Page 6 of Hockey Heart

“Later guys, I’m already late.”

“See you tonight,” Fletch called after me, “Oh, and dress nice, would ya!” he added as I swept through the doorway.

I turned the corner in the hallway and ran straight into Dan Janek.

“Hellmaster,” he said in a sinister tone, with an odd grin.

“Hell-raiser,” I corrected him.

Dan had come into the team this season from some small village in Finland, and the guy spoke a type of English that was almost, but never quite, right. Some guys prayed before the game, instead Dan roared like he was in a black metal band. It was an interesting contrast. Hell of a goaltender too.

“If you’re going to see Fletch to try and get out of tonight, I’d forget it. Solly is in there doing his best right now and getting nowhere.”

“Ah, no. I want to be buyed up by some rich American lady, babies in the backroom.”

“Babies in thewhatnow?”

And with that, Dan nodded in agreement and walked off with a wide grin, as if our conversation had come to a natural and pleasing conclusion.

All I wanted to do in the world was to go sit on a beach and sleep for the next six weeks. This season had felt like it had gone on forever and my body had taken an absolutebattering. When you get a reputation like mine, everyone wants to take down the king, and it gets pretty exhausting dealing with that every game night.

The last thing I needed was to play nice over dinner with some rich man’s wife who wanted to get me into a hotel room so she could tell all her rich wife friends about it.

I’d just play it like always. If they wanted theHellraiser, then that’s what they’d get, and there would be no apologies for it. Outside, I climbed into my truck and started the ignition, the stereo flashing into life andTotal Eclipse of The Heartblasting out of the speakers… God, Ilovedthis song! I took a quick look around for any prying eyes, before collapsing my head back against the seat and joining in loudly.

My hollering was stopped in its tracks as the music muted and changed into a ringtone. Annoyed, I looked at the caller's name on the truck’s dashboard and winced. Cara was not who I wanted to talk to right now. Ireallyhad to figure out what to do about her, but I had no idea what that would be yet. Instead of hanging up, I just let it dial out until the music came roaring back.

5

THE BID

Sarah

“OH MY GOOODDDD! Can you believe tonight is happening!?” Kensy hollered down the phone as I put her on speaker so I could finish my make-up while we chatted.

“I know!” I said, my stomach fluttering nervously in response to her outburst of excitement, “Oh, erm, Kensy, could you maybe pick me up? I, sort of… Well, I sold my car.”

“What, Toto? No! Not because…”

“Yeah. You don’t have to tell me. I already feel stupid and embarrassed enough about it. But, hey, I can get another car, right?”

“Er… Sure you will, unless you make babies with that barbarian,” she laughed down the line.

“Yeah, I’m not sure how much Hayden Raynor a few thousand bucks would get me. Maybe there’s a cheaper option? Perhaps that Czech one with the massive eyebrows?”

“Voracek! You’d have to paymeto go out withhim… Dan Janek isn’t so bad, though.”

“The goaltender! You serious?”

“Good with his hands,” Kensy said dreamily.

“Haha, okay. I’ll be ready in like an hour.”

“You’re crazy Sarah. I love you. See you in an hour!”

Kensy arrived wearing a flowing black dress covered in overlapping triangles in neon pink, purple, and lemon lines. We made for an odd couple with me in my simple midnight-blue cocktail dress, but I was proud of her for sticking to her style and not even trying to dress appropriately for the occasion. For me, however, I was still trying to find my way by desperately trying to look like everyone else, trying to give the impression that I fitted in and felt like a normal person inside. Not standing out seemed like all I could do to be safe.

When we arrived, there was valet parking, but we’d skipped it and instead parked Kensy’s Prius at the far end of the car park, in order not to embarrass ourselves.

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