The Trouble with #9

by Piper Rayne

  Whatever. It’s a means to an end. It’s better this way. I’ve never opened up to anyone about what happened, and I don’t plan on starting now.

  If I thought trying to push down my attraction to Maksim was hard when he was in front of me, it actually feels even harder sitting in the Gerhardt’s suite in the arena and watching him perform on the ice. How can someone so big and powerful appear so graceful while skating? He’s like a gliding freight train.

  I nibble on the cheese and meat I took off the charcuterie board. The food’s amazing up here, but I wouldn’t mind some nachos or a big pretzel. Isn’t that half the fun of attending sports games? I’ve been coming to Fury games since Mr. Gerhardt bought the team. Jana and I were given the okay to roam the arena during games. We’d find open seats in the nosebleeds, Jana always interested in which boys we’d meet, but my eyes would linger on the game.

  There’s always been something about a hockey player I can’t ignore. I’ve had crushes on so many of the players that I’ve been privileged to meet during parties and dinners at the Gerhardts’ over the years that I’ve lost count.

  Being like their adopted daughter entitled me to see the behind-the-scenes of the life the players live. Sure, some are on the straight and narrow, but I’ve accidentally walked in on my fair share of players in bathrooms and bedrooms with women who aren’t their wives. Others are pure egotistical assholes when you meet them in person. It all served to take the shine off them, but it didn’t keep me from being drawn to them.

  Counseling the Fury team these past months has only been hard with Maksim. With the rest of the players, I’m able to remain professional, and I really feel as though I’m making a difference. But with Maksim, the way his eyes smolder when he looks at me and the intensity in his baby blues… I find my body drawn his way. Our next appointment is in two days and it’s occupied my mind since Saturday at Aiden and Saige’s party.

  “Who is it this year?” Jana sits down next to me, stealing an olive from the board. She pops it in her mouth.

  I couldn’t be more opposite than Jana. I’ve felt like the fugly one all of our lives. She’s got the blonde hair, the blue eyes, the perfect cheekbones, and flawless skin. I, on the other hand, have unruly curly brown hair, brown eyes, and there’s nothing sculpted on my body. My curves are more rolling hillsides to her sleek lines.

  “What are you talking about?” I look at her.

  She looks around behind us to make sure no one is paying us any attention and leans in. “Maksim Petrov?” Her smile says she already knows she’s right. “I saw you two at the party last weekend. I haven’t seen you blush that much since we were sixteen and Troy Iverness came to dinner at my house.” She laughs. “He thought there was something medically wrong with you because you kept staring at him and not saying a word.”

  “Funny, Jana,” I say, remembering that moment.

  She grabs another green olive. “Seriously though, he’s hot and he’s got all that anger out on the ice. I bet you could help him work some of it off in the bedroom.” Her eyebrows waggle.

  “You know I don’t sleep with hockey players,” I say.

  Sadly, it’s true. Regardless of the way they’ve always appealed to me, I’ve seen the other side and it’s not pretty. Take Troy Iverness, for example. I thought he was the best father and husband when he’d come over to the Gerhardts’, only to find out he was sleeping with the nanny. Talk about idols being knocked from pedestals.

  “That’s ridiculous. Everyone knows there are bad seeds in every bunch.”

  “Well, knowing my luck, I’ll pick the bad seed and end up watering it.”

  She laughs. “You’re so hard on yourself.”

  I shrug. “You’d be too.”

  I was the poorest in my private school in high school. Only got to go because when my parents divorced, my mom made my dad pay for it. He could barely afford it while trying to support his new family. Then I got wait-listed while all my friends got into their colleges of choice because their parents either knew someone or were alums themselves. Mr. Gerhardt pulled the final string for me that got me into Vanderbilt. I’m still paying off those loans.

  Jana graduated from Vanderbilt too, and while I went on to get my doctorate, she came home and has been at her dad’s side in his business. One day this team will probably be hers.

  “Plus, I’m the team’s therapist now. I can’t sleep with him now anyway.”

  She rests her chin in her palm, her perfectly manicured nails tapping her cheek. “Still, you gotta wonder with a man like him. Where does all that pent-up energy go? I think for sure the bedroom.”

  Jealousy picks at me while I watch Jana’s mind shift to what it would be like to sleep with Maksim. She shrugs then drinks from her martini and plops another two olives in her glass. The girl loves olives to the point of grossness.

  “Petrov is sent to the sin bin again,” the announcer calls on the televisions that line the walls of the suite.

  My gaze falls to the Jumbotron, where they show a replay of Maksim grabbing the jersey of another player and punching him.

  “Goddamn it,” Mr. Gerhardt murmurs behind me. “Jana, may I have a word with Paisley?”

  Jana cringes and stands. “Sure, Dad, but don’t take it out on Paisley.”

  He winds his hand around her waist and kisses her cheek. “I know. Go find your mother.” Mr. Gerhardt takes his daughter’s seat and stares at the big screen above the ice. “How are things going with Maksim?”

  I busy myself with piling cheese on a cracker. “It’s good. We’ve had one session so far.”

  “Good. He’s not giving you a hard time, is he?” He twirls his scotch around his cup and brings the glass to his lips. “He can be difficult. Didn’t seem happy when I told him about counseling.”

  I smack on a fake smile. “It’s early days and you know I can’t discuss with you—”

  He raises his hand. “Understandable.” He nods a few times.

  I think I’ve appeased him until the crowd laughs and our eyes fly to the screen again. Maksim is spraying water from his bottle onto a fan of the opposing team on the other side of the plexiglass.

  “This is the kind of shit he needs to stop. Next thing I know he’s going to start a bench brawl.” He turns my way. “Maksim is a great guy. When I recruited him, he and his family were so thankful, and don’t get me wrong, he gets results on the ice, but that temper…” He shakes his head. “Well, I hope for his sake you fix him.”

  He pats me on the hand and walks away.

  Fix.

  I hate that word. As if something is wrong with someone and they’re seeing me because they need rewiring. I’m not a car mechanic and their engine isn’t broken. Whatever the reason for Maksim’s blowups, I know it will be hard to get him to let me in. The odd thing is, it’s only on the ice. Off the ice, Maksim is known for making the rounds at children’s hospitals and autographing anything a fan gives him. It’s like a switch goes off in him once his skates hit the ice.

  The game ends and I’m stuffing my phone in my purse when Jana swings her arm through mine.

  “Dad’s got a request.”

  I groan because I’d bet a month’s rent of my dinky apartment that the request isn’t something I’ll be thrilled about. “What?”

  “He wants us to head over to Carmelo’s.”

  My forehead crinkles. “The Fury bar? Why?”

  “He wants us to make sure they’re behaving.” She shrugs.

  “Since when are we chaperones for the team?”

  She laughs. “Come on. It’ll be fun. We need a night together that doesn’t involve binging Netflix and eating junk food.”

  Jana’s right, but I’m not telling her that. Lately, when she’s not out on a date, she joins me in a Netflix and chill session that I’m sure is the antithesis of what that phrase is supposed to mean. I stopped going to bars because when I go with Jana, I usually end up playing wingwoman and entertaining whatever guy the guy who’s interested in h
er calls over. For some reason, that guy is always the shyest guy ever and getting him to speak is like trying to pry open up a vault with a crowbar—an exercise in futility.

  “Okay, then I guess that’s what we’re doing.” I don’t bother putting up a fight because I’ve had a few drinks and the idea of being around Maksim is appealing. Maybe seeing him in his element will help me figure out some things about him.

  Twenty minutes later, we arrive at Carmelo’s and are seated in a booth in the bar area.

  I pick up a menu. “I think I’m going to eat.”

  Jana snatches it from my grasp. “What are you going to do? Eat a rack of ribs or a big bowl of spaghetti right as the team gets here?”

  I grab the menu back. “First off, I’m a grown adult and if I want to eat, I eat. Second of all, what does it matter? I’m their therapist, not their eye candy.”

  She grips the edge of the menu and I pull it back. Soon we’re having a tug-of-war with it.

  “Maksim will be here,” she stage-whispers.

  “So?”

  “So I know you like him, and having spaghetti all over your face isn’t going to make him crazy with lust.” I release the menu and she flies back into the booth with an oomph. “Seriously?”

  “You’re playing games.” I point at her. “Did your dad even really want us to come here?”

  She grins.

  “Jana!”

  “What? I saw you at the party. You like him.”

  I shake my head. “What’s not to like? But I’m his therapist now, so that ship is lost somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle.”

  Her shoulders fall. “Come on. Put yourself out there. I think you’ll reap the benefits. I see the way he watches you.”

  I sigh. She means well. “I know you live a privileged life and all, but you’re aware that if I sleep with Maksim Petrov—or any other Fury player—that I could be arrested, right? It’s illegal.”

  She waves me off, which I expected. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Maybe not, but I could also lose my license to practice, my livelihood.”

  She shakes her head. “Not if he’s in agreement.”

  “Jana—it can’t happen.”

  I love my best friend with all my heart, but she’s never had a consequence to an action in her life. Sure, her dad can be hard on her sometimes and expects a lot out of her, but at the end of the day, she knows he has her back. He can buy or influence his way out of anything bad happening to his only child.

  The waitress comes over and I snatch the menu back from Jana and open it.

  “We’ll have two dry martinis with double olives,” Jana orders.

  I point at her. “That’s for her. I’ll have a glass of chianti and the rigatoni with cream sauce.”

  Jana rolls her eyes and huffs. She can continue doing that while she watches me eat.

  “Bread?” the waitress asks.

  “Yes,” I answer at the same time Jana says, “No.”

  I nod. “Please.”

  Jana shakes her head. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “The same thing you’ve done with me our whole lives… pester me until I call mercy.”

  We both laugh. That’s why I love our friendship. We couldn’t be more different, but we’ve clicked ever since freshmen year of high school when I was on my period and leaked onto my skirt and Jana was the only one with the guts to tell me.

  My laughter dies when the door of Carmelo’s opens and small groups of large men trickle in. A lot of them say hello to us, then head over to their favorite booths.

  I don’t know what Jana was worried about. They don’t want anything to do with us. She’s the owner’s daughter after all. No one hangs with the boss’s daughter.

  That is, until a large body slides into my booth without an invitation. I look over to find a pair of crystal-blue eyes rimmed with black lashes staring at me. “What’s up, doc?”

  A vision of him naked on a stretcher and me with my stethoscope out, listening for his heartbeat while he opens up my white doctor’s jacket flashes in my mind.

  Get it together, Paisley. He doesn’t affect you. Make him realize that fact right now.

  I straighten my shoulders and open my mouth, but of course nothing comes out.

  I blink to make sure that that’s actually Paisley in the booth, that I didn’t conjure her up in my mind. After a shitty game where I spent more time in the sin box than on the ice, I need a few shots and a good meal.

  Ford heads toward the other guys while I beeline to the other side of Carmelo’s and slide in next to Paisley. “What’s up, doc?”

  Her eyebrows raise and I chuckle. It’s a well-known fact the Fury hang here after every home game, so she can’t be surprised to see me. Some of us only stay for a meal and others will be here until closing.

  Rachel, the usual waitress, comes over and places a glass of red wine in front of Paisley and a martini that holds more olives than vodka in front of Jana. “Usual, Maks?” Her hand rests on my shoulder.

  “That’d be great. Thanks.”

  She smiles and walks away.

  Paisley’s having some kind of nonverbal conversation with Jana, but when Jana spots me watching, she smiles and sets her attention on me. “Nice game, Maksim.”

  “We both know it was a crap game and your dad’s gonna have my ass for it.”

  She waves me off. “No. He loves you. Thinks of all you guys as his sons.” She fishes an olive from the glass and slides it off the toothpick.

  “You seemed more angry than usual,” Paisley says. I’m surprised to hear her chime in.

  “I thought you didn’t watch hockey,” I say, remembering her telling me that on New Year’s Eve.

  She shrugs. “Jana drags me to some games.”

  “What?” Jana’s forehead wrinkles. “Ouch.” She leans down and rubs her leg, giving her best friend an evil stare.

  I don’t call them out on their bullshit. I’m confident I’ll get it out of Paisley in due time.

  Rachel brings me my vodka straight up. “Hungry tonight?”

  I glance at the two women seated at the table. “Are you guys eating?”

  “No,” Jana says at the same time Paisley says, “Yes.”

  Again, they have some conversation with their eyes. Watching their friendship play out reminds me of Armen and me. We were like brothers.

  “What are you having?” I ask Paisley.

  “Pasta.”

  I look at Rachel. “I’ll have the mussels dish I usually get.”

  “Coming right up.”

  I stretch my arm across the top of the booth and Paisley watches the move intently. “So, what brings you ladies here? Don’t be shy, you can say it’s me.”

  Jana laughs and shakes her head. “Hockey players and their egos.”

  “We came here as babysitters because Ford can’t seem to stay out of the press.”

  Paisley speaks the truth. Ford’s been a little out of control, but now that he’s gonna be a daddy in a few months, I’m sure he’ll calm down. Or knowing him, he might try to get it all out of his system.

  “Maybe I need a babysitter,” I say and wink at Paisley.

  She sips her wine, ignoring my flirtation.

  “You need one on the ice,” Jana says. “Why are you so angry out there?”

  I look at my boss’s daughter, hoping what I’m about to say will get back to my boss so he will get off my ass. “I’m not angry. I’m protecting my boys. Someone has to do it when the ref has a blind eye.”

  She nods. “That’s kind of noble, but don’t you care about your own game?”

  “That is my game. I’m a defender. I defend.”

  “Some would say that you’re taking the rules into your own hands,” Jana argues, poking another olive with her toothpick and bringing it to her lips. Jana’s not my type, but if she were and she wasn’t the boss’s daughter, I’d find her eating an olive highly erotic.

  Maybe I can convince Paisley to have one.
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  “Maybe.” I shrug. “Some might say that, but I make sure my boys skate off that ice at the end of every game.”

  Paisley takes another sip of her wine, pretending she isn’t listening to our conversation.

  “You’re an interesting person, Maksim.” Jana smiles, so I’ll take it as a compliment. “I’m heading to the jukebox before Ford takes all the songs.” She slides out of the booth.

  “Guess that only leaves us.” I grin at Paisley.

  She sets her glass down and her fingers twirl the stem in a circle. “Feel free to join your teammates.”

  I glance over my shoulder where some are already hanging with the groupies while others are shooting the shit with one another. “I’d hate to leave you alone.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “According to you, I do though.” I smile brightly and get rewarded with a small chuckle that she stops abruptly.

  “Actually, I said Ford.”

  “Looks like Jana’s got that under control.” I nod across the room to where Jana is lecturing Ford about something over by the jukebox.

  Rumors have spread that Jana might end up taking over the team soon because Gerhardt wants to bring another professional sports team into our town. The change would be interesting, that’s for sure.

  “She’s tough,” Paisley says.

  “How long have you guys been friends?” I ask before taking a sip of my drink.

  “You do know there’s an empty side of the booth over there.” She points at the other side.

  I chuckle. “I’m fine where I am, but thanks for your concern.”

  Rachel brings our dishes at the same time, placing them in front of us.

  “Looks great. Thanks, Rach.” I slide over to the other side of the booth, and Paisley looks at me as though she’s trying to figure out what I’m up to. I answer her unasked question. “I like you, and if you’re a loud chewer, I don’t want that to ruin this budding relationship.”

  She stares blankly at me.

  “Come on. Haven’t you ever been interested in someone just to find out they have some trait that drives you crazy?”

  She unwraps her silverware and places the napkin in her lap. “Can’t say I have.”