Chapter 61

With a few weeks already having flown by bringing us closer to the Championship game, Aiden has put more and more pressure on himself to heal. Luckily, as an alpha, his healing is far accelerated from that of a normal human.

It doesn’t take long before Aiden is mobile again. He’s able to move around the house with crutches and a less bulky cast. The progress may not seem like much, but it’s still almost Unbelievable to me as a human. It isn’t long before Aiden becomes too restless to stay at home. He makes it very obvious what his goal is.

“You know,” he begins one day as we sit at the breakfast table, “injured athletes sit in on practice all the time.”

I hide my amused smile behind my cup of tea. “Is that right?” I say mildly. He nods.

“It is,” he insists. “I mean, there’s still so much you can learn without even playing. I hear it’s really valuable.”

I shake my head knowingly. “Aiden, it’s not that it wouldn’t be OK for you to sit in on practice. Coach Bower and I have already discussed this. The problem is you would probably find a way to overexert yourself and injure yourself even more.“

“I know, I know, but I’ll be good,” Aiden insists. “Come on, Carol. You know it’s no good for me to stay in the house all day.”

I let out a tired sigh. “I know,“ I admit. “I’m just really worried about you. We’re really worried about you. You have a tendency to push yourself.” I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from bringing up how this is almost my fault. I know that’ll make Aiden even more upset.

“It makes sense that you’d be worried. I hope that you trust me, though,“ Aiden says seriously. He takes my hands into his. “Carol. I promise that I won’t push myself. If you and Coach Bower let me sit in on practice, I won’t move an inch. He won’t even know that I’m there.“

I can feel my resistance breaking. Aiden’s expression is so sincere and warm, I have a difficult time saying no to him. I relinquish.

“Fine,“ I acquiesce, “But if I see you trying to do anything beyond your normal physical therapy, I’ll drive you right back home.”

Aiden smiles brightly and pulls me into a passionate kiss. The concern I feel melts away and him and I embrace. I get into my work clothes, and soon enough Aiden and I are headed out the door together.

We arrive about 20 minutes before practice starts, like I usually do. Normally, this is when Coach Bower and I do a quick check in and make some plans for practice that day. Coach Bower is waiting in the stands, balancing a notebook on his knees as he sketches out play diagrams and sipping his coffee.

Without looking up, he hears me approach. “Oh, Miller, you’re here. I was just about to –” when he looks up, his eyes land on Aiden. I see a complex fluctuation of emotions on his face, ranging from relief to irritation to worry.

“He promised he wouldn’t try to join in on the drills,” I say quickly before Coach Bower can open his mouth. “I made him promise.”

Coach Bower gives the both of us a long look, working his jar in thought. Finally, he rubs his forehead and sighs. “Fine, but I better not see you so much as stand up,“ he says begrudgingly. Aiden and I trade happy expressions and get to work getting Aiden settled it.

We sit Aiden up in the seats closest to the rink, which is where Coach Bower and I sit when we aren’t talking to the team members. Coach Bower gets the team started up on some simple warm-ups. As usual, I stand close by with a clipboard, taking notes.

In the last few weeks, my role has grown slightly. I’m still involved in the team administration and business side of things, but Coach Bower has been having me take a slightly more active role in practices.

Most of the time, all I do is make sure that we’re on schedule and that no one is slacking off. I’ll occasionally take notes on the different team members’ performances. I also take stock of which drills and exercises need the most work.

Aiden watches the practice with rapt attention. Just as he promised, he doesn’t make any effort to join in on the drills. Instead, he politely watches and occasionally asks Coach Bower questions when there’s a slow moment.

We’re most of the way done with practice when I realize that the team has been doing one of the formations slightly wrong. I double check my clipboard a couple of times to make sure I didn’t imagine it, but there’s definitely something off.

I pull Coach Bower aside briefly as they begin to move through the drill. “Coach Bower, I think the formation might be wrong,” I say. He furrows his eyebrows and crosses his arms.

“What do you mean? It looks the same as always.”

I check my clipboard again nervously before shaking my head. “I don’t think so. Look.” I point out one of the flanks of the team where two teammates are bumping into each other. “They have this part flipped, so it’s causing interference. See?”

Coach Bower opens his mouth to argue, then snaps it shut. He squints, rubbing his chin as he looks back and forth between my clipboard and the team. After a long pause, he grunts.

“Fine,” he admits. “You fix it.”

I blink. “Me?”

“Sure.” He shrugs one shoulder. “You’re the one who spotted it. Go tell them what to do.”

I freeze for a moment. The team members are intimidating, even though I’ve slowly been getting to know them. I’m normally not the one who’s bossing them around. I push down the nervousness that rises inside of me, roll back my shoulders, and head toward the team.

Luckily, the team members receive the instruction well. I half expect them to ignore me or get irritated. Instead, they nod and thank me for my input. It leaves me feeling surprisingly relieved, and I walk back toward my seat with a bounce in my step.

As I approach the seating area, Aiden gives me an odd smile. I raise an eyebrow at him.

“What is it?”

“Oh, nothing,” he says. “I’m just proud of you.”

My face feels hot. I try to laugh the comment off. “Oh, no need to be like that.”

“I’m serious,” he says sincerely. “I’m really impressed by you. You’ve become so much more confident. You’re a great assistant coach, you know.”

I try not to duck my head bashfully. Aiden’s comments warm my heart more than I expected them to. “Well, I guess the fans might finally start to understand why you’re dating me,” I joke.

It’s Aiden’s turn to look surprised. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re famous. Everybody loves you. Of course your entire fandom despises me. They’ll never think I’m good enough for you.” I shrug nonchalantly. The thought used to bother me, but I’m accustomed to it now. Just a part of dating a celebrity, I think dryly.

“That’s not true,” Aiden says simply. I shake my head.

“It’s fine, you don’t need to try and make me feel better —”

“I’m not trying to make you feel better. I’m telling the truth,” Aiden says earnestly. “Carol… didn’t you know that you’re famous?”