I shot up and quickly rounded the desk to sit back in my chair. Silas, however, didn’t move or look concerned in any way. I motioned for him to get going but he sat there and shrugged. There was another knock, louder, and then I heard my friend’s voice on the other side of the door.
“Damien, it’s Dave.”
Dave? What was he doing here? I thought he was on vacation.
“Come on in,” I called out.
I licked my lips, and I could taste Silas. Holy fucking hell. Were my lips swollen? Were Silas’s?
“Oh, hey,” Dave said as he stepped inside. “Didn’t realize you were talking to a student. I can come back later?—”
I felt a flush of heat creep up my cheeks and hoped like hell no one would notice.
“It’s fine, I was leaving,” Silas replied and stood up. Before he left, he turned to me. “Thanks again, Coach. I appreciate the… extra time you give me.”
“No problem,” I offered, my voice hoarse. “My door is always open.”
And my lips were already anticipating the next time.
With a final nod, Silas was gone. I turned to Dave.
“What’s up?” I asked, surprised at how composed I sounded.
Like I didn’t have my tongue down my player’s throat thirty seconds ago.
“I wanted to talk to you about Selwin’s visit,” Dave replied. “Him and… shit, who’s the other player coming?”
“Aleksi Halko from Tampa. Do you mind if we walk and talk?” I suggested. “It’s been a long day, and I was about to head home.”
“Of course.”
I closed my laptop and stuffed it in my backpack, tidied up my desk, and grabbed my keys.
After locking up the office, Dave and I walked down the narrow hallway to the exit.
“I thought you were supposed to be on vacation.”
“I am, technically, but you know how it is.” Dave sighed. “I never shut down. And Nora is keen on making sure we get as much PR from these visiting hockey pros as we can. I’ve revised the media schedule, and I wanted to review it with you before finalizing. We can also discuss your role when it comes to the interviews and related photo ops.”
Dave pushed open the door and the blast of hot summer air greeted me.
“Do you want to grab a bite in town?” he asked.
“Sure. We can at least enjoy a patio while we work,” I replied. “Or you can pass everything over to me and actually take your vacation?”
Dave shook his head. “I think it’s best if I continue to act as the intermediary between you and the school’s press office. They can be a bit much. Fuck, you’ve been copied on all those emails. You can see that it’s a lot.”
“They’ve been intense since the championship win, that’s for sure. But I get it.”
The college world wasn’t that different from the pros. Money was always at the top of the agenda and more attention meant more funding.
“They’re amazing, but the questions never end.” Dave chuckled. “No, I can’t do that to you, D. You’re busy mentoring those players, like Silas, and that’s enough.”
I couldn’t make eye contact with my friend. If Dave knew about me and Silas, he would kick my ass for sure. Suddenly, I had no appetite for dinner anymore.
“I knew what I was getting into,” I admitted, and I wasn’t talking about camp. “Besides, I can deal with the media stuff as long as it’s about hockey. It’s not work; it’s an obsession.”
There was that freaking word again. Obsession. All or nothing, that was me.
