Page 51 of In the Net
I want to repay her. I know how stressed she is about showing up alone to her cousin’s wedding. Thanks to theconversation we had in her hotel room, I know how shitty her family is toward her, just because there are things in her life more important than locking down a man, or whatever archaic bullshit they spew at her about her love life.
If pretending to be her boyfriend for one day can help get them off her back, not to mention put some of her more stuck-up family members used to looking down on her in their place, I’ll gladly do it.
But if I said that my motivations were purely altruistic, I’d be lying.
I wanted to kiss her again.
Since that brief kiss in the airport, I haven’t been able to get the feeling of her lips off my mind. I wanted to feel them again, and when I happened upon an excuse to do so, I took it.
And fuck me if I don’t want to do it a third time.
The roar of the crowd rumbles down the hallway leading to the rink. I try to clear my thoughts and soak in the moment as I join my team hitting the ice for the first time of my last season.
The crowd is raucous, and their expectations are high. We’re defending champs this year, having won the Frozen Four back in April.
Our fans expect a repeat.
Obviously, I’d love it, but I know how unlikely it is. The odds of any one team, no matter how good, ending the year with the trophy are incredibly low. And many of our best players graduated last year, moving on to the NHL. Our roster is massively different, and we need to worry about establishing chemistry on the ice before we start dreaming of championships.
I take a deep breath as we get into position for puck drop, trying to appreciate where I am.
Who knows how my NHL career will go. This might be the peak for me: one of the veteran players on a championship-winning college team, in my home arena months after bringinghome the title, the fans packing the stands still high on last season’s win and showering us in adulation.
If this is as good as it’s ever going to get on the ice, I want to savor it.
Then the ref releases the puck, and it’s game on.
Bryce
Damn, you sucked out there, bro. Better luck next time.
A silent laughhitches in my chest. If anything can bring a tiny smile to my face after a shitty game that ends in a loss on our home turf, it’s a smart-ass text from my best friend.
Glad to see your manners are still as delicate as ever, asshole.
Bryce
That’s how you talk to a guy lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life?
The only thing you’re fighting for is for the nurses to bring your fat ass seconds of that shitty hospital food.
Bryce
Love you, too.
I laugh and shake my head, setting my phone down before stripping off my pads and hitting the showers.
After washing off, I find Jamie sitting in front of his locker, head hung low.
“Cheer up, dude,” I say, trying to summon some positivity as I pat his shoulder. “We’ve lost before, and we’ll lose again.”
“My first game as captain, and it’s the worst I can remember.” The self-reproach is unmissable in his voice.
“First of all, I can remember at least ten games last season that were worse than this, and we ended up winning the whole damn thing,” I say. “And this performance had nothing to do with you. Half our roster is either new to the team or playing a new position. And we were against Westlake U. All those guys started playing together when their coach rebuilt the team three years ago. They know each other like the backs of their hands, and we’re just establishing our chemistry.”
He gives me a guarded smile. “Wise words. Maybe you should be captain like you were supposed to be.”
I huff. “Fuck no. You’re the man for the job.”
