Page 105 of Game Misconduct
I skate over slowly, not close enough to draw attention, but near enough to keep an eye on him.
He leans on his stick like his legs are giving out. Mouth tight. Jaw locked.
And that same look is back—the one I saw the night of the gala when he damn near drove himself home shitfaced.
I didn’t say anything then.
Should’ve.
But I made damn sure he didn’t get behind that wheel. Gave him my car and stood in the freezing wind waiting for a blacked-out Uber like I was some twenty-year-old rookie instead of the guy they signed to save this franchise.
Didn’t regret it for a second.
Still don’t.
Now I see the same cracks forming.
“Reid!” Holt barks. “Get your head on straight or get off my ice.”
Cal nods once, sharp and silent, but he doesn’t lift his eyes.
Something’s wrong.
And I know that look. Hell, I wore that look for most of my first season.
The one that saysI can’t ask for help because I don’t think I’ve earned it yet.
The whistle blows again, and practice resumes.
But while the others are skating drills, I stay back. Watch him fumble a pass, whiff a shot, bite the inside of his cheek so hard I see the muscle twitch from thirty feet away.
Rookie or not, that kid’s drowning.
And I’ve seen too many guys sink because no one ever threw them a rope.
Soon, Coach is blowing the whistle calling practice and giving us an end of practice pep talk before we make our way into the locker room.
I head for the showers and take a stall in the far corner away from the noise of the younger guys.
I’m in my head and need to think. Now that I’m off the ice, all I can think about is Sloane.
When I turn on the water, it’s cold.
I let it hit me full blast, no steam, no heat. Just a punishing slap to the spine to scrub the morning off my skin.
But it doesn’t work.
Because I still feel her.
The silk of her sheets twisted around my legs.
Her robe hanging open while she stole bacon off my plate.
That sleepy, raspy laugh she gave me like it belonged to no one else.
I brace my palms against the tile and drop my head under the spray, eyes shut.
I can still smell her shampoo on my skin.
