Page 46 of Right Pucking Daddy (Daddies of the League #7)

THIRTY-EIGHT

SASHA

“You don’t get to…”

“Aiden, it’s alright,” I said, interrupting my boy.

He shook his head. “But it’s not…”

“It’s alright. The doctor is looking out for you. It’s his job. Unfortunately, there are coaches out there who would ignore a doctor’s orders and push a player back onto the ice before they are ready,” I told him.

He folded his arms over his chest, his face taking on the bratty look that made me want to paddle his ass. Staring at Aiden, I directed my words to the physicians in the room.

“Rest assured. Aiden Mercer will not be taking the ice until he is ready and a doctor agrees.”

“That’s refreshing to hear, Coach…” he guy trailed off, so I said, “Storm. Sasha Storm, Dr. Ramadi.”

We shook hands, and the doctor looked back at Aiden.

“This knock to the head is not minor, but it could be much, much worse. So, we will be keeping you overnight, just to be safe. No games, no practices, no workouts for the next week. At that time, we will re-evaluate. I also want you to limit screen time. So, no video games and limit your computer and phone time as much as possible. If you can get someone to do the reading and typing, you can do class work, but I’ll be giving you an excuse to email your professors. ”

Aiden’s eyes grew wider and wider the more the doctor spoke.

I wanted to comfort him so much. When he looked at me, those beautiful steel gray eyes that drew me in the moment our gazes locked, pleaded with me.

I locked my knees to keep from going to him.

My gaze dropped to Hawk, and Aiden’s did too.

Aiden’s hands sank into Hawk’s fur. Hawk whimpered, inching forward until he could lick and nuzzle Aiden’s neck, cheek, and chin. Aiden took a deep breath and muttered, “Okay. I understand.”

Holy fuck, the dejected sound of his voice gutted me.

“If you rest as much as possible, drink lots of water, dim the lights, and have very little to no electronic time, I’m hoping you’re back on the ice in ten to fourteen days. Pushing too hard and fast will only keep you off the ice longer.”

“We will follow the instructions to the letter,” I said, and Aiden nodded, his eyes closed.

Dr. Amos continued, “Thank you, Dr. Ramadi. I’ll get you transferred upstairs, Aiden. Coach Storm can stay if you’d like. According to the police, your parents are on their way.”

“Yeah, they are. They called Coach Storm.”

She walked forward, patted Aiden’s shoulder, then said, “Alright, then. Take care of yourself, Aiden.” She turned to me, held out her hand to shake mine. “Coach, it was nice meeting you.”

“You as well.”

Dr. Ramadi mimicked Dr. Amos, and then they were both gone. As soon as we were alone, I moved toward my beautiful, distraught boy.

“Aiden, we’ll get you through this,” I said, sitting on the side of the bed next to his hip, slipping one hand in his silky hair and leaning the other across him on the bed.

Lip chewing and nodding were all the response I got. Until a tear dropped and splashed on the back of his hand. The slight tremor I felt turned to full-blown trembling when the first sob erupted from him.

“Oh baby, it’s gonna be okay. You’ll see.”

“I feel like everything I’ve worked for is hanging by a thread.”

“If anyone knows that feeling, it’s me, baby boy.”

“Oh! Daddy, I’m sorry. This isn’t…”

“No need to be sorry, and just because your injury isn’t as severe as mine was doesn’t take away from how you feel about it or the fact that it’s devastating to you in the moment.”

“I wish you could hold me,” he whispered.

“I do too, but with them transferring you and… my best friend, also known as your dad, on the way, that might not be the best idea.”

Aiden nodded, but I knew as much as he understood he wanted it, anyway.

Same as me. He was my best friend’s son.

I should still be freaking the fuck out, but Aiden being hurt and upset made Aiden the priority, not Mikal being his dad.

I’d once loved Mikal as a brother, but we lost touch after I told him to go fuck himself the day he gave me Hawk.

Maybe the time we spent not speaking to each other was why my boy being his son wasn’t fucking with my head more?

Or maybe I was just an asshole who didn’t give a fuck.

Whatever the reason, I didn’t care. If the guilt got to me, I’d deal with it.

The door pushed open, “Alright, Mr. Mercer, I’m Marco. Your friendly neighborhood Uber driver. I’ll be chauffeuring you upstairs.”

I quickly slid from the bed, thankful to see the hospital staff member backing into the room with a wheelchair in front of them. Aiden’s eyes widened with a smile, drawing a lip-twitching smirk from me.

Hawk jumped from the bed, and Marco transferred Aiden to the wheelchair.

Hawk and I followed after them as Marco pushed Aiden from the room.

Marco chattered away with Aiden and me about Hawk and hockey from the ER to the room they put Aiden in for the night.

A couple of nurses met us there and got him settled like a well-oiled machine.

Marco and one of the nurses slipped from the room, but the other nurse, an older woman I could tell took shit from no one, unplugged the television, then said, “Coach Storm, I hope you have some games on that phone if you’re serious about staying, because Aiden needs rest.”

“No games. Just books, ma’am. I’m a reader. There’s an entire library on this phone. ”

Her eyes squinted and her lips pursed while her gaze traveled from my eyes to my toes and back. “Humph. You’re smarter than you look, then.” She patted Aiden’s lower leg. “Sleep. Or make this coach of yours read to you so you can rest your eyes.”

She left with another glance in my direction. Aiden sat in the hospital bed on the verge of hysterics, which burst from him the moment the door to the room closed behind the nurse.

“She doesn’t like you, Daddy.”

I stalked over to the bed, leaning over, my hands wrapped around the bed rails. “I don’t give a shit as long as you like me. You’re all that matters.”

His hands traced the veins in my forearms while staring up at me. The look in his eyes shot blood straight to my groin.

“Not happening, boy,” I grumbled.

“But Daddy…”

“Concussions mean no sex, no orgasms.”

The pouty face he made cracked me up.

“Laughing isn’t nice, Daddy,” Aiden snarked.

That only made me laugh harder. Turning, I sat down next to him, pulling him into my arms. “I’m so glad you’re gonna be okay. You scared me to death.”

“I’m still scared.”

“I know, but trust me to take care of you. Your job is to focus on getting better. ”

“Okay. I’ll try not to worry. It would be a lot easier if there were something to distract me.”

I agreed, but refused to given in to his pouty demands. Instead, I kissed his temple, and he curled into me. We couldn’t stay like this for long, especially since I didn’t know where Mikal lived now.

“Where do your parents live?” I asked, threading my fingers through his hair.

“Grand Rapids.”

I nodded, pulling out my phone to check the time.

“Well, we have a couple of hours to kill…”

“Oh, the things we could do, if only…”

“If only. So, what do you want to do since all our preferred modes of entertainment are off the table?” I asked.

I didn’t mind reading to him, but I just realized I didn’t know if he liked reading.

“Were you serious about reading to me?” he asked, peering up at me.

“Absolutely. What do you like to read?”

He blushed, and the color didn’t creep like usual. It exploded across his face and neck.

“Oh! Now I’m even more curious what you read.”

He cleared his throat. “I like romance novels, but I also like paranormal and romantasy.”

“Romance?” I asked, my brow furrowing, pulling the skin on my face and head tight. “Like the stuff you see on Hallmark ? ”

“If the characters were two gay guys who screw themselves silly, then yes.”

“Gay romance novels?”

“Yep. There are even gay hockey romance novels.”

“Okay. Color me intrigued.”

I pulled up the reading app on my phone and we delved in, discussing books, learning each other’s favorites until we settled on one we both found interesting.

Suspense and thrillers were my go-to genres.

Seemed my boy and I liked the same kind of books with some smutty goodness thrown in.

Porn wasn’t my thing, but if Aiden liked it and the suspense hit right, I was down.

His liking the same type of books shouldn’t have come as a surprise because we favored the same movies and television shows.

I moved off the bed, settling into the lounge chair next to him, putting my feet up.

Hawk settled himself on the bed next to Aiden’s leg on the opposite side of the bed.

As I started reading, phone in one hand, the other lying on the bed next to his leg, our fingers tangled together.

Before long, our hands moved to rest in Aiden’s lap beside where Hawk’s head rested.

Time ceased to exist as the pages flipped on my phone screen. The only thing better would be if we were alone. Because while Aiden didn’t regress, I could see this becoming a thing—us lying in bed or curled up together on the couch, ideally at the cabin while I read to him.

When I glanced at Aiden, his eyes drooped. Rapid blinks turned slower until his eyes stayed closed for longer and longer periods. We’d just hit a ‘good part’ as Aiden called the on-page porn, but his injury and the long day got to him. He fell off, snoring softly.

I’d started reading this book thinking I wouldn’t enjoy it, that I only chose it because Aiden seemed excited by it, but I had to admit, romantic suspense would be getting slotted into my reading list from now on.

Pornography might not be my thing, but what I’d read tonight was.

The temptation to continue pulled at me hard, but there were so few things we could do together, especially now that he was injured, and also until he got signed to a team, and I was no longer his coach, that I didn’t want to go on without him.

I let my head fall to rest against the lounge chair, pushing it to recline as much as I could without losing my grip on Aiden’s hand. Hawk could hear a mouse fart from a mile away, and would alert me if anyone came to the door.