Page 39 of Nash

After about ten minutes, I give up and head back to my locker.

“If they would’ve put me in, I would’ve scored that last goal for us,” Liam Madden—one of our rookie centers—says to his little trio of buddies as I walk past, fresh out of a shower. “What an absolute shit show.”

“You weren’t on the ice,” I say, rolling my eyes. “If Coach thought you’d be an asset, he would’ve put you out there. So watch your mouth.”

Liam glares at me but is smart enough to not say anything back.

I make my way over to my claimed locker for the night, getting dressed in a casual pair of athletic pants and a white T-shirt. “Is Monroe set up anywhere?” I ask Pax, rotating my shoulder.

“Yeah, she’s across the hall,” Pax says. “That hit against the boards got you good.”

“My fucking shoulder istight,” I say, hating that I can barely rotate it. “I’m going to see her. Will you tell Reese I’ll meet up soon?”

Pax nods, waving me off as I head across the hall, finding Monroe’s door open and her working on Baylor. It isn’t a private session, hence the door being open, and he’s fully clothed in the same Badgers pants I’m in, paired with a black shirt.

“Dude, do you live here?” I ask, even though we’re in the Coyotes arena. They all start to look the same though, and Monroe’s office is no different. A clean slate room, with a piece of generic art to add color, plus a massage table and her travel bag of magic potions. Her office in our home arena is muchcooler since she chose the art and setup, but this will do in a pinch.

“You’re telling me,” Baylor says. “Fucking Coyotes were ruthless tonight. I got my hits in though. Sure their massage therapist will be working overtime tonight.”

Monroe rolls her eyes, digging her thumbs into his hip and moving them in circles. “I’m not working overtime tonight,” she says. “I keep telling you to take it easy, but you never listen.”

Baylor hisses when she digs deeper into his hip, then sighs in relief when she lets go of the muscle. “I don’t exactly have the easiest job.”

“Me neither,” she says, smiling at him as she hands him a travel sized bottle of lotion. “This is extra strength. Don’t get it in your eyes this time. And wash your hands three times after using it.Fourtimes if you’re partaking in any…intimate activities.”

“Thanks for the tip.” Baylor barks out a laugh as he hops off the table, fist-bumping me as he heads out.

Monroe shakes her head. “Let me sanitize and then you can hop up.”

My phone rings, and I flash Monroe an apologetic look. “Mind if I take this really quick? It’s Hadley and she’s FaceTiming. She only ever does that if it’s important.”

“Of course,” she says, waving me off. “I have to reset anyway.”

“Cool.” I swipe open the call, holding the camera up so she can see my face. My stomach plummets the second I see where she is. “Why are you in the hospital?” Panic flares through me, and I’m already mentally buying a plane ticket to Maine.

“I’m here with Dad,” she says, furrowing her brow.

“Oh shit,” I say, blowing out a breath. “I forgot you flew home this weekend.”

I shouldn't have forgotten, since I was the one who demandedIbuy her ticket. She insisted she dip into her savingsfrom time to time while she attends her final year in college, but I did my best to cover most of her expenses.

“It's okay, Nash,” she says. “You don't have to memorize my schedule anymore.”

“I know,” I say, but I can't believe I forgot. “It's just been a crazy few weeks.”

More like a crazy three months, but I’m not about to get into all of that.

Hadley and I had texted about Reese plenty of times, but we never dove into any anything serious on the topic. Partly because I’m more of a face-to-face-and-get-serious kind of guy versus spilling my heart out over text. Not that I've ever really felt the need to spill my heart out. Until recently, that is.

It's been a month since Valentine's Day—the day I mark as the day Reese and I stopped faking things. I still haven't been able to figure out if Reese is on the same page, but I've been having way too much fun with her to ruin it by asking.

It's been amazing having her at every game, not to mention practices and thendatingher after. I've never been a monogamous relationship type of guy, but Reese makes it easy, effortless. I haven't thought about or looked at another woman since we struck that bargain after New Year's Eve.

And now, she’s the only woman I ever think about.

“I bet,” Hadley says. “I'm sorry about the loss tonight. You played amazing though.”

“Thanks. You know how it is it sucks to lose, but we're building off of a lot of shitty years. How's Dad?”

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