Page 52 of Home Ice

Em has always urged me to pretend my mom doesn't even exist, and I've really tried. But it's hard to just forget your mom. And having her name as my middle name makes it almost impossible. At the time, I wanted it to be a peace offering to her, but she never even replied to my text when I told her about it.

"Now tell me how it was," Em says. "On a scale of one to ten with one being 'the best sex I've ever had in my whole entire life' and ten being 'this is how baby stars are made' how was it?"

I look out to the kitchen. I can't see the counter from here, but that doesn't stop my body from blazing as I think about it. "An eleven?"

Em fakes falling off her chair, and I laugh. I miss being able to see her in person so much. Less than eleven months, I tell myself.

I spend the next fifteen minutes giving her all the details. Well, most of the details. About the kitchen and the cuddling on the couch and the way he wouldn't let me out of his sight, which she says is "romantic." Then I tell her about spending the night in his bed and how his body is so warm it's like sleeping next to a nuclear reactor. At that, she gives me those eyes that tell me it's the sexiest thing about him. She's always freezing. I do have to admit it felt good being so close to all that body heat last night. "But he wouldn't let me touch him!" I whine to her. "Not even this morning when we woke up."

"He probably doesn't want you to think that he's just taking advantage of you for sex. He's not a Tyler."

"That's not fair."

"You're right," she says. "Tyler was using you for sex and for money that you didn't even have. I wonder how his nutrition supplement business is doing without you buying everything for him."

When Tyler and I met, he was one of the dietitians for the Denver Lightning. It was the first year of my internship with the baseball team, and I thought we hit it off right away. It took me almost three years and several thousand dollars of debt to find out that our relationship was completely one-sided. I still have credit card bills from him that I haven't been able to pay off.

"So are you officially moving in with Mr. Dream Tongue? Or will this be one of those situations where you just don't leave, and then two years from now, you realize you've been living together this whole time?"

"First, it's Brant. Not that nickname I won't even acknowledge by saying it aloud. And second, absolutely not. The PA said to be off my ankle for two days. So that means tomorrow I'm back to normal."

"And you can handle normal after this?"

I give her a look that I hope makes her feel bad for her lack of faith. "Of course I can. The season starts tomorrow, and after these two home games, we're on the road for almost a week. So I'll be in my rhythm and won't even have time to think about any of this."

"Really?" She sounds like she doesn't believe me, but that's fine. I'll just have to show her how wrong she is.

"Really."

CHAPTER 34

YOU'RE IN WINNIPEG, MY DUDE. LIVE IT UP!

BRANT

The start of the season almost couldn't be going better. We're 2-0 with wins over St. Louis and Dallas, and Milo and I are already in midseason form minus the bruises and aches. Milo only let in one goal against St. Louis, and that one should have been disallowed. The player's stick was clearly above the crossbar. Somehow the refs and the review office missed it, and since we were already up by three in the third period, Coach didn't want to take the chance on a challenge that could give us a penalty if we lost. So I still count that as a shutout for Milo, even if it doesn't go down as one in the books.

My game against Dallas, though, was a good old-fashioned shutout. Nothing was getting by me. I even blocked that quick one-timer that was deflected at the last second. I had to push off the pipe to get to it, but I did. Only once the puck cleared the zone did I realize I pushed off my bad leg, and everything held. I swung my leg back and forth a couple of times while the boys were in the offensive zone just to test it, and it was perfect. Lily was the only thing I could think about when I realized I was fine. I couldn't wait to tell her that my knee held up to its first challenge. After the game ended and we all celebrated the shutout on the ice, I foolishly looked around for her. I knew she would be back in the dressing room getting ready for postgame, but I wanted her there. Hell, I wanted her to be the first person I celebrated with.

So we're feeling damn good now. Even if we are at the start of a week-long road trip. A trip that starts in Winnipeg. I know some players think the arenas in North Carolina and Nashville are louder, but for me, there's no place more intimidating than Winnipeg. These fans are absolutely nuts, and the way every single one of them wears white? Playing in their arena is like being in the center of a sixteen-thousand member cult that worships hockey. Every time I play here, my ears ring until the next morning. It doesn't help that this is where I played my first game in the league. We lost that game by five. An eighty-year-old could have scored against me that day. The coach had to burn a timeout just to yank me from the game. It's been different since then. I've been different. More comfortable. And I have a winning record here now, but no matter how many times I play here, I'll still think of that first game every time I step onto the ice.

"Branny, what the hell is wrong with you?" Kayden sits down across from me. The girl he was just talking to gives him a smiling wink and walks back to the bar. "You're acting like someone died. Or worse, that we're on a ten-game losing streak."

I look around. Our flight landed a few hours ago, and now almost all my teammates are here in this bar a couple of blocks away from the team hotel. This is the same bar we go to every time we're in town, but I don't like it. It's like it was designed by a marketing firm. It's the McDonalds of bars. Fine if you want to get drunk. Great if you're looking to hook up with a puck bunny or two—something a few of my teammates are looking for. But it doesn't have any character. It could be any bar in any town, and I'd never know the difference. "Just not feeling it tonight."

"Let me buy you a round. You'll be feeling it soon enough." Kayden chuckles as he flags down the server who comes over right away. "A mermaid lemonade for my cute little mermaid here." He hooks a thumb toward me, and I bury my head in my hands.

"What the hell did you just order for me? You know I don't drink the night before a game."

"The server turned me onto these when we first got here. It's blue and fruity and has rum. You'll be in a better mood just looking at it."

You could give Kayden anything and as long as it had some bright color and way too much sugar, he would drink it. "I'll take your word for it. I'm sticking to water tonight."

"That's no fun. You're in Winnipeg, my dude. Live it up!"

"Said no one ever."

Kayden pushes his half empty drink to the side and leans over the table. His eyes bore into me. "It's about Lily." He says, as if there's no question in his mind.

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