Page 198 of Wrong Pucking Player

They hadn’t been here when Wyatt and I arrived, so they must have snuck in when Armani was attempting his set. The four of them are chilling against the wall with their arms crossed and wide grins.

As though they know their girl is about to slay this.

I’ve always adored how Maddox supports Mikayla. It’s like he’s not only a captain on the ice, but he’s a leader who isn’t afraid to take charge of his relationship as well.

He also doesn’t hesitate to stand his ground or support women. I really admire that. Hard to come by, especially in an environment that threatens more than one man’s masculinity.

The gym and competitions like this are perfect examples.

I can tell from the way Winchester opens his mouth, he wants to spew utter nonsense, but Wyatt takes a step forward.

“Stop the talk and let’s see what Mikayla can do,” he demands with an authoritative voice that has everyone quiet.

Oh.

Was I expecting that?

Nope.

Not in the slightest.

Seeing him take charge does sinful things to my body, but I quickly zone back on the task at hand as Mikayla claps her hands to rid of the excess powder in prep for her deadlift.

With a look of determination, she squats down before the bar, her hands wrapping around the chilled metal. I can envision doing the exact same thing—the feeling of giddiness, matched with that boiling desire to wow the observers, makes me want to enter another competition.

With an inhale, Mikayla holds her breath and lifts the weight in one smooth execution. Not only does she lift that bar like it’s a light bitch, but she holds it for three solid seconds before dropping it.

The guys lose their fucking minds.

“YES!” They cheer, and my bestie is being tackled by the majority of the Viper team, which is cute because you can’t see my short, 5’4” bestie versus these giant men.

I can hear her laughter, though, before my girl is being lifted in the air by the Vipers’ captain himself.

“Alright, alright, break it up. Don’t need to suffocate my badass power weight champion,” he proudly declares, which has some of the guys hollering and whistling.

“Stop hogging our sassy powerlifting champion nurse, Maddox,” Marcus calls out with the biggest smile on his face. “Pucking hell, Mikayla, that was fucking awesome!”

“You can’t use pucking and fucking in the same sentence, silly,” Mikayla laughs. She looks so damn happy, the joy making her eyes twinkle brilliantly while surrounded by the team she’s obviously gotten close with.

It makes me realize how I’ve been slacking in that department. In getting to know the team members, even just on an acquaintance base. Aside from Armani, I haven’t been assigned to any of the other players’ assessments, but that’s probably because I haven’t been taking the proper initiative to do so.

That needs to change.

I can’t be of help if I don’t try to connect and learn more about them. By working on that initiation contact, it’ll make it easier for them to approach me if there’s a problem at hand.

I’m learning day by day. I’ll get there.

“She had to have cheated or something,” Armani calls out, drawing our attention to him.

I don’t know if it’s his sour expression or just the way his eyes are totally screaming ‘you owe me’ that makes me lose my shit in laughter.

Mikayla is giving victory hugs, which gives me the chance to elaborate on my vocal amusement.

“Cheat? How do you fucking cheat lifting weights, stupid?” I argue and look over to my bestie. “McCurvyThighsForDays, come back here.”

She’s hugging Wolfgang when I call for her. With a final squeeze, she’s out of his arms and back to where I’m standing.

Maybe reminding these men what we’re capable of will make them take their training days more seriously in the gym.

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