Page 74 of The Grinder

Sitting in her seat in the Colonials offensive end of the arena, Aly pulled a face at her sister and reached inside her purse to tap the sign she’d made in a moment of sheer stupidity.

It’d seemed like a good idea last night after a couple of beers and a profane discussion with Riley’s friends, who’d been more than eager to help her figure out what her sign should say.

But now that she was actually here, common sense was trying to kick in. Or maybe it was fear.

Hell, maybe he wouldn’t remember what the sign meant.

“Oh, I know that look. Don’t wimp out now, Aly. Come on, we braved the Schuylkill Expressway. Don’t let a little performance anxiety get in your way.”

Yes, the Schuylkill had been a mess today. They’d passed two accidents, had crawled at five miles an hour for long stretches, and got lost twice in Center City on the way to the arena.

Now here she was, waiting to get her first live glimpse of Riley in his uniform during the pre-game warm-up. Trying to work up the courage to walk over to the other side of the arena, walk down the stairs to the glass at the ice, and wait for Riley to notice her standing there with her little sign that was meant only for him.

Could she do it?

Hell, yes, she could.

She checked the clock. Only three minutes until the teams made it out to the ice for warm-ups.

Standing, she took a deep breath. “If this doesn’t work, we’re leaving. Immediately.”

Vivi grinned and settled deeper into her seat. “You forget. I drove. Besides, I figure I’m driving home alone tonight.”

Aly could only hope.

* * * * *

“Okay, boys. Work out the kinks, get loose, and get ready to play.”

Assistant Coach Domenic Mann slapped each man on the back as they passed through the hall for warm-ups and Riley nodded before hitting the ice.

The music was nothing more than a throbbing beat in his ears, the crowd noise barely a consideration at this point. It’d get louder when the game started but he’d learned how to put it aside and concentrate on the game.

Tonight, it was merely noise.

Just like the people gathered at the glass, banging and cheering. None of them were there for him. No one knew him yet. Hopefully that would change and soon. But for now, he was okay with anonymity.

It wasn’t until he and CJ and a few other guys were flipping the last pucks into the ice before the buzzer rang that CJ skated up next to him.

“Uh, Riley.”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Uh—”

“Dude.” Travis flanked him. “There’s some girl here with your jersey on. Don’t know how the fuck you got puck bunnies already but if you throw this one back, put in a good word for me. I got a thing for blondes.”

Riley nearly tripped himself as his head shot up.

“Seriously? Where?”

Travis laughed and shook his head. “Right corner. She’s a few rows up and she looks way too civilized for you. She needs a guy like me.”

His head shot around to the direction Travis pointed and he sucked in air.

Christ, how the hell had he missed her?

Aly stood perfectly still, five rows back from the ice. She was wearing a Colonials sweater and damn if Travis wasn’t right. She was wearing his number. He could just make out the seven on her arm when she lifted her hand to wave. Her wary expression made him smile.

---