Page 71 of Taylor

“Taylor, usually Conner beats everyone out onto the ice.”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to be in the room today,” he said as stretched.

“Oh yeah?”

“How are things going with Alice?”

It was almost as if that question snuck past the guards.

“Oh, umm. Fine. Why do you ask?”

“Did you know she’s an artist?”

Sasha tipped her head. “I knew she made some of her own jewelry, so I’m not surprised. What kind of art?”

“All kinds. She showed me these pictures she made of the team, all interacting with Mr. Wizard. They’re pretty funny. You should take a look at them.”

“I’ll ask her. Thanks.”

“Hey there, beautiful,” Conner said as he skated in behind Sasha, pulling her away from Taylor.

He needed to focus, and every time he opened his mouth, all he wanted to talk about was Alice, so it was probably best he just kept his mouth close and skated.

By now, the ice was full of his teammates stretching and getting ready for a light practice followed by a scrimmage.

“Circle up, boys,” said Coach Wagner as he stepped out onto the ice. “You can see your colors for the day. I’m hoping to run some power plays and practice those penalty kills. If we want the cup, we have to score on the power play and stay the fuck out of the box,” he said pointedly at Niko, who led the team in penalty minutes.

Of course, Cash was not far behind. But in his role as the enforcer, penalty minutes were expected. Niko had just gotten sloppy.

“Where is Sven?” Coach asked, looking around the ice.

“He’s . . . not here yet,” Conner said.

“Why the fuck not?”

No one met the coach’s eye, but Taylor had no idea where Sven was.

“Murphy, you’re up with Conner, and Wes,” Coach called out.

“Yes, sir.”

“Go change your jersey and get back on the ice.”

They settled into drills, and Taylor’s mind shut off. When he was playing and focused on the puck and the movement on the ice, everything else fell away. He and Cash had been playing together for years, and they didn’t even need to think about when they were on the ice together.

Halfway through the practice, Sven showed up and tried to get on the ice. Coach told him to “have a seat.”

“What’s going on with Sven?” Taylor asked Cash as they skated over to the bench for water.

Cash shrugged before squirting water into his mouth. “I don’t know, but he needs to get his fucking act together.”

“Alright, everyone, hit the showers. Sven... since you missed practice, I need you to get out there and do some bag skates. You want to act like we’re in fucking college, then I will treat you like a college player.”

“Yes, Coach,” Sven grumbled out as he got onto the ice.

Taylor made his way to the locker room, ready to hit the showers and head home as quickly as possible. He had a cute girl at his place he was dying to get back to.

30

---