Page 7

Chapter 6

Scuba

S eeing Annie was fucking weird, and I basically had to speed to get back to the training facility in time for the video meeting.

Thankfully, my buddies, the Spencers and Carter Carmichael, saved me a seat next to them. That way, I didn’t look like a dweeb for coming in late. As I sat down, Spencer Suzuki punched my arm and whispered, “Everything okay? You seem a little weird since this morning.”

Of course, he realized something was up.

I just hoped he didn’t see me loitering around Annie’s room like some sort of creep. He had custody of my son right now, and I needed him to trust me.

“Yeah, but we gotta talk after the video session.”

I just hoped he knew I meant just the two of us.

My focus was awful. Thankfully, the guys only gave me a little bit of shit about it.

As much as we hated to admit it, we all had off days. Today was mine.

The important thing was it had to be my last bad day. I could not let this turn into a streak of terrible play and focus. Thankfully, I should be able to fix everything. The sooner I connected with Eric, the sooner I could get my focus back.

I wasn’t able to talk to Spencer at practice since he never left Carter’s side.

As soon as I sat in the car and saw my phone was connected to the Bluetooth, I said, “Call Jetski.”

The car did its magic by ringing up my teammate and son’s current guardian.

My son’s current guardian. How fucked up was that?

I was living in the same fucking city, yet I didn’t even know about my son or have custody over him.

“Yo. What’s up?”

The nerves built up, and I figured the best thing to do was to come straight out with it. “Can I stop by your house today?”

I tapped the steering wheel. He couldn’t answer me soon enough. Not like I wasn’t already driving his way. But I had no clue what I would do if he didn’t let me come over.

“Sure, but I have company.”

As if we didn’t all know that. Hell, I didn’t even care if he slept with our personal assistant while I was over. I just wanted to see Eric and try to get to know my kid.

“I know. It’s him that I want to talk to. Hopefully, Annie might have warned you that I would be calling.”

“Sure, come on over. I’m glad that you know. I’ve been wanting to tell you since shit went down.”

How much did he know, and why hadn’t he told me? Why would he hide my own kid from me? I could forgive him if he did it because he was trying to protect the kid.

I scoffed. “What the hell happened? She didn’t tell me much other than that Eric is my son and that he likes hockey.”

Spencer chuckled. “Dude, you have no idea. Get ready for some mini sticks and to be peppered with questions.”

I wasn’t pissed that he focused on the last thing I said. He gave me more information about my kid, and at this point, I was desperate for any information. Hearing Eric was like me at that age made me realize I still had some influence on my kid even if I hadn’t been in his life.

I made the turn toward Spencer’s place. That’s when I saw his SUV a couple of car lengths ahead of mine.

“Hey, I have an idea. We won’t tell Nat, and it will make the kid’s day. Bring over a pizza. Maybe some ice cream.”

I snorted. There was something to be said about coming with gifts in hand. Especially when the food in question was totally kid-friendly and not on our diet plan. It was a great idea.

One night of greasy carbs wouldn’t completely fuck with our systems. It would be fine.

“Okay. What type of toppings do you suggest?”

I was pretty sure if this were my kid, he would adore something like fudge chocolate chip ice cream. The more decadent, the better. But the pizza toppings had me stumped since I didn’t think most kids liked a crap ton of meats, but plain cheese was so boring.

“Pretty much anything but anchovies, artichokes, and pineapple. But I vote for something like sausage or pepperoni.”

That was so damn random. Who would let a kid eat those three things on a pizza? Okay, maybe the pineapple, but the other two toppings were a hell no.

The way he said it, I had to ask, “Who the hell thought anchovies or artichokes would be good for a kid?”

“Nobody. But Natalie likes the combo, so I got it for her one night, and Eric wanted to try a piece since he’d never seen something like that.”

For some reason, that made sense.

“Is this your way of saying I should maybe pick up a pie for her?”

I never really knew where I stood with Natalie. She always did what I wanted, except when it was related to my sexual drive. Since I could be a sexual being, I annoyed her a lot by asking for condoms, lube, and even the addresses of sex clubs in the area. If she weren’t so damn good at her job, I would look for a new personal assistant. One that didn’t talk back to me so much.

At least a pizza was a small price to pay to help get her to like me, so I hoped Spencer wasn’t trying to prank me with that combo.

“Wouldn’t hurt,” Spence said. “Also, be prepared for questions from her.”

Why wasn’t I surprised? She could be as relentless as her boyfriend. It’s why the two were so well suited for each other.

“All right. I’m going to order those pizzas, and I’ll be there after.”

I cut the line and then started the pizza order.

Yeah, ordering four large pies for four people was probably overkill, but I wanted to get things right with my kid, so I brought options.

As I drove toward Spence’s place, he texted me to say he was in the backyard and to head back there.

Opening up the gate, I felt so much trepidation. I probably should have figured out what I was going to say. Should I just lay it out for the kid? Did I try to befriend him first?

Fuck. Maybe I should have done more planning, but I lost years with the kid already. I didn’t want to lose anymore.

Seeing Spencer and Eric playing with some hockey sticks, I realized I could do this, even if I wasn't sure how I would introduce myself to my own child. At least establishing common ground should be easy. We had some pizzas, which are always yummy, and hockey.

“Yo. I got pizza,” I called out.

Both of them turned, and Eric said, “Yum. Actually, wait, what kind did you get?”

I chuckled. Yup, the kid was scared after trying Natalie’s pizza. Then again, I probably would have had the same reaction as Eric.

This was where I wondered if, besides the eye color, there were any of Annie’s traits in him since he was my mini-me.

“I got sausage and green peppers, cheese, meat eaters, and then there's an anchovy and artichoke one.” I squinched up my nose at the last one.

Spence came up to me and flipped open the pizza boxes. He grabbed the anchovy and artichoke pizza for Nat first and then put a few slices of the meat eaters pizza on top. “I’ll take this up to Nat and let you two chat.”

I wanted to kill my teammate, but he was giving us space so we could get to know each other. Plus, it probably wasn’t a bad thing that he was going to occupy Natalie, but I wanted a damn buffer.

Oh well. I would just have to do this on my own.

Since Spence didn’t give a damn about plates, I wasn’t going to either. I grabbed a slice of the sausage and peppers, and Eric reached out and grabbed a piece of the same. He smiled. “No one gets this combo but me, but I love it.”

“Me too, bud.” I looked up to the sky as I tried to figure out what to say next. Then I figured it might as well be a Band-Aid—just rip it off or, in this case, tell him. “So I came over since I’m your dad, and I want to be in your life. I don’t know how much you know since I just found out about you. I would have been there for you sooner if I had known. But I want to be there now.”

The kid didn’t seem too fazed. Instead, he looked at me and asked, “Are you my real dad, or are you like my mom’s new boyfriend?”

God, that was a loaded question, especially for a six-year-old. Also, how many boyfriends did Annie bring around for him to think I might be a new boyfriend?

“Real dad,” I said with a smile while trying to pretend I was not scared shitless right now.

He looked down at his pizza and asked, “So why haven’t you been around?”

I didn’t want to make Annie look bad, but I was also so angry. We wouldn’t be in this situation if she didn’t lie to me.

“Your mom didn’t tell me about you. But when I saw you earlier today, I knew we were related. So I talked to your mom, and she confirmed everything.”

At least the kid wasn’t upset with me. If anything, he seemed to be interested as he munched on the pizza.

“How did you know?”

I pulled out my phone. This was going to be so fucked up, but I didn’t know what else to do. Besides, my mom would be happy to oblige once the shock wore off.

“I can show you, but it would mean calling my mom. Would you want to do that?”

Eric nodded, and I took a deep breath.

I wished I had a couple of shots flowing through my system, but there was no time. I loved my mom, but she could be intense, and she was going to ask so many questions. Probably questions I didn’t know the answer to myself.

I pulled up the commands to Facetime my mom. She picked up right away, but it took her a few moments to actually angle the camera correctly. Once she was ready, I had to ask, “Mom, are you sitting down?”

It was a dumb question since she spent a few seconds getting herself situated, but I really couldn’t tell if she was standing or not.

“Yup. What’s wrong, Ter? Why do I need to be sitting?”

I motioned for Eric to come over. “I’ll catch you up later, but I have someone I want you to meet. This is Eric.”

I didn’t add your grandson since it was obvious, and I still needed to ask her something.

He waved at my mom while her jaw hung open.

Yeah, she had no poker face, and I wanted to hug the kid so he didn’t feel weird, but I barely knew him. I didn’t want to make things too awkward. “Can you get out some of the old photos of me?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” She got up and went over to where she kept the photo albums. I could hear some background noise. After a few moments, she came back and held up my first-grade school picture. “You mean something like this?”

“Oh s—that looks like me.” Eric gasped.

Did my kid almost swear and then stop himself? Although now he could understand why I realized he was mine.

“Why not show him a couple more? Do you have my first hockey card?”

“Of course.” My mom then flipped through a couple of pages, pulled it out, and held it up to the screen. “This was one of my favorites. So, I should probably ask. What’s your name?”

“Eric Diaz.”

After that, everything felt good, and it was easy to talk to my kid. He was pretty cool and I couldn’t wait to know even more.