Page 16 of Breaking the Ice
“No,” Zach said quietly. He hadn’t texted Sidney Swift yet, but it was only a matter of time. He should’ve already done it. It wasn’t like Gavin was going to change his mind.
He’d gotten everything he was ever going to get from Gavin Blackburn, and frankly, Zach knew he should be happy about it. It was more than he could’ve possibly expected.
But it still sucked.
“Not surprised,” Hayes said. “But you gave it a solid effort. B+, I’d say.”
“Do I wanna know what I’d have had to do to get an A?”
Hayes turned, fingers latching onto the edge of the pool. “Seduced him, maybe? Though that wouldn’t have convinced him to take the job. Probably would’ve freaked him out. Big gay freakout, for sure. And then probably the big widower freakout—”
“That’s not a thing,” Zach interrupted.
“Oh, it’s totally a thing. And then even after all those freakouts, he definitely wouldn’t have taken the job.”
“Thanks, Monty. That’s super helpful,” Zach said dryly. “I can see why the Sentinels send you on so many recruiting trips.”
Hayes shrugged. “You show him Jones and McCoy?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, well, A- then. But that’s as good as you’re getting.”
Zach smacked him on the shoulder. “You’re such an overperforming, overachieving asshole. Do you ever turn it off?”
“Baby, you know I don’t,” Hayes said, batting his eyelashes in Zach’s direction.
“You’re the worst.”
“Which is why you came tome,” Hayes said knowingly.
“Maybe I missed you.”
“Bullshit,” Hayes retorted. “So did the most brilliant genius coach in the universe have any super special insights on Jones and McCoy?”
“No,” Zach said. And okay, sue him. He did think Gavin was the most brilliant genius coach in the universe with all the super special insights. It wasn’t really fair of Hayes to bring that up, but thenhe’dbrought up Hayes’ ex-fling, so possibly they were even now.
“No? Not even one? Well, that’s disappointing. I thought maybe he might agree with me,” Hayes said.
“They’re not fucking,” Zach said.
“But theywantto be,” Hayes said knowingly.
“That’s your theory.”
“You have to admit it’s a good theory. You showed me the game. The one where they started on the same line for the first time? It was like Jones finally thought he could make McCoy pay attention to him.” Hayes shot him a look. “Don’t tell me you’ve never felt that way before.”
He had.He had.Too many times when he’d been in college, for those two years, when Gavin had been his coach. He’d wanted his eyes on him more than he’d wanted to breathe sometimes.
But was that Elliott?
If it was, it could backfire so spectacularly. Zach had figured out how to find that edge without Gavin coaching him, but everyone couldn’t do that. You had to do more to make it than play good hockey to impress a cute boy.
“You know I have.” Zach told himself not to say it, but he said it anyway. “And so have you.”
“Yeah, which is why I said it,” Hayes said calmly.
“It could be catastrophic,” Zach said. It wasn’t the first time Hayes had suggested this theory, but Zach had been more willing to dismiss it outright. But it was harder today, because he’d just been forcibly reminded of how strong that pull could be. Despite knowing better, despite knowing everything he did about Gavin and his situation, when they’d been on the couch together last night, he’d have gone along with anything Gavin wanted.
