Page 71 of Playoff

Otherwise, I’m setting myself up for a world of hurt.

ROWAN: I’m trusting you, Blake, with the most important thing in the world to me. I hope you know that.

BLAKE: Absolutely. I’d never do anything to break that trust. You have my word, baby. I know I let you down in the past, but I’m not the same guy. And I plan to prove that to you if you’ll give me a chance.

If?

That ship has already sailed.

I’m already giving him a chance.

A big one.

The only option is to keep moving forward.

ROWAN: You’ll only get one.

BLAKE: That’s all I need.

I really hope that’s true.

TWENTY-TWO

Blake

The dayafter we get home from Alaska is pretty mellow. Practice was only an hour, I got some laundry done and then took a nap. Rowan is picking me up on her way home from running a few errands, and I’m going to stay with her for the next couple of days.

Game one of round two isn’t for three more days, on Friday in Las Vegas, and since it’s a quick flight, the team is leaving Thursday morning. There will be a practice Thursday afternoon and Coach’s plan is for us to rest on Friday. A seven-game series can be physically grueling, and he wants us to be in as good of shape as possible.

Marty Nadeau will be back in the lineup, which means one of the guys from the Rebels won’t be dressing for the game. My gut tells me it’s going to be Bodi, but I don’t plan to say anything since that’s way above my pay grade. I feel bad for him, but they can only dress twenty-three players and unlike me, he hasn’t been overly effective since he got here.

I’ve been killing it out there, still earning the most combined goals and assists in the first round. Canyon is only one point behind me, but all I care about is that I’m ahead of him. And that says something, because Canyon is a top scorer in the entire league, not just on the Phantoms.

Despite all the late nights with Rowan, I’ve been focused on my game, napping, eating right, and watching video to stay on top of any mistakes I’ve made on the ice. And that’s one of the things I love about Rowan. She understands what this means to me and doesn’t get upset when I have to watch video when we’re lying in bed or at breakfast. I love being with someone I don’t feel like I have to put on a show for. Dating is hard, generally speaking, especially in the beginning.

That’s not the case with Rowan. We’re starting over and getting to know each other again, but there’s none of the awkwardness you find when you don’t know someone at all. We have history. Memories. And so much in common. A decade of distance hasn’t changed that, and it feels good.

That’s the problem with us—how easy it is to be together.

It was always easy.

And nothing has changed in that department.

“Hey, beautiful.” I get into her SUV when she pulls up, tossing my duffel in the back seat.

“Hi.” She turns as I lean in to kiss her.

“I have a favor to ask,” I say when she pulls into traffic.

“If I can.”

“You said you were making lasagna tonight… is that right?”

She nods. “It’s already prepped in the fridge. I just have to put it in the oven, but it’ll keep if you have something else in mind?”

“No, I just…” I hesitate. “If there’s enough, do you think we could invite Bodi to join us? He’s pretty bummed. Coach calledas I was walking out to tell him he’s not dressing for game one in Vegas.”

“I wondered if that would happen,” she says. “And yes, of course. There’s plenty. I make a big one so there are leftovers, but I’m happy to share. Invite him. Give him my address and tell him to be there at six thirty.”

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