Page 36

Chapter 36

Blake

T hree days.

It’s been three days and nothing from her father. The team has been blowing up our phones, but we’ve muted the conversation. Telling them the truth. We fell in love with Coach Lein’s daughter in the Poconos, and we won't keep our relationship a secret any longer. Since Coach can’t accept it, we’ve quit.

It caused an uproar, many wanting to quit the team in a show of support for us, but we were adamant they didn’t. Unlike us, many of them are on scholarships and they need to remain on the team to keep them.

Chase and Carter came to me last night and asked me to move in, to give up my dorm and stay with them. When I quit I didn’t think about how my scholarship covered the cost of my dorm while my parents and financial aid were able to cover everything else.

I was afraid it might be too soon, but Chase assured me it wasn’t. We spent the day packing up my room and moving, then I took my keys to housing and turned them in.

We were all under one roof and it felt amazing. Except it wasn’t completely. Ginny, though she puts on a brave face, she’s hurt by her father. She at least thought her cutting ties with him would have him see reason, but it didn’t. So we did the best thing we could think of to keep her busy. She rotated nights between Carter’s bed and ours, and during the day, we skated. She taught me all the routines, doing jumps and lifts over and over until I had them committed to memory.

I love it!

Hockey in no way compared to the thrill I got from being free on the ice. Free from a position that held me tied to one spot. Gear that weighed me down. My love for hockey remained as I found a new passion.

“That was perfect,” Ginny shouts at me from the edge of the rink with Carter and Chase.

We found a rink in the next town over and have been going there to practice. No longer being on the team, we didn’t want to use our badges to go to the one on campus. Ginny didn’t want to use hers because she didn’t want to risk running into her father.

Unfortunately, we can’t put off running into Coach Lein any longer. The three of us need to clean out our lockers and Ginny still needs to get her stuff from her house. We plan to do it in the morning when there’s no chance of running into the team or Coach Lein. None of us are ready to answer all the questions or listen to the pleas of our former teammates wanting us to come back. We get enough of those in texts.

“Okay, let’s call it a day. I’m hungry,” Carter announces boldly as he scoops Ginny up, tossing her over his shoulder, and starts to head for the exit. “We’ll be in the truck, making out in the backseat.”

“I could eat, but I’d rather be sucking something,” I whisper in Chase's ear as he watches Carter leave. He lets out a groan that has me biting my lip while my cock reacts in approval.

“I want the same thing,” he says huskily, turning to face me as I reach around, cupping the back of his head and pulling his lips to mine. “The sooner you get those skates off, the sooner that can happen,” Chase says between breaths.

“Let’s go.” I sit on the bench long enough to swap my skates for boots and head out, his hand firmly gripped in mine.

The moment we pull into the driveway, I spot him. Standing there. Waiting. But I’m not the only one. They see him too, and Ginny lets out a groan.

Coach Lein stands stiffly on our front porch, hands shoved into his jacket pockets, his shoulders square as he stares off into the distance. His face etched with worry.

“It’s about time he showed up,” I mutter as Chase turns off the engine.

Ginny exhales softly from where she sits behind me. “Depends on what he’s here for.” Her voice is quiet but steady, laced with uncertainty. She’s worried about why he’s here—what he’s come to say or do.

I shift in my seat and reach back to her, squeezing her hand before the four of us step out of the truck. The air is crisp as we move in sync, as a unit, making our way up the porch steps. The melty cheese scent from our carryout pizzas already forgotten, replaced by the weight of whatever’s about to happen.

Coach Lein shifts awkwardly, his gaze darting between us before settling on Ginny. “I want to talk to you,” he says, his voice rough with hesitation. Then he clears his throat, looking at me, Chase, and Carter. “To all of you.”

I don’t hesitate. “Let’s go inside.” Stepping past him, I unlock the door, pushing it open. It still feels surreal, being here, living here, calling this home.

I take the pizzas straight to the kitchen, setting them on the counter. Not that any of us are eating until this conversation is over and maybe not even then, depending on how it goes. Tension hums through the air, thick and suffocating as we all make our way into the living room. Ginny is between Chase and Carter, the three of them sitting together on the couch while I sit on the arm of it beside Chase. Coach hesitates before lowering himself into the chair across from us, his hands clasped together like a man about to confess his sins.

And maybe, in a way, he is.

“I owe you an apology.” His voice is quiet but firm as he looks at Ginny. “I was blind to what was happening—to what he was doing to you—right under my own nose. I should have seen it. Should have stopped it. But I didn’t, and for that, I am so damn sorry.” His voice cracks on the last word. “I never wanted you to feel like you weren’t important. In fact, it was the opposite. You were too important, and I… I didn’t know how to handle that.”

Ginny’s breath hitches, but she stays silent, letting him speak.

“After I lost your mother, every time I looked at you, I saw her. It was painful and I didn’t know how to cope, so instead of facing it, I buried myself in coaching. At first, it was just the hockey team. Then, when your coach retired, I took over a more active role in your career too. It wasn’t because I didn’t care, Ginny . It was because I was too much of a coward to face my own grief.”

Her lips tremble, her fingers gripping Chase’s tightly. “Then why did you believe him?” she whispers.

Regret darkens his eyes. “I don’t know. I know it’s not an answer. Maybe it was because I didn’t know how to balance being your father and your coach. And I failed at both.” He leans forward, his voice thick with emotion. “I want to do better. I will d o better. If you’ll let me, I want to train you and your new partner. But more than that—I want to be your dad. ” He swallows hard. “I just want you in my life.”

Silence stretches between them, heavy with unspoken words.

Then Ginny straightens. “Can you accept my relationship with the guys?”

A sharp exhale leaves Coach’s lips. He looks away, his fingers running through his hair as if grappling with the weight of her question. When he finally looks back at us, his gaze is unreadable. “I won’t lie to you. This is… hard for me . Seeing my baby girl grown up—in a sexual relationship, no less, is hard enough. And with three men?” His jaw tenses. “Men I’ve heard talk in the locker room, seen with women…” He shakes his head. “It’s a lot to process.”

I sit up taller, my voice steady. “This is different. Ginny isn’t just some girl . She’s the girl. The only girl. We don’t just love her, Coach. We’re complete with her. She’s our future. Ginny doesn’t know it yet, but she’s the endgame for all three of us.”

He looks at me for a long moment, then shifts his gaze to Carter and Chase. “I see how you’re there for her,” he admits. “And I admire that. I won’t pretend there won’t be questions, or that I’ll understand everything right away.” He exhales heavily before turning back to Ginny. “But I love you, Geneva. And if these three make you happy… then I’m willing to try. To work at understanding this dynamic. And one day, maybe, I’ll fully accept it.” He holds her gaze. “That’s all I can promise for now.”

Ginny turns to us, searching our faces. As a group, we all nod in unison. It’s not perfect. It’s not immediate acceptance. But it’s something . It's a start.

She turns back to her dad, nodding. “Okay.”

Coach exhales, relief flickering across his face. “Will you move back home?”

She hesitates, then shakes her head. “I think I’m going to stay here. That is, if the guys want me to.”

“Of course we do,” Chase says instantly.

Coach’s expression softens, and then—hesitantly—he opens his arms. Ginny stands and steps forward, climbing onto his lap and wrapping her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. He holds her tight, his hands pressing against her back as her small cries break the silence.

When they finally pull away, Coach’s expression hardens slightly. “Now, boys, just know—if you ever hurt her, the same promise of death I gave Antony pertains to you as well.”

Carter smirks. “Noted.”

Coach exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. “What will it take to get the three of you back on the team?”

Chase and Carter exchange a glance. “We’ll come back,” Chase says, “as long as all the bullshit stays in the past.”

Ginny beams at their words.

Coach nods, then looks at me. “And you, Blake?”

I cross my arms, tilting my head. “Depends. Seeing as I’m Ginny’s new partner, my practices have to work around our training schedule.”

His jaw slackens, but for once, he doesn’t argue.

“I can make that happen.” He nods, rubbing his temples as though processing this new reality. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. Her next… and I guess your next competition is in four months.”

I smirk. “Then it’s a good thing we have pizza. We can eat while working out a schedule.”

Laughter echoes through the room, light and full of something I didn’t know we’d ever have with Coach Lein after he found out we were with Ginny—peace.

I glance around, taking in the people in the room. Chase, the man I’ve loved since I was old enough to understand what love was. Carter, my brother in every way that matters. And Ginny, our heart, our forever .

Our family is complete.

And all it took was putting our love on the ice, letting it crack so that we could see the beauty beneath it.