Page 19 of The Pucking Single Dad

Hunter walked back to the rink and joined his team. They were taking a break from training. He looked up when he heard his son yell for him. He then noticed Luna and Adam sitting in the stands. What were they doing here? The timing was horrible. He felt like he had cheated on Luna, even though he was not in a committed relationship with her, and he hadn’t touched Stella.

Besides, the thing with Stella would never happen again. He put a firm, professional boundary. If she didn’t want a lawsuit, Stella would not proposition him again. He just had a momentary lapse, right? That is what he told himself, anyway. He stared back up at them. He saw Adam pointing in his direction and decided he had to go up and say hello. He was genuinely happy to see his son and Luna. He just needed to act normally. His guilty conscience was getting the best of him.

As he started walking towards them, he noticed Henry giving Luna a cup of coffee. What the hell was that? Henry should know better, especially after the physical altercation they had had earlier, to stay away from Luna. He tried to tell himself it was just a cup of coffee, but then he saw him sit down and begin talking to her. They seemed to be hitting it off. Both of them were laughing and smiling. He needed to intervene and fast.

Hunter quickly walked up to where they were sitting. Luna was surprised to see him. Adam ran to his father, and Hunter picked him up and held him in his arms. He knew there would not be a second altercation if he was holding his child. No one would stoop that low.

As Hunter held Adam, Luna and Henry continued to talk amongst themselves. She did not even acknowledge him. He thought that was odd. He also noticed her eyes were a tad puffy, almost like she had been crying. She took another sip of her coffee and made a deliberate attempt not to look Hunter in the eye. She felt betrayed by him.

Hunter, out of guilt, let the conversation between her and Henry continue. He took Adam down to the ice and let him play with a puck and a hockey stick. It felt good to have his son with him. If only he could get the rest of his personal life in order.

Suddenly, he saw Stella walk out onto the ice. She looked disappointed. Hunter noticed this and thought she had no choice but to get over it. He was mad at himself for allowing her to tempt him and even more upset that he almost was intimate with her. Thank goodness he still had some self-control left.

“I see a lot of players standing around!” She yelled. “Everyone on the line, and give me drill number six!”

That was everyone’s cue to get back to work. They had been taking a break for too long, and their first game of the season was right around the corner. Hunter brought Adam back to Luna, who said goodbye to Henry and thanked him for the coffee.

“Thanks for bringing him by,” Hunter said to her.

It was the first time they looked each other in the eye since earlier that morning. Luna remained silent. He knew something was wrong, and even though the door was locked and the windows were shut, he worried she knew the truth. He did not know how he would get himself out of the situation he had just created for himself. He watched as they walked away,

“Hunter!” Stella yelled from the ice rink. “Hunter, get your ass on the ice and give me drill number six now! Come on, let’s move!”

Hunter ran down to the ice and started practicing with the team. What a hell of a day, he thought to himself. Regret and anxiety filled his body. He had to do what he always did when bad things happened. He had to leave everything on the ice.

Luna and Adam arrived back at the apartment. By that time, it was lunch, and she began preparing a meal for herself and Adam. What a day it had already turned out to be. She could not believe Hunter had sex with Stella. She knew they were not officially a couple. Still, she felt a strong connection between them, and the thought of him nonchalantly being with someone else right after he had asked her to wait for him to be emotionally available was unbelievable to her.

What did waiting for him mean? Did it mean letting him walk all over her? Did it mean letting him use her? No matter how much she cared for him, she wasn’t going to let that happen. She knew that she deserved to be treated better than that.

By the time evening came Luna had decided that it would be best to leave her position as Hunter's nanny. The whole situation was becoming too much. It was all too complicated, and she did not think she could handle any more drama. Her emotions were all over the place. She did not want to have this conversation with Hunter. Her heart was breaking at just the thought of talking to him, but she had to get these emotions off her chest.

The time continued to move slowly, and Hunter was still not home. Her mind wondered if he was with Stella again. The memories of the moans she heard earlier that day of the two of them having sex overwhelmed her. She wished she could leavethe apartment, but she did not want to leave Adam alone. She looked at the clock again. Where was he? He was usually home by now.

Just as she was in mid-thought, she heard the front door to the apartment open. Hunter was finally home. Whether she was ready or not, it was show time. She tried to prepare herself emotionally. Luna was sitting at the kitchen table when Hunter walked in. He immediately felt the tension in the room. His guilty conscience was still nagging at him. He was dying to know why Luna was upset, and he hoped she had not found out about the situation with Stella.

Hunter placed his gym bag on the ground and walked towards Luna slowly. He looked her straight in the face while she stared forward. She still could not even look at him. He decided perhaps small talk would lessen the tension in the room between them.

“How was your day?” he finally asked her, breaking the silence.

Luna stayed silent for a moment. She was trying to choose her words carefully.

“My day was pretty shitty,” she finally said bluntly. “My day was shitty, Hunter.”

Hunter was taken aback. He was coming to the conclusion that perhaps she did know about him and Stella, but how did she find out?

“Why did you have such a bad day?” he asked hesitantly.

“Why don’t you tell me?” Luna asked. “Why don’t you tell me why you asked me to wait for you, and then hours later, you discussed having sex with Stella?”

Hunter was taken aback. He stayed silent for a moment. She knew. He didn’t know how she knew, but she did. He was angry with himself for not being able to control his emotions. Did he lie about it? Did he deny everything? Hunter contemplated what was the best thing to do. Then, he looked at Luna.

She was obviously crushed. He knew what he had to do. Although he didn’t want to do it, he knew it was the best thing to do, given the circumstances. If he ever wanted to be with Luna in the future, if he ever wanted her back again that is, then he had to be honest with her. He had to lay everything out on the kitchen table.

Hunter took a seat next to Luna. He tried to reach over and grab her hand, but she shifted her body away from him.

“It was stupid,” Hunter said seriously. “I had a momentary lapse. I don’t know why I almost did it, and I won’t do it again, Luna. Nothing happened with her! I swear! It was only a temptation.”

“Do you love her?” she asked him honestly.