Page 9 of Conner

It was time to prove it.

6

Conner

Conner pulled on his skates and started to suit up for morning skate. He was the first one here since he was meeting Sasha to film some videos with her. He had been kicking himself since their conversation on the plane. The look on her face when he had called them little videos made him instantly regret it, but he needed a clear head, and she was not good for clearing his head. His road trip hadn’t fared any better. He still couldn’t find the back of the net no matter how hard he tried.

“What’s going on with your shot?” Coach had asked him after their last game.

Conner just shook his head.

“You’ll get it back,” he assured. “Have you talked to the trainers?”

“Yeah, my wrist is pulling, and I don’t know why. We’re working on it.”

“You may need to see the counselor. Are you feeling more stress than normal?”

“Not that I know of, but if I don’t improve next practice, I’ll set something up.”

That conversation had been playing over and over in his head. It was the first time in a long time where the coach had talked to him like a player and not an extension of the coaching staff and he didn’t like it one bit. He knew what had changed. The day he lost his shot was the same day Sasha showed up. He knew the team counselor was there for problems like game anxiety that usually caused this, but this was not game anxiety…he didn’t know what this was.

He had a problem. A beautiful Sasha problem. He looked for her in every room. Then when he finally found her, his eyes went places polite work appropriate eyes should not go. The way he actually missed being bugged by her told him all he needed to know. She was a distraction.

But it wasn’t just the distraction, he was also fighting the guilt. When Ethan had invited her to drinks with the team, she declined and made a comment about her ‘little videos’. That moment as well had been playing over and over in his head. His head was a mess. He really hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. And while social media wasn’t something he cared about, he understood it was necessary, and it was a valid job. She was just such a distraction, but he needed to deal with that like a gentleman. It wasn't her fault he was attracted to her. She was just trying to do her job.

All of that coupled with the fact that he hadn’t scored a single goal since she arrived had him spiraling. With a deep breath he stood and made his way to the ice.

As he skated out, he saw she was already there ready to film.

“Hi Conner,” she said very professionally. “I thought maybe you could do a video on your slapshot, since you have one of the best in the league. And maybe one on the best way to change directions while you skate.”

“Yeah, I can totally do that,” he said with his famous smile, but she didn’t even look up from her camera. “I thought maybe I could do one on being a team player on ice too. That is one of the things I'm known for.”

She looked up from her camera with her eyebrows raised. “Yeah, that would be good. If you have time, I don't want to keep you.”

“It's no problem.” He was still kicking himself for being an ass. Her shocked reaction stung, but it tracked.

He shouldn’t be nervous out here. He was just filming a video about his slapshot on empty ice. Surely, he wouldn’t miss. But with whatever his wrist had been doing the past couple weeks, he was a little uneasy. He looked over at Sasha who was still setting up the camera. He could do this. Pulling a puck with his stick he set up his shot and let it rip.

No twitch. He found the back of the net with ease.

He didn’t know why, but he looked over at Sasha to see if she saw what he just did. And really what he just did was an easy shot at an empty net, but after the past few weeks it felt like a small victory. Once again, he put another puck right where he wanted it. When he looked and saw the big grin stretched across her face it lit him up inside.

They continued filming the videos. He skated and made some shots with no twitch and talked to her about team culture. He told himself he was just doing his job, but he could feel himself trying to impress her. The way she smiled as he pulled back and sent the puck flying into the net made him feel like he was in college again with his girlfriend in the stands. It was something he hadn't felt for a while. He had forgotten how much fun it could be to show off.

While they had been on the ice Conner had noticed Sasha wasn’t on skates. Instead opting for ice cleats. Once they had finished filming, she walked over to get off the ice and he glided easily next to her.

“Do you skate?” he asked.

“No, I think I did a few times as a kid, but I haven’t since then. Is that against the hockey rules?”

He chuckled and shook his head with a smile. “Not against the rules for a job like yours.”

Her eyes shot back to him. “A job like mine, huh? You mean one where I play on the internet and post little videos?” She was already off the ice and slipped off the metal cleats from her shoes.

“No,” he said quickly. “I just meant you don’t have to be a good skater since you’re not on the ice.”

“Well, I’m glad you think I’m qualified.” She clipped out. “Thank you for your help.”

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