Page 3 of Mine

I got to an employee door, used my pass to get in, as I ran down the stairs turning a corner to get to the rink, running into one of the guys on the team. It was like running into a brick wall with how big these guys were. They caught me before I fell, and I looked up to see Romeo Gomez holding me up.

This boy was fine with a capital F and yes, he was a boy, the youngest player at twenty-two. Everyone teased him, even though most of us were only a little older than him by a few years. He had tanned skin, dark brown hair, with the most beautiful emerald eyes I had ever seen, and his smile made you feel all gooey inside. The ladies loved him and so did the men.

“Watch out, Florida,” he smirked. “I don’t think the team can afford it if you hurt yourself and we miss out on all the good media.”

“That’s right, I’m here to make you all look good,” I said reluctantly, pulling away. “Even you, Thomson!”

I laughed when he groaned, saying something snarky. Thomson was the klutziest player I had ever met. I don’t know how he was alive, but this guy ran into everything and fell at least a few times a day. It was a miracle he played hockey so well.

The guys were getting ready to head out to the ice as I jogged to the entrance, smiling and saying hello to most of them. Our captain was talking to our resident grump, Hunter Riggs.

“Hey, Florida!” Cap held his hand up and we high-fived.

“Cap.” I hit his hand, taking a picture of it. “Riggs.”

I gave him a nod not wanting to be rude. Hunter was also another sexy man here. He always had some kind of facial hairwith hazel eyes that looked much different from my own light brown eyes but he had a glare that could melt the panties off anyone.

“Valencia.” His deep voice gave me goosebumps.

He was the only one who called me Valencia, and the way he said it, I was totally ok with it. I tilted my head down to hide the blush on my face and walked out of the tunnel. People began to cheer until they realized it was just me. A little girl waved at me and I appreciated her excitement. I pulled out a few stickers and temporary tattoos to give to her. She squealed and said thank you several times.

I made my way onto the ice, being careful with it being freshly Zambonied. It was extremely slick, taking me a little longer to get across, but I made it to the wall as the lights went out and the announcer started speaking. Pulling what I needed from my tech bag, I quickly set up a camera to record the tunnel and placed my phone on the other side of me against the plexiglass.

The announcer started announcing the guys one by one, as I squatted down to take pictures. The guys whooped and hollered as they skated around a few of them passing me and giving some great shots. Once the opposing team started getting called out, I packed up my bag and walked around the edge as discreetly as I could. I made it to the opening only to slip, when I felt strong arms hold me up.

Hunter Riggs had caught me, steadying me before I face planted into the ice. I laughed nervously as he gave me a nod before skating off the ice. My heart was racing at our proximity and the sheer fact that this man was gorgeous. I took a photo of the first face-off and Webber's determined expression was perfect for a post.

The first period went by without anyone scoring, each team playing hard, but I saw the shortcomings in our team. I had seenour team struggle to mesh with each other, but they were doing what they could with a whole new set of teammates. I got some footage during the first intermission, took a bathroom break and pulled my phone out before the guys lined up to go back in.

As they walked back from intermission, they all looked determined. Cap gave me a fist bump as did a few others and at the end, Gomez came up to me with a shy smile on his face. He knew what he was doing and yes, I fucking fell for it. We fist bumped and I watched the team hit the ice.

The second period was bad, with two goals from the opposing team within forty-five seconds. Clark, our goalie, looked frustrated. Our defense players looked frustrated too, but every time Riggs came on the ice, he looked murderous. I caught him snarling at his own teammates, especially Gomez.

Our rookie was having a hard time getting used to the professional leagues after doing well in the minors. I could see the frustration on Rigg’s face when Gomez flubbed or didn’t catch the puck, but just as the second period was about to end, Gomez got a goal with a killer backhand shot.

I took a few photos as the guys congratulated him and a few of them knocked his helmet. It was one of my favorite moments in hockey, seeing them get so excited, and the head taps just melted my heart. I pulled up Instagram to post a picture of Gomez surrounded by his teammates and there in the background was a small smile on Rigg’s face. I did a double take, what a fucking miracle.

That one goal wasn’t enough though, and we lost four to one. The team quietly walked back to the lockers; they looked exhausted. Losing sucked and seeing your team so down about it made it worse. I packed up my things, and saw Riggs speaking to a reporter. He looked intense as he spoke, his scowl deepening with every question that was asked.

The reporter looked enamored with Riggs and I couldn’t blame her, but the moment she put her hand on his shoulder more than once, I got a little annoyed. Puck bunnies came in all forms and it looked like this reporter was one, as she flicked her hair back.

I rolled my eyes, picked up my camera, and looked up to see him looking at me. A crimson flush came to my cheeks, and I hoped he hadn’t noticed me rolling my eyes.

“Good game,” I said, to cut the awkwardness.

He shrugged, walking away towards the locker room before he glanced back one more time. We locked eyes again, my body growing hot before I broke the stare. No good would come out of me pining for one of the players. It was like I was begging life to fuck me in the ass and not in a good way.

2

Hunter

Iwas getting old. I wasn’t the oldest player by any means, but doing this for over ten years had my body starting to feel the effects of it. We just finished playing in Vegas last night and now we have a game in Philly against my old team tomorrow.

It was nine in the morning and our flight took off in a few hours. A few of the guys were heading down to eat breakfast and I tagged along. Being one of the oldest on the team had its perks, the coaches gave us some slack, but I still felt like an outsider sometimes.

It didn’t help that I had been irritated since pre-season started because this team was a hot mess. Our coach and our players were great. We just hadn’t been able to click and we desperately needed to click. Which is why I was coming to breakfast with some of the guys. I wastryingto be nice.

The guys were loud as we made it down to the restaurant. Our Captain, Jeff Ravino, shook his head as our goalie talked about some chick he found on Tinder.

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