Page 12 of Levi

My uncle gives us all a pep talk, and it’s clear he's had way too much caffeine for a man with blood pressure issues. After that, the team starts piling in, and slowly, each chair fills. I hold my breath the entire time, waiting for him. Ally looks around, a bright smile on her face, her hair in curls like she’s going out for the night. Many of the men in front of us obviously approve, their fuck-me eyes running up and down her body.

But none of them belong to Levi, and that's the only thing I care about. It would kill me if they got back together. Which they shouldn't—she has a boyfriend. But it's still a fear I have.

I can feel it the moment Levi enters the room, the temperature dropping with the icy chill that often follows him. He's an intense person, both on and off the ice, but it's never scared me. Even now, as the heat of his gaze warms my skin, the feeling overwhelms me as I turn and immediately scan the room.

I don't have to search, though—he's sitting dead center in the front row, with a look that would send even the toughest man packing. His usual vibrant blue eyes are like the night sky…but the night sky in the middle of a hurricane, uncertainty and fury swirling within. His strong, square jaw is clenched as he sits and scowls at the room. He's pissed.

If he had just believed me in the first place, maybe he could’ve gotten over it before the first day. Now is definitely not the time for him to piss my uncle off. Not when I know he's on the chopping block.

Thankfully, Levi doesn't say anything. He just sits and scowls, his eyes bouncing between my sister and uncle, occasionally flicking my way before shooting daggers at the others. He hates my sister for what she did—cheating on him with her current boyfriend and then convincing our uncle that Levi was the one who was unfaithful.

It nearly ruined his career, but luckily, my uncle took a job in L.A. when I decided to go to school there to get away, which saved Levi’s spot in Nashville.

After the welcomes and the normal introductory bullshit happen, we break out, and I head back to the training room to meet with a few players. There are only four I want to meet with today, mainly because something seems off about their reports. I'm all about trusting other professionals, but I also believe it's important to trust our gut.

The first two players, Jax and Griffin, go just as I expected. They both had ankle injuries that were basically treated with a Band-Aid, which is why they kept having repeat minor injuries throughout the season. It's frustrating because this ends up causing more harm to the team when players are out even longer because the injury worsened.

Cooper, the third player, was a little different. Thankfully his injury improved, so that's one less major issue I'll have to deal with, and he brought his son, so I was able to learn why he has a strict training schedule to stick to.

Now, my last athlete is Levi, and of course, he's late. Grabbing his folder, I look it over one more time, noting the concussion he had last year that took him out for two weeks, not to mention his ankle injury, which, once again, was not treated properly.

Dammit.

When the door opens, I expect to see Levi walking in, but instead, it's my sister and uncle. I should have known they'd want to be here for this one. Fucking hell.

“Are you done?” Ally says, looking around the room, not hiding her impatience as my uncle steps out for a phone call.

“Nope. Just waiting for Levi. He's late,” I tell her before looking at the clock. He's only five minutes late, so I'm not worried. He could be in the bathroom for all I know. I'll give the man some grace.

“He's probably not coming, but you're used to being stood up by now, right?” she says, a smirk on her face that I want to slap off, but instead, I freeze.

I just stand there and stare at her for a moment, my brain trying to reconcile how this is somehow the same sister I used to call my best friend, because it just doesn’t compute. I blow out a quick breath, looking up at the ceiling as I will the water to evaporate from my eyes, unable to get words out. It’s embarrassing that I don’t date, but only because my sister and I are never going to have the conversation about why I don’t date.

She wouldn’t understand that I learned I can’t trust everyone. She wouldn’t understand that the things I enjoy—the things I crave—aren’t for everyone, and they’re definitely not something I’d feel comfortable throwing in the bio of my dating profile.

Loves hockey, long walks to Taco Bell, and tattoos—all the tattoos. Oh…and a heavy helping of hand necklaces, with a little degradation and praise sprinkled in to keep things interesting.

Yeah, I’ve stuck to being celibate minus the few times I’ve met up with Levi over the last few years.

My sister starts to laugh, my pain always seeming to bring her joy, but she’s silenced by the sound of footsteps as Levi walks in past her to stand next to me, clearly out of breath.

“Sorry I’m late, Angel. I was stuck on the phone trying to get reservations for dinner tonight before I realized what time it was,” Levi says with his boyish grin, shocking the hell out of me as he leans in and presses a kiss on my cheek, one hand cradling my head. Pulling back, he sets his bag down on the chair by the door before turning to look back at me, only then noticing Ally.

“Oh, I didn’t realize my appointment with my athletic trainer included our coach’s secretary,” Levi says before walking closer to the table so I can look at his ankle.

“I didn’t realize your appointment involved kissing your trainer, so I guess we’re both surprised,” Ally snaps back.

“Is it safe to assume then that you’ve signed all the appropriate documents for confidentiality?” Levi questions as he hops up onto the table.

Grabbing my clipboard, I turn away, doing my best to fight the smirk as I watch Ally get a taste of her own medicine while simultaneously wondering what the fuck is going on—because the last thing I remember is Levi telling me no.

With an exaggerated sigh and her usual eye roll, Ally glances down at her nails. “Like that even matters. We were engaged, Levi.”

“So?” he deadpans. “You lost the right to privileged information about me when you lost the right to wear my engagement ring on your finger.”

Turning to look at me, Levi smiles. “I guess it’s safe to assume that you didn’t tell them?”

“Tell us what?” my uncle asks as he finally steps back into the room, and my eyes immediately snap up to Levi in fear. It’s one thing to tell a joke to Ally that we can just pretend didn’t happen…but not with my uncle. So, I’m deferring to him.

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