Page 30 of Glitz & Goals

I shower before I leave, washing the last of Viv’s scent from my skin. I should wash the sheets, too, given everything we did last night. Hopefully, I won’t have to go too long without being around her again because she’s quickly becoming an addiction.

I’m not sure what to expect from this evening, so I opt for a Venom polo and slacks. My knee is giving me hell, so I end up driving over, even though it’s only a few blocks between Noah’s place and mine.

I’m a little early, so when I go around back, Viktor, Noah, and Noah’s wife are the only ones there. They’re still setting up, but Viktor pauses when he sees me.

“Coach, did I hear you pull up?” Viktor asks. “You’re, like, ten minutes away.”

“Yeah, well.” I reach down to touch my thigh involuntarily. “With my knee…”

“What’s wrong with your knee?”

Noah is manning the grill within earshot of this conversation. He’s checking the temperature on a tray of steaks. I wonder if he can hear me over the sound of the sizzle.

“My career-ending knee injury that you’ve probably heard about over the years,” I say. “For a while, they didn’t know if I’d be able to walk again without a pronounced limp or a mobility aid.”

Viktor blanches. For the first time since I’ve met him, there isn’t even the hint of a smile on his face. “Damn, Coach, I didn’t know. That’s terrible.” The threat of injury is enough to put the fear of God in even the most confident player. I’m well aware that my story is a cautionary tale for younger guys like him.

I expect him to ask about last night again just to mess with me, but Noah’s wife, a very pretty and tiny blonde woman, comes over to introduce herself. I get caught up talking to her about her bookstore, and by then other people have started to arrive.

I’ve kept Noah at arm’s length, but I like his wife. Her name’s Molly, and she looks like a Disney princess, although I can already tell she has a wicked sense of humor. When Ranger shows up with his wife and daughter, Molly introduces them.

“This is Delilah,” she says, indicating Ranger’s wife. “Yes, she’s way out of his league, but we try not to rub it in too much.”

“Gross,” says their daughter, Dot. She favors her mother, but she has Ranger’s eyes and freckles that don’t appear to come from either of them. “Don’t pimp my mom out to the new guy.”

Molly ignores her. “And that’s Layla. Hi, Layla!” She waves her arm over her head to get the attention of a woman who just walked in with Briggs.

Layla waves back and comes over to meet me and ask how I’m finding Vegas. Like me, she’s from up north—not from Canada, although she says they have a mutual friend I should meet. We commiserate about desert living for a bit until she makes her excuses. I hunt down a beer and wander over to the circle of players to find an empty chair.

Viktor keeps hanging around near me, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Abbott, stop looming over me. Take a seat.”

He shakes his head. “I’d love to, Coach, but a dog took a bite out of my seat last night. I’ll stand.”

Camden, who has barely said two words to me, probably because I didn’t care if he vomited at practice the other day, sits up so fast he nearly drops his drink. “Oh, my God! Did you go to the doctor?”

Dot, who’s been talking to Knight and his fiancée Sofia, is similarly shocked. “You need to make sure the dog has all of his shots.”

Camden nods vigorously. “You might need a rabies series! They do those right in the gut. That’ll make you forget about your broken ass.”

“And goodbye, eight-pack,” Knight adds with a smirk.

Viktor pouts. “Aww, but then your sister will be so sad!”

I clear my throat and decide to shut this down before it gets out of hand. “I’m sure the dog is good. He probably has a responsible owner who takes him for care regularly.”

Viktor snickers. “Probably. So you can calm down, Cam.”

If anything, Camden looks more worked up than before. “You can’t just assume that! I don’t know what happened, but it’s better to take precautions.”

“Hey, dude, deep breaths.” Knight holds out an arm and pats the empty air in a soothing gesture. “You’re almost as red as you were during practice the other day.”

Viktor cups his hand around his mouth like he’s whispering to me, but he doesn’t bother to lower his voice. “Don’t worry, Coach. He won’t puke now, either. I told him not to eat before the party.”

Sofia seems worried about Camden, but she, too, seems to decide that a change of topic is warranted. “Hey, where’s your sister, Viktor?”

Dot snorts and crosses her arms. “Probably avoiding all these young, horny, single hockey players who are always trying to get with her.”

Knight snickers. “She’s already seen all their dicks anyway.”

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