Alex
Waking up later than usual, I scratch my long beard and look in the mirror. I’m not so bad, I say to myself. At 6’4”, I’m taller than most men and thanks to my hockey background I have a solid foundation of thick muscles. Those boys had no business calling me ‘Quarter Pounder’ last night, I work out nearly every day. My hair is starting to turn silver, but the salt and pepper isn't bothering me. I could use a haircut though. Going into the playoffs, the team agreed this year to refrain from cutting their hair or beards in a superstitious ritual. This was the first year I played along, letting my locks go wild. Considering our victory, I guess I’ll be growing it out next year, as well, if we make the playoffs. Seriously, if it grows any longer than this, I'll have to pull it back into a man bun. I guess I should call and schedule that haircut today.
I grab my phone off my night stand and notice Cameron has called four times since last night. He’s such a hard working kid. He probably wants keys to the gym so he can work out during off season. Strange, though, I thought the office manager handed out keys last week to the players who requested them after our end of season meeting.
I check my texts and see he has not only called four times, but he has also texted six.
8:32 pm “Coach call me”
8:46 pm “Coach I need to talk”
9:12 pm “Coach where are you?”
9:34 pm “Hollar back bro”
9:35 pm “Sorry, I didn't mean that, can you call me tho”
7:42 am “Im up”
I take a quick swig of my coffee and hit the call back button on my phone. He answers almost instantly. “Thank God, Coach, I need someone to talk to.”
“What's going on, Cam?” I ask, bracing myself for the worst. This kid seems to get himself into predicament after predicament. When you’re the person who never gets away with anything, it's best to just not do anything that could get you in trouble.
“Can we meet in person? I'll come grab you for breakfast.”
“Sure, kid. I'll be ready in ten.”
Cameron picks me up ten minutes later on the dot. I swear the kid must have been parked down the street waiting for me to wake up. I jump in his car and he opens up like my ex-wife’s legs. “I swear, coach, I only fucked her once and now shes claiming she pregnant with my kid.” I take in a slow, deep breath. Yup, this kid sure has a knack for getting himself into situations.
“This is bad, isn't it?” We ride in silence for a few minutes then he pulls the car into the local cafe and we grab a table near the front window.
I look across the table and know I better come up with something. This kid is trusting me to have some wise words of wisdom, but truthfully I'm in just as much shock as he is. I’ve got nothing. I know how this could affect his life, even his career. He needs to handle this with dignity and discretion in order to prevent a breach of the morality clause in his contract.
“Okay, so first we’re not going to say the possibility of any child coming into the world is bad, especially if it might be your kid. But it's sure not ideal, now is it? Why didn't you wrap it up? You boys know better than anyone that there's plenty of girls out there just looking for the free ride that an NHL player can provide.”
“I always use condoms. I think I did. I’m not sure. I was drinking that night,” he stammers.
“Well, first things first, you need to find out if she's really pregnant. Maybe ask to go to the doctor and confirm the pregnancy.”
“And if she is?”
“You banged her so you’ll need to show her respect as both someone you chose to sleep with and the possible mother of your child. If she is pregnant, find out what she wants to do.”
“She already said she wanted to keep the baby. But can’t I just ask her to get rid of it or something? Give her some money or something for an abortion?”
“No,” I interrupt, “Now you know better than that. Never try to pressure a woman into giving up their child. It’s her body to choose and anyways, that's the coward's way out. You didn't get to where you are by being a coward. You’ll face your responsibilities head on, like the man I have taught you to be.”
“What if it's not even mine?”
“Well that's possible too and I think there is no sure way to find out until after the baby is born. I could be wrong, I'm no medical expert,” I say.
Cameron walks to the counter, orders us some fancy coffees and breakfast sandwiches and we continue to eat in silence. I can tell Cameron is having a hard time getting the food down, although these sandwiches are amazing and I'm wondering why I haven't been here before.
Even though at one point in my life I wanted a family, I am relieved I never had to go through what he is facing right now. I was always careful. Even when I was married, both my wives used regular birth control. Hmm I wonder if I'd have been a little more careless if I'd still be alone. What am I even thinking? I can't let this twenty-three-year old kid’s situation get me off track. I'm happier than I've ever been.
“I wish there was more I could say but there's nothing more you can really do. Try to get your mind off it. Maybe keep yourself busy at the gym. For God’s sake, don't go out finding any more trouble for yourself. I’ll make an appointment with Maddie from PR for you. We should at least give her a heads up in case that girl shit-talks about you on social media or something. I’d hate to see you lose any of your sponsorships over this. You need to follow Maddie’s advice. She’s smart and you don't want this to bite you in the ass, well, any deeper in the ass anyway.”
I can tell his mind is still racing as we load our full bellies back into his car and pull away from the cafe.
NatashaIt feels beyond good to be back home, back to my own kitchen, and mostly to my own bed. I had a great time in Chena Hot Springs, I got to check out the breweries as I was hoping, and now I’ve returned from a full week of visiting my parents in Washington, a trip I force myself to make each year. My parents are getting older and while I’m usually losing my sanity by the end of the week, I know I would regret not spending this time with them. I was also lucky enough to be able to get in a few nice hikes while in Washington, including Maple Pass Loop, which was on my hiking bucket list. Nothing can compare to the seclusion I can find in Alaska, though. While I am always anxious about visiting my parents, it wasn't as bad as I was anticipating and now that it's over, I can concentrate on having the kick ass summer I deserve. I mean it’s not that my parents are bad people. It's the opposite, really. My mom has never really got over the loss of my brother and my dad just spend
Alex This morning has turned into a series of uncomfortable silences. Both on the ride to the cafe after Cameron dropped his pregnancy bomb and while we were sitting eating our sandwiches, and now again on the ride home. That woman’s anger was the topping on the shit-cake that Cameron didn't need today. I mean I can understand why she'd be upset. I'd be upset too if I had a sweet ride like that and it just got smashed. But to yell such obscenities in the middle of the parking lot? She must have a few screws loose. She’s old enough to know accidents happen. Obviously old enough to be able to handle a fender bender with a little more grace than yelling at a kid in his twenties. Though, I deserved what she said to me. I know better than to mention a woman's age. It's not like she looked old. In fact, she looks pretty damn good for whatever age she is. I guess it's true, the better looking they are, the crazier they are. I should have already known that. I was hoping to just sit
NatashaI was able to barely salvage the summer. My car is still in the shop. As I suspected, the passenger side front fender and door both needed to be completely replaced. So the search for parts begins. Once they are found, the whole car will need to be repainted as it could never match up correctly due to both color matching and the thermochromatics. To top it off, the driver who hit me is refusing to pay what the insurance won't cover and unless we come to an agreement soon, the whole mess is going to wind up in small claims court. I'm confident I’d win the case, but the time it takes to do that only puts me more and more behind on actually getting to enjoy my ride and that is what's making me so angry about the whole situation. Needless to say, it's going to be at least next summer until I can enjoy my baby again. I was able to get in some decent hikes and camping and now that school is back in session, it's time to concentrate on the fall reading festival. Summer reading g
Alex As much as this summer has not been what I expected, I can't complain. I was able to get a deck built onto my backyard and even had a couple barbecues with the team and their families over. I went and spent some time in Denali both hiking and rafting, something I've been wanting to try for quite awhile. It was a little trickier getting booked as a single, something I wasn't expecting. Apparently, people usually raft with groups of friends or their significant others. It's not that I don't have friends. I do. I have a few good friends left from when I was a player for the Aces myself but most have families of their own now and are busy raising their kids. Some of them went on to careers-some are sports professionals, some teachers, and even one is an accountant. Most live out of state now and when we travel for games, I always get invited to family dinners and kids birthday parties. Last year, I even attended a piano recital for an ex-teammates first grandchild. As if t
Natasha Kristina and I sit in the middle of her living room with papers sprawled out around us. We have used our time wisely, choosing fall reading books that will hopefully challenge and inspire our young readers. We have a few hours left of planning and then we should be all ready. We are just starting to go over the flyers, trying out some themes that might entice some participants this year. “How about ‘fall into reading’ ‘fall into the books’ ‘don't leaf a book unread’?” Kristina asks. “Those are terrible!” I giggle as I pass her the second bottle of wine that’s already halfway gone and say, “We really should have stayed sober if we wanted to come up with a clever slogan tonight.” “Yeah, I better quit drinking or our slogan’s gonna be ‘fall over drunk’.” “Fall on my drunk ass,” I come back with. Kristina snorts, which makes us both laugh even louder and now I'm holding my stomach as my body rolls back and I roll from side to side, holding my belly. “Stop, stop, I'm gonna
“Now that Adam knows I'm drinking he’s not gonna leaf me alone tonight,” Kristina giggles as we start to gather our papers. “And what about coach? It seems like you two had a moment there.” “Ha! A moment of embarrassment,” I deadpan. I can try to set you guys up on a date if you want “Didn't you hear him? He was livid when he thought Adam had set him up to even meet me. Plus, he was with the guy when my car got hit and he’s seen all my crazy. Trust me, men run from the shit I was throwing out that day. I even called him Grizzly Adams.” I bust out a laugh. “I was wondering where that comment came from,” Kristina chuckles. “They grow their hair and beard during the playoffs. Some sort of superstition I guess.” Alex Adam and I wrap up watching the tapes as I try to stay focused on hockey plays instead of the more than hot red head in the next room. She’s is gonna be the end of me. Kneeling in front of me like that I could feel my dick stir to life. Stir to a life it used to
Natasha The car ride was uneventful. After I gave him my address and he entered it into the GPS, it was pretty quiet the entire ride except for asking about the reading festival. His jaw was clenched and I noticed he’s flexing his huge thighs, alternating between the left and the right. Hmm, maybe it's something he does when he is annoyed. “I wanted to apologize for freaking out when my car was hit,” I blurt as I notice we’re getting closer to my street. “Don't worry another moment on it.” Quiet again. Okay, this is getting a little awkward. I probably should have just taken an uber I think while I find myself staring at his profile. He really is a nice looking man. I wonder why he isn't married. Maybe he is but doesnt wear a ring? Maybe he has a girlfriend? Maybe that's why he’s acting so professional? That's it. He has a girlfriend. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Of course he's taken. He's not going on and on about his health issues, so that alone makes him a catch
Alex When I woke up this morning, I decided I would casually show up to the reading festival to see how the boys are representing the team. I heard some of them complaining about ‘getting up so early on a Saturday’. You would have thought I had asked them to be there at five o’clock the way they were acting. What’s with the kids these days? When I was playing, I was always on the ice no later than six o’clock, every damn morning. Yet, when I ask them to help with a charity reading event for kids they act like missing a few hours of beauty sleep will ruin their whole weekend. Yes, I needed to go check, just to make sure they were being professional and helping enough. Yeah sure that's why. Definitely not because I want to see Natasha. That woman is cray-cray, as the kids say. Although driving her home the other night wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. She was even nice, not to mention, modest. I noticed how she wrapped her coat around her when she noticed I was staring