Page 99 of Puck'n Bully
“Hey, stay!” I say, capturing his wrist and pulling him back against me. “You’re not going anywhere. Not yet, anyway.”
“But—”
“I’m not done telling you everything.”
My grim tone finally calms him down. He settles down beside me and looks up at me, waiting.
“Coach and Logan know about my dad now,” I tell him. “Coach suspected him of being an asshole a long time ago but now, I’ve confirmed it for him.”
“I hope your dad won’t do anything to ruin this opportunity for you,” Liam says, looking anxious.
“He can try,” I say, my voice turning ice-cold. “I have both my coach and my team captain’s support this time. They’ll make sure Dad doesn’t ruin anything for me again.”
A heavy sigh escapes him. “That’s good. I told Logan and Pavel about what happened between you and your dad after the game with Silverlake U. I explained how he hurt you so badly, that I was left with no choice but to take you somewhere safe.”
“So, you told them everything about us, huh?”
“Kind of,” Liam says with a chuckle. “Your friends convinced me they were okay with our relationship and that I could trust them. Pavel is a little bit crazy but Logan is a solid guy.”
A laugh escapes me.
Just a single meeting with them was enough for Liam to know them.
“Next time, though, you’re not allowed to go with them,” I growl, squeezing his ass cheek. “I don’t like you hanging out with anyone other than me.”
An amused grin comes over Liam. “Are you jealous of your teammates? They came to speak to me because they were worried aboutyou. The whole thing was about you. I’m kind of jealous I don’t have friends like that inmylife.”
Friends...
The word sends warmth shooting through me.
I never thought I could have friends who could accept me fully. Now that Logan and Mitchikov know about me and Liam, a giant weight seems to have lifted from my chest.
For the first time in my life, I feel like I canbreathe.
“Hayden?” Liam looks at me, searching my face for something.
“Yeah?”
“You don’t care that they know about us now?”
“I stopped caring what people thought of us the moment you took me back to the beach house with you that night,” I tell him. “I’m not willing to hurt you again. If I can’t play hockey again, so be it. I’m never going to make you feel like you’re someone who should be hidden. I want to proudly show you off to the world!”
“Hayden, don’t say that,” Liam murmurs. “You love hockey and you have a long, long way to go in your career.”
I smile, capturing his lips in a kiss.
“There’s nothing more I want in my life as long as I can play hockey and have you by my side,” I say, wrapping my arms around him. “Nothing else matters to me.”
“I’ll always be with you,” Liam promises, kissing me again.
I trace lazy circles on his back, feeling free and happy. With him in my arms, I feel like I’m truly home.
32
Liam
It’s been close to a month since the Thunder Knights lost to the Silver Bears from Silverlake University. It’s crazy to think how much has changed since then.
