Page 42 of Off Limits PUCK

I had seen Allie off an hour ago so she could spend half the day with my sister. I asked her to meet up with me here at the arena later today. Of course, she had resisted, but I told her it was justso I could take her on the ice and show her a few moves—that no one would be here.

I smile as the elevator opens. I don’t know why I didn’t have clarity like this a few months ago when we were sneaking around and sleeping together. It’s all so obvious now. I love her. I want to honor her by dating her publicly. I should have done what I’m about to do long ago.

I love her. The realization sends a thrill through me. I have never felt this way about anyone before. It’s motivating me to do things I never would have done for anyone else. I want to date Allie in every real way. No more secrets. No more hiding.

“Looking sharp,” Dr. Jones says to me with a grin.

He and I have, of course, become very close since Allie left. He took a personal interest in my recovery after she left, likely initially set up by Coach. But then he just sort of stuck around as a friend, almost a brother lately.

I’m in dark jeans, a polo shirt and a casual sports jacket. I rotate my arm, Allie having worked her magic on my shoulder today before she left.

“I’m feeling sharp, too,” I say, adjusting the jacket.

“Pain level?” he asks as we walk together to Ron’s office. It’s large enough to have its own conference room style table.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a two out of ten right now?” I decide not to lie anymore. Not to myself and not to my team. Whatever my pain is, it is. I shouldn’t hide it. A two out of ten is very low, which is great.

He nods. “Good. You should take every chance you get over the holidays to rest it.”

We arrive at the office and I walk in first. Ron stands to shake my hand, looking grave. Coach nods at me from across the table as I take my seat.

“I am very surprised to have this sort of meeting called, young man,” Ron says sternly. “It is a holiday, you know.”

I nod. I look around and it seems that everyone is here. “Thank you all for coming.”

Coach clears his throat. “Today, we’ll be talking about Jake’s future with the Eagles,” he begins, not looking happy about it.

I nod. This is exactly how I set today up—I want to make my “ask” very clear and I want to make the stakes if I don’t get what I need very clear.

Ron sputters and then laughs, totally shocked. “You have a contract, young man. You cannot just throw around the idea of a ‘future’ with a team you are under contract with.” He looks between Coach and me. “You should know you have no leverage here.”

I nod. “I know it doesn’t look that way. But there are a few things I need to tell you.”

Ron leans forward in his power move position, fingers steepled, eyes severe. “I’m listening.”

“I broke a rule. And unfortunately, I was not punished for it. But someone else was. And I can’t stand by and let that inequity stand.”

Ron blinks, and then his eyes dart back and forth between Coach and me. His tone is extremely gruff when he says, “What the hell is this about, gentlemen?” He points to Coach. “Your contract is easily broken, so whatever this is, I hope you weighed out the consequences long and hard.”

“He has nothing to do with this other than I told him my decision before the rest of you. He has suspicions of my misconduct, but no proof. If he had proof, he would have gone through the appropriate channels,” I say to protect Coach and also because it is true. He could get fired on the spot if he knew with proof in hand that Allie had been intimate with me. The cameras showed us getting off the PT table four months ago, but never showed where we went or what we did that day in the storage room.

Dr. Jones says, “Respectfully, Ron, I think you should know what a fine young man Jake has turned out to be. Most young players go through a wild phase before they settle down. From what I’ve seen, other than trying to keep his shoulder pain from me, he’s matured a lot the past few months.”

I stare at him.

“Yes, I know you thought your lies were working. They weren’t.” Dr. Jones gives me a small smile.

I feel bolstered by him. And then the whole story with Allie comes out, carefully worded to make it look like I initiated and chased after everything with her. My goal is to show the unfairness of how this would have been handled had the team known. As it stands, with Coach’s careful planning and her not working here any longer, she’s safe.

Ron listens carefully to the whole story. Once I tell him that Allie and I are currently dating, he blinks at me in his way.

He shrugs. “I don’t see why this meeting was called. You had a relationship with one of our staff PTs. She works somewhere else. So now you two can date. What’s the problem here?”

“It was unfair that in order to date me, she had to leave.”

He shakes his head. “No. It is not professional to date someone who works for the team in that capacity.”

We go back and forth on this topic for ten minutes, getting nowhere. Finally, he asks, “What is this really about, Jake? Does she want her job back?”

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