Page 43 of Power Play Pursuit

“So,” Hawthorne begins with his deep captain’s voice, “did you enjoy your day off, Adler?”

I grin. “You bet! Right up until I had to see your sorry faces,” I joke. “I wasn’t yelled at by Coach, didn’t have to share the smelly locker room with you guys, and I ran some errands—it was a dream come true.”

“And don’t forget getting your butt kicked at NHL Master,” Miles chimes in, flashing a smile.

I roll my eyes. “Only because of my head injury.” I cast a glance at Elizabeth, who’s watching with amusement. “Oh, and I helped out with the end-of-day cleaning at Rise & Grind.”

Beaumont claps his hands loudly. “Great. Now you have a back-up plan in case your injuries never heal.”

“You wish. You think I’d let you have the winger spotlight all to yourself? Don’t count on it. No matter the number of games I’m out, I’ll still beat all your stats. Just like I did last year.”

Everyone laughs.

“So, you helped Beth clean tonight?” Marissa says, twirling the end of her strawberry-blond hair. “That’s interesting.”

Elizabeth tenses next to me. I don’t know if I’m hallucinating because of the meds I’m taking but I’m pretty sure, she just kicked Marissa under the table.

I don’t have time to figure out what this is about because the waitress comes to take our drink order.

Once she leaves again, Hawthorne leans forward. “When will you know exactly how long you’re out for?” he asks, true to his duty as captain.

“Honestly, I’m still not sure. Coach called me today. Apparently, he set up a meeting with the team docs next week for a checkup, but their initial guess was four to eight weeks, so we’ll see. I can’t exercise for the next two weeks, but after that, I’ll build an off-ice routine and take it from there.” I don’t know if it’s because I’m speaking about it, but my face suddenly hurts like the dickens.

“Crap, that’s a long time,” Miles breathes out.

“We’ll miss you on the road, for sure,” Hawthorne adds. “It won’t be the same without you.”

“Yeah,” Beaumont says, wrapping his arm around Hayley. “But probably not as much as the female population will miss you.”

Everyone chuckles, and I just roll my eyes. “Guess we’ll see if you’re still able to fill an entire arena without me in the lineup.”

Miles slaps my back, and I hold back a wince at the shooting pain it triggers. “I don’t think you’ve ever been injured this badly before, bro. Have you?”

“Nope.” I force a big smile. “First time. Hopefully, you’ll manage without me. I know, it’s going to be tough to win and have fun out there, but I have faith in you.”

“Did we say we were going to miss him?” Beaumont cocks his head playfully, looking around. “I don’t think that’s what we meant.”

I know they’re just kidding around, but it does sting that I won’t be there for the away games. Though as an NHL player with almost ten years under my belt, it’s a miracle I’ve never been out this long before. Sure, I’ve had sprained wrists and knocked-out teeth, but I was never out for more than a game or two, and I never missed an away trip. Unfortunately, when you’re not playing, you have no reason to hit the road. So it’s going to be weird to sit this one out.

“I’ll miss your energy on the ice, for sure,” Marissa says with a wink.

“Yeah,” Hayley adds. “You know how to make the fans laugh, and your upbeat attitude is contagious.”

“Thanks, ladies,” I grin, then look to Elizabeth, who offers a soft smile.

“We should kick LA’s ass, noproblem,” Miles says. “Even without you, Adler.”

“Vegas is going to be tougher, though,” Hawthorne adds, taking a sip of his drink. “Their goalie is really good.”

“And their D is strong,” Miles adds. “Breaking into it is going to be a challenge.”

They start talking hockey, and I find myself drifting from the conversation, listening instead to what the girls are discussing. Their quieter voices make it easier to focus with my head throbbing. It’s weird, but I really don’t want to talk hockey tonight. It just feels like it’s not my world anymore, and that sucks.

I meet Elizabeth’s gaze, and she frowns, a hint of a question in her eyes, as if she’s wondering if I’m okay.

I ignore the pounding in my head and flash her my signature smile. After a moment, she nods, looking back at the girls.

The rest of the night passes pretty fast, and despite how bittersweet our time together is, I enjoy being with my friends. I appreciate it even more since I won’t be seeing them for an entire week. The only problem is, my head feels like a pressure cooker, and I chide myself again for not bringing my meds. Finally, the night comes to an end, and I hug each of them in turn in the restaurant parking lot. I’m both sad to see them go and eager to get home at the same time.

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