Page 13 of So Pucking Perfect
Suppressants kept his scent from affecting me, but it didn’t stop me from leaning in and taking a deep breath. All I found was the unique honey-and-jasmine scent that followed him around, but it was muted. I forced myself back. What was the matter with me? He didn’t need me or any other alpha sniffing around him during this time. Not unless he had an alpha who could help him through it.
“Reid, I mean, Coach Garrison. I—” His eyes darted toward the office and then back to me, silently asking how much I had overheard. I grimaced.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
He nodded, rolling his shoulders back. “Of course. Yes, I’ll be just fine. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“If you need—”
He held up a hand. “There’s nothing I need. I guess I’ll just get through tonight and figure out what my next steps are.” We only had a game tonight, and then we had a few days off and then traveling. What sort of events did they have him doing outside of the games? I knew he was booked with promos and charity events throughout the season. Surely those could be postponed. Or they could put someone else in the costume for a little bit.
Maybe I could talk with the manager or go back and speak with Barron. “I—”
“Good luck tonight, Coach,” Rowan said. He ducked his head and walked as fast as he could away from me, and though I had a suspicion we were going the same way, I stood where I was, letting Rowan take the space he needed.
I had been at organizations before that ran on a skeleton crew of mascots, but they usually had at least two people who could wear the costume and a handful of handlers to work with them. Was ittruly just Rowan and the two handlers he had that I’d seen with him in the crowd? That was unacceptable.
Though, as a coach, I didn’t have any say into the marketing side of things. Surely they could see that only one person in the mascot costume was inadequate. I knew for a fact that the mascots did many different events on and off the ice. Since coming to the Badgers and realizing that Rowan was the mascot, I may have spent extra time paying attention to the social media of the organization. Benny the Badger was always somewhere promoting the team. He had more of a packed schedule than the players.
Finally, my feet got moving again.
By the time I got to the gym and the locker room, Rowan was nowhere to be found. I could only hope that he was able to get through the night and he could take the time off he needed for the next couple of days.
I couldn’t get the thought of him in heat out of my mind. For the first time in my life, I truly wondered what it would be like to share a heat with an omega. But only if that omega was Rowan.
Chapter 10
Rowan
My suit got hotter and hotter as the evening wore on. At this moment, I was supposed to be on the ice, waving to the crowd and firing off a t-shirt cannon. My limbs weren’t cooperating. My feet refusing to put themselves one in front of the other long enough to move.
During the first intermission, I did my routine as expected. Then I spent the second period walking around the crowd, taking pictures with the fans. The team was ahead by two, which was nice. The crowd was electric when we were winning. The noise echoed in my ears somehow sounding both too close and too loud, while also muffled like I was underwater.
I stank to high heaven and sweat was soaking into my costume. It would be impossible to get that smell out.
Thankfully, my two handlers realized my predicament. I had given them a heads-up before the game started that my heat was coming on. They both knew we would be lucky to get through the night without issue. Unlike the marketing director, these two had a heart. They helped me back into the locker room. They couldn’t stay because they had work to do. It was empty because everybody was playing the game. I’d be safe until someone could help me home.
Still, we were up by at least two. Maybe they scored more, maybe they didn’t. It was hard to pay attention to the game when I could barely keep my eyes focused.
I removed my paws and tossed them into my locker. I usually had a little more care with my costume, but today, I just needed it off of me. My skates were difficult to work with. My fingers didn’t want to cooperate as I undid the laces. I needed to get home. I needed to let Evan know that I was going to be holed up in my room. Usually when I went into heat, he made himself scarce. Not that he couldn’t control himself around me. He just wanted to give me privacy. My vision grew foggy as I tried to get myself undressed.
Fuck, it was so hot. How was I ever going to get home? I would have to call a driving service and demand an omega driver. But how long would that take? I needed to get a hold of myself. I couldn’t walk around this place like this. There were too many alphas around, and even though I trusted them, it was likely thatI would get in trouble for being around them. Even though I’d tried to leave hours ago. Fucking marketing.
I made my way to the training room, where there was an ice bath. I plopped myself down in it, letting the cold water wash over my body. I planned to just stay there for a minute or two, but the next thing I knew, the team was in the locker room. Their shouts of excitement echoed through the room. We must’ve won. I hadn’t moved. Had I been in the ice bath for the entire third period? Thankfully, I wasn’t naked, but it wasn’t as if I could climb out of the ice bath and walk around in my underwear. Once the cold water wore off, my predicament would become very obvious to the room full of alphas.
Fuck.
I opened my mouth to call out for Evan or maybe Elliot, as an omega he would know how to help me. Coach’s face filled the doorway. His eyes widened when he saw me.
“Are you—?” His nostrils flared. Whatever remained of my suppressants had probably burned off, and by now I smelled like an omega in heat to anyone I came across.
“I’m sorry. I tried to get home.” My words slurred together. “I’ll—”
“You’re fine. Just…” He looked back toward the locker room. “Stay right there. I’ll get you a robe.”
My teeth chattered as if my body now realizing I was sitting in a vat of ice.
He said something to someone, but I couldn’t hear him. Then he was in the room, closing the door behind him. He helped me out of the ice bath. My teeth chattering, my body shaking from my heat or from the water. I didn’t know. He wrapped the robe around me. The softness against my skin had me shuddering.
