Page 224 of Wrong Pucking Jersey

“You could have texted us,” I point out.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Mack draws out while lifting her eyebrows.

“Already inside,” Dimitri smirks. “Apparently, there are some really big sponsors here.”

“How big?” I ask in curiosity.

“Big as in the ones who give millions to the Toronto Maple Leafs every year.” Dimitri leans in close to whisper, “Word on the social media streets is their interested in Maddox, Damien, and Ace.”

“Wait, the three of them?” I gasp. “What about Wolfgang?”

I don’t know why the idea of him being left out bugs the fuck out of me.

“I think because Wolfgang is the goalie and hasn’t gotten the opportunity to really show off his saves, he hasn’t been brought up. I just read and watched a bunch of TikToks saying the league probably wants to further secure Maddox, Damien, and Ace. They were really impressed by the last three games and their performance. I think their first game really got their attention, and they waited for two more games to confirm if it wasn’t just a fluke.”

“Fuck, that’s insane,” Mack gasps.

“Puck,” we correct her and end up laughing about it.

“Save your pucking corrections for tomorrow,” Mack teases. “Man, the Pincers are going to be pissed.”

“I bet,” Dimitri agrees. “They haven’t been getting many sponsorships, even though they won their last three games.”

“Really?” I comment. “Why is that?”

“If you watch the TikTok analysis of their games, a lot of people are saying they’re not really acting like a team,” Dimitri admits. “It feels very choppy. With the Vipers, everything seems very smooth, and they’re communicating not with their words but with their eyes and actions throughout the gameplay. When you look at Maddox, Damien, and Ace, there’s an intriguing connection there. Someone said they noticed the shift in the last game. They just get each other, and now with Ace being forward with Maddox, the dynamic and execution of gameplay really has aided in their success.”

“Looks like I need to observe more,” I emphasize.

During the games, I’m so focused on making sure everyone is okay and that there are no crazy injuries.

“Plus, have you guys been hearing about the hate campaign revolving around Jayce?”

“Huh?” Dimitri and I say in unison as Mack hooks her arms around ours and leads us toward the entrance.

“I just heard about it last night from Wyatt, but apparently, a lot of people are beginning to bring up the bad qualities about Jayce. Incidents in the past and his cocky behavior. A lot of people ain’t buying the whole car incident, and the police are saying the mother was drunk or sleep deprived. Apparently, she’s the wife of a really rich businessman. Rich as in, if he pulls out his financial contributions to Strattonville, we’d feel it through the economy,” he explains.

Oh, fucking shit.

“People are already noticing how rough Jayce is on the ice. He doesn’t care about the other team’s well-being. He’ll knock them into the boards or injure someone on purpose. Kinda like a way to get his anger out. Obviously, the only major thing you can get is a penalty or be benched for the game, but Jayce will take the risk if it means increasing their chance of winning.”

“Is Wyatt worried they’ll actually replace Jayce with him?”I wonder.

“I actually think Wyatt may have to play regardless,” Mack admits and stops, so we can lean in and listen to her whispered words, “Oscar injured himself in the last game. He’s trying to act like it’s no big deal, but I think it’s far worse than a simple tear. I can’t share the details, but from what Coach Johnson and Wyatt have been saying, they may have to take him out permanently.”

“Fuck,” I curse.

“Oscar isn’t going to handle that well,” Dimitri adds.

“Only gets worse when your captain keeps using it as ammo and reminding him that he’s on borrowed time,” Mack huffs. “Jayce is such a douche. I’m kind of hoping he gets the boot. I’ve never seen someone who’s so focused on himself while playing on a team that needs a leader and not a selfish prick.”

“That’s kind of the reason why our crew fell to shits,” I admit as we let go of Mack and wait single-lined toward the entrance. “It felt like he was tearing us apart, which ended up happening. Even after that, it wasn’t enough. He had to make things worse because he was also losing out. Sometimes, I think we all left Strattonville to focus on what we wanted to achieve in life just to avoid him.”

“That’s how suffocating he was,” Dimitri notes.

“Yup. I know my dad worked with Mr. Winchester for a short period of time and absolutely hated it. I swear he drank more during those months,” I reveal.

“I wonder if his brother is the same?” Mack ponders. “He may be coming down to Strattonville. Don’t know if it’s to join the Pincers or for some other reason. It’s crazy because you can’t find much about him. Not even his first name, let alone a picture.”

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