Page 120 of False Play
I tugged off one of my gloves, not caring if a ref was going to whistle me for it, and pressed my bare palm to the glass.
My eyes locked on hers as I mouthed,Hi, Kenny baby.
Her smile was shy, and she raised her hand to meet mine on the other side of the plexiglass. Her lips moved just enough for me to catch the words.Hi, pretty boy.
Fuck. I was a goner for this woman. Completely. I loved her so much, it was starting to spill out of me in ways I couldn’t control anymore.
Every partof my body ached, and I could barely breathe after the horn blared, signaling the end of the game.
We won against the Vancouver Sharks, 5–4. It was a grueling game. At one point, I was sure we were headed for overtime, but during our last shift change, I stepped onto the ice just as Vancouver was scrambling through their own line change. I took off like the speed of light, and Parker swiftly fired the puck my way, and on instinct, I wound up and blasted a slap shot straight past their goalie.
I looked for Kennedy before going into the tunnel, but I couldn’t find her, so I walked in with Donovan and Morgan toward the locker room. The whole place was a zoo, and it buzzed with so much energy, it was infectious.
When I stepped into the locker room, I barely had time to process the cheers before a wave of cold splashed over me. Hayes dumped an entire cooler of blue Gatorade on my head, and the room erupted in laughter and shouting as helmets banged against the lockers.
“That’s the price of glory, baby!” Hayes shouted, cackling as the ice-cold Gatorade soaked my back.
I laughed as I shook the liquid from my hair and grinned like an idiot. The sweat mixed with the stickiness was awful, but I didn’t care. We gave it all out on the ice, and we clinched a playoff spot, so I was happy to be the sacrificial victim. I’d take a thousand Gatorade showers if it meant I’d get to play this game with the people I considered family and bring us one step closer to the Cup.
“Not bad for a welcome party, huh?” Donovan chuckled as he gave my back a solid pat.
“I should have known better than to believe you guys weren’t going to pull some shit like this.”
Hayes draped an arm over my shoulder. “The night’s not fucking over, Anderson.”
“Oh, hell no,” I groaned. “I amnotgoing to Tim’s.”
All I wanted to do was take a nice, hot shower, find Kennedy, and doanotherkind of celebration with her.
“Hell yeah, you are. It’s tradition. You sure you want to break something so sacred after today?”
I scrubbed my face. “Shit, no. You’re right. But I’ll stay an hour, tops.”
“When did you become such a grandpa?” Hayes whined.
“Since knowing what’s waiting for him at home, I’m sure.” Parker snickered.
“Watch it,” I warned. But he wasn’t wrong. I was eager to spend every waking moment with my girl if they’d let me, like one sappy motherfucker. I also missed Captain Sushi, but that was a secret I was going to take to the grave with me. I’d been traveling so much, I was lucky if I got to spend time with him a day or two out of the week.
“Alright.” Coach clapped his hands as he stepped into the room. Everyone quickly settled down and faced him. “I know we’re excited to have Anderson back, and it was a great comeback for him, but this is not the time to be fucking around. We managed to win tonight, yes, but it was a struggle. Things that could make us or break us. This is not the time to be distracted. You all get the next two days off for the gala, but after that, you know how grilling this is going to be. It’s going to be hard as fuck, but I believe in every single one of you.”
“Yes, Coach,” we all said in unison.
He nodded. “Great job tonight, guys. Keep it up, and for the love of God,get some rest.”
“Sure you don’t want to join us tonight at Tim’s, Coach?” Hayes asked.
“Absolutely not.”
We all chuckled. Hayes always tried to get him to come out with us, and without fail, Coach Sloane always turned down his invitation.
“If we win the Cup, youhaveto go with us,” Donovan said.
Coach crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. After a few beats, he gave us a quick nod. “Bet. If we win, I’ll go celebrate with you all.”
We all broke into applause while Hayes and Parker added to the chaos, whistling sharply with their fingers and shouting, “Fuck, yeah!”
I was still part of the team and participated in every practice and locker room talk during the months I was benched, but there was something that made this moment so much better. Like I was finally back home, where I always belonged.
