but he hasn’t got a fucking clue about what goes on between us, our friendship or otherwise, so he needs to mind his own fucking business.

By the time I turn off the shower, the locker room is occupied by the rest of my team, most of them giving me wondering looks, but I ignore them all and start getting changed. I pray that Levi doesn’t say another word to me, otherwise Coach will be dealing with another Flyer on Flyer fight in here for the second time in less than a week.

Once I’m dressed, I storm out of the gym, irritation clinging to me like a second skin, but as soon as I get outside, my eyes land on Hallie, and everything else immediately melts away. She is leaning against the wall, dressed in her usual class attire of an oversized sweater and leggings, and when her gaze collides with mine and she smiles, I have never seen anything more perfect.

As if sensing my mood, her face turns into a frown as she takes in mine, and she is instantly moving towards me. “Is everything okay?”

With any other person, I doubt she would even notice the shift in their mood, but since the day I met her she has always been attuned to my emotions, just like she is with Maddie. I swear sometimes she is the only person in the world who truly knows me.

Just as she voices her question, the door behind me bursts open and I find Levi with Daemon not far behind, as if he was coming after me and Dameon tried to stop him. We lock eyes, and whatever is in my stare has them both pausing as I turn back to Hallie and respond, “Yeah everything is fine, let’s go.”

Gripping her hand in mine, I entwine our fingers and pull her away from the gym towards my car. I can feel her stare on the side of my face, and I know for a second she doesn’t believe me,the thought only proven when she softly squeezes my hand in hers three times.Are you okay?

Not giving her an answer, I wait until we reach my car and then turn to find her stare still filled with concern and, without restraint, I lean in to capture her mouth with mine, letting her kiss erase any other bullshit. She tastes just as sweet as she always does, and a part of me wonders what I would do if she were no longer my wife, no longermine. Our dynamic has changed completely and we haven’t exactly discussed what it means, but all I know is that right now she is the only thing that can ground me.

When I pull back, I look down at her and just breathe her in. “I am now,” I finally respond, and a small smile pulls at the corner of her perfect mouth.

The drive over to the center is filled with her usual chatter as she tells me all about her day and the apparent ‘best nachos ever’ she had for lunch, and it’s only once we arrive that I realize she has fully turned my mood around.

“I’ve got a meeting with Lincoln tomorrow,” I say casually as I pull into the parking lot, and her head snaps towards me.

“Want me to go with you?”

Her question throws me as I turn off the engine and look towards her. “Why would you want to come with me?”

“I don’t know, to support you I guess,” she shrugs, tossing her bag into the back of my car as she takes off her seatbelt. “Besides, if you don’t take me I’ll punch you in the dick again,” she adds cheerfully, before climbing out of the car.

I’m on her heels in an instant, pulling her into my side. “Such a brat, do I need to fuck that pretty little mouth of yours again to get it to behave,” I purr, and her eyes flick around the lot where parents are still arriving.

“Joshua,” she scolds my name in the same way she always does, pushing me off her and walking away.

“You better stop saying my name like that,” I toss back, and she scoffs as we reach the door, but as she moves to open it, I pull her against me and add in a whisper, “Because every time you do it gets me hard as fuck.”

Her soft gasp is like music to my ears, as I recall all the delicious sounds she made while she was writhing beneath me yesterday, and all I want to do is pull more from her, but right now I have a class to teach. I open the door, rejoicing in the scowl on her face as I hold it open for her, then we move inside to get started.

We find the usual hustle and bustle of students Hallie has become accustomed to in the last couple of weeks, and they are all crazy excited to see her again. Once their parents note my arrival they start heading out, and I instruct the kids to lace up and head onto the ice.

I see Hallie’s stare flicking across them all, and I know instantly who she is searching for. “Penelope isn’t coming tonight, Callia texted me this morning, she is just getting over a sickness bug from the weekend.”

They have formed quite a bond already given Pen is usually the only girl in my class, and I know it’s been nice for her to have Hallie to look up to. It has really managed to bring her out of her shell, which is just another reason for me to be grateful to Hallie.

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