Dirty Pucker (Denver Bashers #2)

50. Del

Chapter 50

Del

A s I walk down the hall to Coach Porter’s office, I’m on edge.

Tension riddles my muscles and bones. I hardly slept last night. I was too nervous for this morning.

I’m meeting with Coach to talk about my arrest and to see if I’ll be suspended.

My arrest, which happened a day and a half ago, has been a trending topic on social media and sports news. I already put out a statement with my lawyer explaining the situation, but that hasn’t stopped people from commenting and speculating online.

I’ve been trying to stay off social media, but my curiosity got the best of me this morning. When I checked social media and the major sports news sites, my arrest was trending higher than the actual Stanley Cup playoffs.

This isn’t the kind of attention the Bashers or the league wants. I’m tarnishing their sport and their team with my arrest.

And that could mean the end of me playing in the playoffs. It could mean the end of my career.

Acid churns in my stomach.

When I make it to his closed office door, I take a second to deep breathe. I pull my phone out of my pocket and reread the text Ingrid sent me as soon as I left my place.

Hey. Just wanted to say that I love you so much and I’m here for you, no matter what happens 3

Through this chaos, Ingrid has been my constant. Ever since I bailed out of jail, we’ve been holed up at my place because I haven’t felt like going out. She hasn’t left my side.

My heart swells in my chest. Without her, I’d be a disaster. I’d be crawling up the walls of my place, restless and a wreck.

But every time she hugs me, I feel calm. Every time she kisses me, I feel content. Nothing in the world makes me happier than being with Ingrid. She’s everything to me.

And no matter what happens today, I’ll still have her. I’m okay with losing everything as long as I have her.

I take a breath and knock on Porter’s door.

“Come in.”

I open the door and walk in, surprised to see Alanna, the head of Bashers PR there, standing with Coach by his desk.

She gives me a tight smile. I try not to think too much about what it means that she’s here too.

“Have a seat,” Coach says.

I take one of the two chairs in front of his desk. Alanna sits in the other.

Coach Porter folds his hands on the desk and looks at me. “Del, I wanna say how sorry I am for what you’ve been through.”

I blink at him, surprised. I wasn’t expecting him to say that. I glance over and see Alanna giving me a pitying stare.

“I didn’t know that you, your mom, and your sister had experienced domestic violence at the hands of your dad.” Coach Porter’s eyes are shiny. He blinks quickly.

Emotion swells inside of me. I clear my throat. “Yeah, um, it was hard.”

Maybe I should say more, but I don’t. I don’t want to relive that pain. And hopefully he understands why I don’t want to say more about it.

He exhales sharply. “Look, I don’t want to beat around the bush here. Our team policy when it comes to any member of the Bashers organization breaking the law is suspension. And depending on the severity of the crime, sometimes termination is possible.”

My stomach drops.

“That’s not going to happen though,” he says.

I let out a breath. “Really?”

He nods. “I don’t condone violence. But what you did wasn’t violence in my book, Del. You defended your mother from an attacker. That’s the most honorable thing you could do.”

Alanna nods along. “The entire Bashers organization supports you, Del.”

I look at her, surprised.

“Management, coaches, ownership, we all got together this morning and discussed it,” Coach Porter says. “It was unanimous. You won’t be facing any punishment for what you did. You’ll be able to play for the rest of the playoffs without issue. And your arrest won’t affect your standing on the team.”

I sit there, looking between the two of them, my mouth agape in shock and relief.

“Thank you,” I finally say.

Coach Porter nods. Alanna turns to me. “I know social media and sports news have been going wild talking about your arrest. I want to assure you that the team’s PR department is doing their best to respond.”

She tells me they put out multiple statements and have been contacting the sports news outlets that have been circulating false information about me and my arrest.

“It will take a bit for this to move through the news cycle, but I assure you that it will,” Alanna says. “I know it’s hard right now, but give it some time. Someone will do something crazy or stupid and they’ll forget all about this.”

I tell her thank you and we wrap up the meeting.

I stand up and shake hands with Alanna and Coach Porter.

“Practice is in a half-hour. See you there, Richards.”

Excitement and relief crash through me. I leave the office and grab my phone to text the guys the good news, then I call Ingrid. She answers right away.

“Hey.” Her voice is soft and gentle and it makes me ache in the best way. “How did it go?”

“The team is standing by me. No suspension, no punishment. I still get to play in the playoffs. Everything is okay.”

She lets out the most adorable happy squeal. I’m grinning so wide, my cheeks hurt.

“Oh my god, Del. I’m so happy for you.”

I tug a hand through my hair and shake my head. “I honestly can’t believe it worked out this way.”

“I can. Because you did the right thing. And everyone on the team knows it and supports you.”

I lean back and fall against the wall in the hallway. “I couldn’t have made it through this without you.”

My phone buzzes.

“Sorry, one sec, I’m getting a bunch of texts,” I tell Ingrid. I pull up the group text with the guys from the team.

Xander: FUCK YEAH!

Theo: Woo hoo!!!!!

Blomdahl: Great news. Happy for you, man.

I smile at my phone screen at how happy they are for me.

“I told the guys the good news. They’re going nuts in our group chat,” I tell Ingrid.

She chuckles. “Of course they are. You’re their teammate.”

I huff out a breath. “Now I just have to wait out the madness on social media.”

“It’ll pass. I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but it will. I promise. And I’ll be with you through it all.”

My heart swells at the certainty in her voice.

“Even if it doesn’t, I don’t care. I have you, sweetheart. That means more than anything. I love you. So much.”

“I love you too.”

Warmth and comfort pool in my chest. I have Ingrid. My mom and my sister are safe. I still have my career. It’ll all be okay.