After eating a huge breakfast and stretching out my still aching muscles again, it was time to head to the barn for some ice time. I was one of the first to get into the locker room, which was typical. Brayden and Gavin were the only ones that usually beat me, and that was because they were freaks and would skate around before the rest of the team got there. Slowly, one by one, my teammates filed in, and before long the locker room was bustling with everyone getting ready to work their asses off.
“Did you hear?” Gavin came up next to me while I was getting my pads on for practice.
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate, because obviously I hadn’t.
“We have a rookie taking over to fill Hendricks’s spot.”
Right then a tall, broad, linebacker-looking guy followed Coach Hayes into the locker room.
Coach blew his whistle to get everyone’s attention. “Gents, I have an announcement. Hendricks is out for the rest of the season. He blew out his knee and is going to have to have surgery and extensive physical therapy. We’ve been told he should be fine for next season, but that does leave his slot open and we can’t have that. So, Otters, please welcome our newest teammate, Jamison Perry.”
We all took turns introducing ourselves to him as we made our way out to the rink.
“Welcome to the team man.” I shook Jamison’s hand. Poor kid, he looked like he was about to puke. “You all right?”
He nodded feverishly. “Yeah, just trying to take it all in.”
After getting to the ice and skating for a few minutes, a whistle sounded. To our surprise, we were greeted by the jubilant presence of a phenomenal guest coach, Simon Abramson.
“My, my, my! Look at all of you!” Simon sang as he skated around us. “Miss me, boys?”
I chuckled a little at how big of a show he was putting on for the dudes that had no earthly idea who he was or what he was doing there.
Coach took a seat on the bench. “Most of you should remember Simon, but for those who do not, he’s a multi-Olympic gold medalist and is here to show you a thing or two about skating better. You guys are getting sloppy with your footwork so listen to him, men. He’s the best there is.”
“Thank you for such a warm introduction, Gideon.” Simon held his hands in the air. “Now, gentlemen, let’s get to work. Crosby take those silly pads off so you can actually move around this time. You’re not getting off that easy and I don’t want to see you clumsily try to lunge again.”
I did as he asked and joined the rest of my teammates as we learned way more about twirls and lunges than we ever cared to know. I did have to hand it to Simon, he really knew how to get through our thick skulls, and by the end of the practice most of us were joking and having a great time making fools of ourselves while trying to pull off harder and harder spin moves.
The new guy was having the hardest time out of all of us, which was not surprising at all. Coach was about to kill him after he ran into Harding for the second time in about five minutes. I watched in horror as Jamison tried his fucking hardest to snap out of his nerve-filled funk, but rookies always choked in the beginning—it was a thing.
“Stampcrab!” Harding yelled from the other side of the ice.
The insult flew over most of the guys’ heads, but I dropped my stick from laughing so hard.
“What did you call me?” Jamison hollered back.
I flew in between the two. “Now, now, no need to get off on the wrong foot guys.”
Harding wasn’t even phased by how confused and pissed Perry was, and I couldn’t blame him. Trash talking was all part of the hazing process. If you couldn’t take it from your teammates, how the fuck would you be able to deal with it from ruthless opponents come game time?
“Yeah, Crosby’s right. Sorry man, I just got a little flustered there.” I was proud of Harding for being the bigger man in that moment, but Jamison didn’t seem to care too much for the apology.
Before I could stop him, Perry’s right fist was connecting with Harding’s jaw. Hayes and Cox each flew up behind the guys while I stood in the middle of them, and Chase was just as shocked as the rest of us as we all stared at the new guy like he had just hit a puppy.
Coach Hayes leaped to his feet, screaming at the top of his lungs for Jamison and Chase to head straight for his office.
We waited until they left the rink to go back to the ending of our practice.
“What did Harding call the new guy anyway?” Brayden asked as he skated by me.
“A stampcrab.”
“What in the fuck?” His brow creased as he tried to figure out what the insult actually meant.
“Clumsy. It means he’s a damn klutz.”
He shook his head. “Geez, you guys and your nerdy insults.”
I laughed at little. “You have to hand it to Harding, at least it was original.”
Gavin joined in. “It doesn’t fucking matter how original it is, teammates need to stop being dicks to each other.” I knew Hayes was having a hard time keeping all the players in check recently, and it was starting to really wear on his demeanor. “Of all of us, Harding should know how hard it is to be the new guy. He had it rough as hell when he first joined the team.”
“Give it a rest, Hayes. We all went through being a rookie. Don’t you remember when Crosby and you were rookies together? You told me the guys treated you two like damn whipping boys for months.” Brayden did have a point, but it didn’t make the bullying any more justified.
Simon blew his whistle. “Well, this practice is shot to shit. Shower time, boys!”
We all thanked him for a fun break from our normal practices and filed into the locker room. Harding and Perry had already left for the day but Coach was waiting for us, red-faced and huffing around the locker room.
“Take a seat, guys.” His eyes were narrow as he paced in a small circle. “We need to get this team back to feeling like a damn family. I don’t know where you guys lost it, but it needs to come back. Each one of you is important and was handpicked because you are the best there is—don’t forget that. Each and every one of you blockheads were selected to be part of one of the best teams in this damn league. Now get the heck out of my sight. We have a game to win tomorrow night.”
Chapter 5
Jordan
The week went by like normal for the most part—slinging drinks, teaching novices, dealing with idiot bar patrons and mind-numbingly clueless owners. By the time Thursday rolled around, I was incredibly thankful for the night off with my friends.
“Did Gavin tell you? Griffin is coming tonight.” Myla was finishing up her makeup while I flipped through the latest Cosmo on her plush California king. Seven, Myla’s husky, was snoring softly with her head on my lap. We were waiting for Karla to drop her kids off with the sitter and she was cutting it very close on time, per usual.
“Really? That is awesome. I don’t think I have ever known him to go to a game since he was a kid.”
“Finally, right? I am so glad he decided to start hanging out with us again.” She popped out of the bathroom, diving onto the bed next to me.
“Whoa now! Don’t shake up the baby before it’s even born,” I teased as she scoffed at me.
“Oh please, this thing goes to spin class with me, so I think it can handle a little elevation from time to time. I am just too excited to tell you the best part.”
“Well, out with it then.”
“Griffin found that girl and is bringing her and one of her friends to the game tonight. He called Gavin yesterday and told us.”
I gasped as I started to bounce in place a little. “That is fucking fantastic news! I’m so thrilled it went well for him.” Seven got jostled a bit from my excitement, yawning and stretching after being woken up from her little nap.
“Me too. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Meet who?” Karla asked, making her way into the large master suite with a tray of wine glasses filled with bubbly.
“Griffin is bringing a chick to the game
tonight,” I answered.
“Oh, just come on in and pour drinks without saying hi?” Myla raised an eyebrow as Karla set the tray on the end of the bed.
Karla smiled. “Don’t worry, yours only has sparkling water in it. And you gave me a key for a reason, didn’t you?” Myla nodded in agreement while Karla handed us our beverages, holding hers high in the air. “To love and for all of us to find it and keep it.”
Karla and I polished off the bottle of prosecco while waiting for our car to drive us to the game. I loved going with players’ wives because of the awesome VIP treatment we always received. I mean, I always got amazing treatment since I was friends with the players, but these girls pulled out all of the stops.
Having a box was nothing short of amazing. We had a fully stocked bar, tons of appetizer-style finger foods, plush seats, and TVs so we wouldn’t miss one second of the game. Even though it was nice to be pampered, it didn’t really feel like being at the game. I missed the loudness of the other fans, the beer lines, the hotdog vendors walking up and down the stairs. Being in a box felt like sitting in my living room, but who was I to complain with the company I had? No matter where we were, we’d have a fantastic time together.
I was impressed with the crowd we had gathered together for the game. Sean and Jessica got there right after the three of us, followed closely by Simon Abramson, who skipped in decked out in full Otters gear from head to toe.
“Excited for the game, Simon?” I asked while making him a cosmopolitan.
He took the pink drink form me, beaming. “I just love these guys so much. Practicing with them the other day was so fun.”
“They really are a great group.”
Griffin, Gavin’s little brother, snuck in discretely, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when he came up behind me and said, “Hey Bates.”
I spun on my heels to see him nervously rubbing the back of his head. “Well, look who the cat dragged in. Excited?”
Shoving his hand into his pocket to grab his phone, he pursed his lips. “I’d be less nervous if I knew when she was going to be here.”
Sean came over to talk with Griff as I made my way over to Karla, who was sitting in front of one of the TV screens, watching the stats for all of the players.
We made small talk about the team and random crap while we eavesdropped. Griffin’s girl and her friend were the last to show up, and though we were all on edge to meet her, we tried to play it as cool as possible.
Karla shoved my arm then pointed to the door. “Let the games begin,” she whispered.
“She’s really pretty,” I remarked, eyeing the newcomer up and down. “Do we know her name?”
In a low voice, Karla answered, “It’s some type of food—Olive, I think.”
After they made their rounds and took seats to get ready for the faceoff, I sat down right next to Griffin and his friend. I introduced myself to her. She was in fact named Olive and was sweet and excited to be at her first hockey game.
Even Griffin was on the tease Jordan about Crosby train. “Wearing your beau’s jersey, I see,” he said, badgering me while jabbing me lightly in the ribs. I knew he thought it was all in good fun, but I was getting sick of people remarking on my lack of romance with the one guy I truly wanted.
“Hush, Griff. Don’t think I won’t kick your ass like I did when you were a punk kid.” I sneered.
Griff threw his hands in the air. “I was eleven and you were sixteen—talk about an unfair fight, and you’re a girl. I held back.”
Olive leaned over to get into our conversation. “Have all of you known each other your whole lives?”
I jumped right into the long explanation of the tangled web of how we were all connected in this crazy group. “I went to high school with Gavin and Sean.” I pointed to Sean, who raised his mixed drink in the air at the mention of his name. “Myla is Brayden Cox’s sister and Gavin’s wife, and Karla is Brayden’s wife. Jessica is Sean’s wife, and they were actually partners on the force before their relationship blossomed into a love affair. Oh, and Simon is Myla’s boss turned GBF.”
“GBF?” Olive questioned, looking over to Simon, who was walking over to us while holding Olive’s friend’s hand.
“Gay best friend,” he explained.
“Hey Shaw, you’re my GBF!” Olive smiled over at her guy friend, who was turning all shades of red.
“They’re the best, aren’t they?” Myla asked Olive, and they both dove into a conversation as to why it is better to have a gay guy as a best friend than anything else.
“She’s great,” I murmured to Griffin before getting up to get us a few more beers.
His smile consumed his entire face from the second I got up to the moment I returned. “I can’t believe it, to be honest,” he admitted, taking the Coors Light bottle from my hand.
“What’s that?”
“How my life could change in a few days just because I met a girl.” He thumbed the label on the bottle, still grinning like a little kid with his first crush.
“I’m happy for you, Griffin. You deserve to be with someone you truly care about and have a deep connection with.”
“Thanks Jordan, that means a lot. How’s everything going with you?” He pointed to the number on my jersey—thirty-three, Crosby’s number.
I chewed on the inside of my lip. “Why won’t anyone leave me alone about Will? We’re just friends.”
Griffin leaned farther back in his seat. “Because we all see what the two of you are too scared to admit to each other, or even yourselves. We’ve all known for years. Shit, I can see it, and I am barely ever around. That must mean something.”
“Yeah, I still don’t know.”
The game started and within the first three minutes, Brayden was fighting with a dude from the other team and Gavin was trying to calm him down while Crosby threw his gloved hands in the air.
“When are you going to knock some sense into your man?” Myla asked, eyeing Karla.
“Hey, he’s your brother—why don’t you try?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sisters-in-law as they playfully argued about how big of a hothead Brayden was and how quick Gavin was to defend him. It had taken those two guys a long time to even tolerate each other. Even as kids, I remembered Gideon Hayes going on and on about how much he couldn’t stand Reggie Cox, Myla and Brayden’s father. They were both players for the Otters way back in the day, and the family feud had started during their rookie seasons. Needless to say, the boys had come a long way from all the petty, nonsense bullshit.
The rest of the game was uneventful until the last minute of the third period. The visiting team tied the game and it was down to the wire. They were on a power play, so the Otters took Crosby out of the game to get more men out on the ice fighting for the victory.
“Gah! I can’t watch.” I hid my eyes as Crosby skated to the bench to join his teammates.
The strategy failed and the Otters had their first loss of the season.
“Gavin is totally going to blame this one on me, just watch,” I heard Griffin mumble to Myla as he helped her put her jacket on.
“Oh, he’ll be fine. He’s gotten a lot better about losing over the years.”
“He does not get that from our father.” Griffin and Olive were holding hands and my heart melted.
“To the bar?” I asked the group.
They all agreed and we made our way down the street to where we knew the team would be gathering to lick their wounds from the disappointing loss.
Chapter 6
Jordan
It didn’t take too long for the players to all join us at the dive bar. Sitting in a far booth with Myla and Jess, I couldn’t help but stare when Crosby walked in with the rest of his team. I watched like a creepy stalker as he chugged down a beer and threw back a couple of shots. It was apparent that he was a little salty from the loss, and all I wanted to do was make him feel better.
“Please, for all of our sakes, just go fucking talk to him.
” Myla leaned over the table to give me a little push.
“Fine. Twist my arm, why don’t you.” I smoothed out my jersey, feeling like an idiot for wearing his number. Even though I had feelings for Will, that didn’t change the fact that he was actually my favorite player on the team. Of course, I loved Gavin with all of my heart and we were practically family, but Crosby was—in my eyes, at least—the best New York Otters player.
I sheepishly walked up next to Will where he was talking with Griffin and Olive.
“Bates!” Crosby’s voice boomed as he scooped me up into his arms, twirling me around.
“Hey Crosby, tough luck out there tonight.” He sat me down on the barstool next to his left and something finally clicked. It was as if we were both looking at each other the way we had wanted to for so long.
His hand landed on my shoulder as a shit-eating grin spread across his lips. “I think I just hit the level of sloshed where I am too drunk to even give a flying rat’s ass. Everyone loses a game every once in a blue moon—we’re not fucking superheroes or some shit like that.”
His finger started to play with my hair, brushing it behind my ear, and his touch paralyzed me. I watched as he slowly licked his lips and his gaze narrowed then before I knew what was happening, our lips connected ever so briefly. A low growl came from deep within Crosby as he slid off his seat and grabbed me to throw me against the wall that was right behind us. His fingers weaved into my short hair as he pressed me against the bricks and we finally let our hungry passion spill out.
The years of pent-up stupid flirting between friends was finally coming to a head, bubbling up and exploding into sheer intensity. Everything else melted away—the other players, the screaming loudness of the bar, the music emanating from the jukebox—it all disappeared. All I could do was close my eyes and feel him—every movement of his hands gripping me, the way his muscles were flexing, the quickness of his breathing, the thirst behind his kiss. Goddamn it, he was such a good kisser. Crosby’s lips moved with mine in the sweet dance of desire and lust.
The Shots On Goal Series Box Set Page 33
