Filling up the Virgin(105)

Nothing was like being out there for any player, but for Aaron, that was over. He’d suffered a few blows to his collateral ligament, resulting in too many surgeries to continue playing. He retired at thirty-one and taken some time to recover from the life altering change as well as to decide what to do now.

Aaron had been responsible with his money, inspired by his father’s background in banking and smart choices. He was grateful that finances hadn’t been a problem for him but the loss of the sport had been devastating, having been a center for The Rangers for most of his career after a brief stint with the Penguins. Aaron was one of the best players on the ice when his injuries became too much for the sport, leaving behind a few records for the younger players to try and catch up to.

He’d slipped into an intense darkness at first, not leaving his apartment and using the excuse that he was recovering from his tenth surgery. Aaron was angry and resentful, not speaking to anybody for weeks until his parents had stepped in.

Aaron was particularly close to his father Glen and his mother Janice, only in their sixties and still very active and currently into traveling. That had made it easier for him to sulk until they arrived back from Australia, a trip they’d planned before the surgery. He’d insisted that they stick to their plans and that he’d have help, becoming a recluse immediately afterward. Once they got home and stopped over at his Manhattan apartment to see how he was doing, both parents became immediately concerned. Their son was clearly not taking care of himself; not eating well, sleeping too much and not doing the exercise required for the healing or any other kind for that matter.

Glen started taking him to see a therapist to deal with the changes in his life as well as one of the best physical therapists in the world, both things that Aaron should have been taking care of himself. There were many long talks about his future that he hated during the course of them, though they left him with more love and respect for his folks than he’d ever guess he’d have when he was younger and thought that he knew it all. He eventually pulled himself out of the blackness and started exercising again per strict doctor’s orders to regain his health as close as he could to when he’d played.

Six months after the day he retired, Aaron found out that his former team was for sale after having a couple of bad years in the books. The current owner was older and planning to retire, which is when Aaron consulted with his father and made the plan to make an offer. He had a lot of money saved, several contacts in the sport to fill the spots needed to make a better team and the knowledge from playing himself. Aaron was also well-liked and he was one of the favorites in the fight for the team. He was both pleased and slightly resentful when he became the new owner, knowing that it was going to hurt seeing them play the way that he couldn’t. Aaron had to move on and this was a good way to stay in something that he loved and lived for as well as bringing in some good income for his future.

He was honest with his therapist Lydia how much it hurt him to make the decision, something that she helped him through just like everything else. Aaron had taken care of the unpleasantness of the necessary firings himself, using his connections to get a new head coach in a friend who had played a few years longer than him as an aggressive and excellent goalie. He’d be tough and inspiring for the team that had been sinking lately under the scandal of the former owner, leaving them with low morale and little motivation. The assistant coach was someone that he knew from the college circuit, leading his team in several championships before he’d accepted the position.

Those were easy choices for Aaron. He’d also looked to fill a few other positions, including a sports therapist for the team. The former had a pattern of calling in and leaving the team with recurring injuries. There were the usual older applicants with incredible experience but when the pretty redhead walked into the room to sit before the panel, he and his coaches and father had all sat up a little straighter.

Holly Miller was only twenty-two, but she’d been working with one of the best UFC teams for the last couple of years before she’d graduated. Holly had been involved in sports for years in school and had chosen early on to pursue therapy as a degree choice, taking whatever classes that she could to gain early credits for college. She’d moved here to attend school in the city after two years at the University of Southern California, choosing to follow her fighter and continue to work with him. She knew her stuff and her energy was almost contagious as she impressed them with every answer.

Apart from that, Holly was gorgeous. She had red curls that were pulled back to go with her professional power suit of a skirt and a jacket over a white blouse, topped off by some of the sexiest heels that Aaron had ever seen. Her skin was pale and flawless with deep green eyes that sparkled with passion as she spoke about her field, flexing her perfect legs from time to time as he forced himself not to watch. Holly obviously understood the need to be in as good of shape as her clients, if not better, and she took care of herself. She was curvy at all the right places and her body radiated a dangerous confidence.