Page 15 of Conner

“Yeah, I got here a week before I started.”

“What brought you all the way to Glendale?”

“Ummm...the job. I moved here to start working for the Magic.”

“Oh,” he said, sounding a little surprised. “Well, I'm sure you'll move up the ladder soon.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just saying that maybe a job in PR will open soon.”

“I have a job in PR,” she said, not even attempting to hide the irritation in her voice.

“I know, I just thought—”

“Thought that I might want a better job than making my 'little videos?' Are you living on the moon, Conner? Social media is necessary. And I'm good at what I do, there is a reason they hired me.”

“Y-you’re amazing.” He stuttered. “I didn't mean anything by it.”

“You never do, but you have made your feelings clear. I think I have all I need,” she said and skated away.

Conner McPhee. Why was he the most infuriating person, but also why was she so drawn to him?

She made her way up to her office and downloaded the videos to her office laptop and sent some of the footage to Gunnar before heading home. Wine and unpacking were waiting for her at her apartment.

8

Conner

Conner walked into his kitchen and hung his keys up. He had just gotten in from eating lunch with his sister. It’s not something he usually did on a game day, but she had reached out and things had been strained between them since she stopped playing hockey. But he was hopeful after their meal because she had told him why she quit. She had also told him she was dating Wes Darling, his teammate and probably his closest friend on the team besides Cash. And honestly, he was happy for them. It had taken some getting used to, but Wes was a great guy and Kate could use someone like Wes to dote on her.

Conner was feeling pretty good about his game too. During practice this week his shot had been back. He was making strong passes and getting his shots to the back of the net. There was a part of him that kept trying to connect the dots to the return of his shot to the first time he felt Sasha’s amazing body against his, but that was silly. Even as superstitious as players could be, that didn’t make any sense.

But something was still bothering him about the whole Sasha situation.

And those feelings had only grown when he walked into the diner and caught his sister scrolling through the team's page. There was one of those stupid slow motion suit videos. Only this time it wasn’t Cash, it was him. He saw the look on his face over his sister's shoulder, it looked like he was making that face at the camera, but he knew he didn't do that.

Conner sat at the kitchen table scrolling through the Magic's social media on his phone. Cash looked right at the camera and winked, it's what you got with Cash. Conner had smiled at it once but had just ignored it since.

But here he was on the slow-motion suit camera. The zoom in on his face was what was killing him. He licked his lips, and his eyes were hungry, and the number of views this video had and the way some of the fans were going crazy over it made him uncomfortable. He remembered this moment. This was the moment he was walking into work and saw Sasha. He still remembered what she was wearing that night; a navy dress that hugged her ass, and these red pumps that matched her lips. He was just glad the camera didn't seem to pick up the slight bulge in his pants he remembered he had right then.

Fuck. This was not good. This was not the kind of focus he was hoping to have this year, but he just couldn't seem to get her off his mind. Yes, his shot was better, but his focus was still scattered. Maybe he should stop trying to distance himself from her. And it would help if he would stop putting his foot in his mouth. He was usually able to talk to anyone. People liked him. Why did he keep saying stupid things to her?

But still, he didn't want to be a sex symbol, he just wanted to play hockey. He just needed to tell that to her, he was sure she wouldn't post anything like that without his consent. She had said as much when they were making their captain's tips videos. He enjoyed making those, and when he scrolled down to those videos they seemed to be doing well.

A text came through, interrupting his scrolling.

Frankie – Thanks for the tickets tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing you.

Conner – Of course, it will be good to see you. Got you seats on the ice right by the penalty box.

Frankie – How’d you swing that?

Conner – Ethan’s parents season tickets are open tonight.

Frankie – You fix your shot?

He hung his head and groaned. Frankie was a friend from college. She had played on the team with his sister and now she was a coach for a women’s college team. Of course, she noticed, and she wouldn’t be Frankie if she didn’t have the balls to say it to his face.

---