Page 52 of Netting the Goalie

“Hey, man.Kick some ass today.”

CJ stood in the doorway to my room, boxer shorts barely covering his junk, hair standing up all over the place on one side and flat on the other.

“Not gonna play, you know that.But thanks.”

“Yeah, I know.But still.And man, don’t take this the wrong, but I hope like hell they send you back for the weekend.”

Nodding, I held out my hand and waited for him to walk over and bump my knuckles.

“Did you actually set your alarm to see me before I left?”

CJ grimaced and I thought he might’ve actually blushed.

“Fuck you.”

“Dude.I’m touched.”

“Uh huh.Have fun.I’ll see you when you get back.”

I turned back to the door but before I left, CJ said, “Wait.”

“What’s up?”

“Is Bliss in your room?I mean, I don’t want her to, you know, catch a glimpse of me and throw you over.”

Fuck.“Nah, you’re safe.She went home last night.Before you stumbled in.”

CJ’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t say anything.

“All right.Safe travels, man.And don’t let shit fuck with your head.”

I left with a smile on my face but it vanished minutes later.

My stomach ground in on itself as nerves started to hit me but I pulled on my years of training to steady myself.

By the time I reached the team’s training facility in northeast Philly, I had myself under control.

This was what I’d been working for since I was five.

Since I’d been down for pre-season training camp, I knew where to park.After I’d checked in with the guard, I grabbed my gear from the back of the truck and headed for the locker room.

I wasn’t the first one there.

“Conrad.Nice to see you.How’s it going?”

Stanton turned away from his locker, where he’d been pulling up his compression pants, and came forward with a smile and his hand out.

I took it with a nod.“Not bad.”

“The Reds are having a hell of a year and so are you.Congrats.”

At six-three, Stanton was an inch shorter than me but the guy had almost 20 pounds on me, all of it muscle.He’d come by his nickname Tank for his methodical play.

“Thanks.The team’s come together this year.We’re looking forward to the playoffs.”

Stanton’s grin turned lopsided.“Gonna suck if you’re stuck up here riding the bench.Between you and me, Gragnani’s injury’s not gonna keep him out longer than tonight so you’ll be back.He’s being a pussy about pulling a muscle in his leg.”Stanton shook his head.“But you didn’t hear that from me.Christ, the guy’s nearly thirty-three.Guess I should cut him some slack.”

I nodded, smiling.“Thanks for the heads up.”

---