Page 15 of Chips & Checks
“Go easy on him,” Briggs says with a smirk. “The kid’s still adjusting to the heat.”
Coach claps me on the shoulder. “C’mon, Murphy. Time to meet your brothers.”
And just like that, I’m stepping into a room full of guys I know by highlight reel but not in person. It’s disorienting—like crashing a celebrity party where I’m both the new guy and the main event.
“Hey, fresh meat.” A tall, broadly built guy with blond hair strides over and sticks out his hand. “I’m Viktor Abbott, Team Captain. Nice to meet you. You’re Bowen Murphy, right?”
“In the flesh.” I take his hand. Instead of shaking it, Viktor pulls me off-balance into a one-armed hug, complete with back slapping so enthusiastic that I’m pretty sure it shakes my lungs loose.
Coach clears his throat. “You break him, you bought him, Vik. Maybedon’tcrush the new guy? Bowen Murphy, this is Viktor Abbott, Knight Hale, Chad Hawthorne, Tristan Dubois,Camden Beck, Lenyx Sawyer, Adler Newberry, Owen…” I move down the line, shaking hands as I go. At least nobody else tries to smother me in a bear hug.
“All right!” Coach Shaw claps his hands once we’re suitably introduced. “I’ll see you guys on the ice. Bowen, I’ll meet you out there and introduce you to Coach Metcalfe.”
I nod once. “Right.”
Coach Shaw leaves. There’s a prolonged silence as I get set up in my locker. I don’t think the other guys know what to say to me, and when I don’t engage, they go back to whatever conversations they were having when I came in. It’s not that I plan to ignore them forever. I just need a chance to settle in and get the lay of the land.
And for some reason—stupidly—I keep thinking about Vi.
Not the sex, though yeah, that’s burned into my brain. It’s the way she didn’t linger. The way she kissed my cheek like we were something… and then walked out like we weren’t.
I didn’t ask for her number. I didn’t ask where she was going. And now I’m sitting here, surrounded by new teammates, new opportunity, new everything—and all I can think about is the one girl who looked at me like I was more than just the guy with the nickname and the pierced cock.
“Hey.”
I look up to find the guy at the locker next to mine watching me with quiet, dark eyes. He doesn’t smile, but there’s no edge there. No threat. Just… observation. Camden Beck. One of the Venom’s younger guys, and a fellow legacy. His dad was the team captain the first year the Venom won the cup.
“Hey,” I say back. “What’s up? Beck, right?”
He nods. “Just saying hi. Since we’re neighbors.”
There’s a brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile, and something about it makes me ease up a little.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” I say, this time with a smile of my own. “Looking forward to skating with you.”
Camden nods again and ducks his head, like that’s the end of his social quota for the day. I get it.
Viktor leans against the locker to my other side with a smirk that says he’s already figured out more about me than I want him to. “You good, Murphy? Penny for your thoughts?”
I blink. I was expecting small talk. Not… interest. And not just from the captain. The room’s a little quieter now. Ears perking up.
I could brush him off. Make a joke. But for some reason, what comes out is: “So, I hooked up with a woman last night…”
Knight barks out a laugh. “Wow. First night?”
“I was battle-scarred,” I admit, half-shrugging. “Some thirsty PR assistant met me at the security door.”
Viktor’s head snaps up. “Destiny?”
“Oh my God,” Tristan groans. “Did she try the arm-loop thing? That woman practically climbed me like a jungle gym.”
Knight adds, “She offered to give me a tour and then bit her lip when I said yes. I thought the front office was a safe zone.”
“Bro,” Cam says, wide-eyed. “She told me if I needed stress relief to ‘just ask for Destiny.’ I still have night terrors.”
Laughter ripples around the room, and I can’t help but smile. It’s not warm and fuzzy. But it’s not cold anymore either.
It’s… something.
