Resting my arms on the edge of the pool I look up at him, “What are you doing here?”
“Better question is why are you here? You don’t usually come out here with only a day break in between games. Something has got to be bothering you, and you haven’t answered my calls all day. I took a guess you’d be here.”
“I’m good Cam, just needed a minute to take a breath and enjoy my home.”
“What a load of shit. I know you. I know how you work during the season. You hardly ever step foot here unless we have a decent break, or we get together away from the busy city.”
“Yeah, you do know me pretty well and yeah, it’s not my norm. I woke up this morning kicked the hottie out of my place like normal and then I felt bad. I never feel bad man. I move on and find my next conquest. Let me ask you something, have you ever looked at a girl and something changed in you?”
“Dude, you’re talking crazy. What do you mean?”
“Remember last night at the game we had coach Hutton’s wife and granddaughter at the game? For some reason I can’t get his granddaughter out of my head. She is the only girl to ever not give me a cute smile back when I give my signature look. She flat-out ignored me beyond the general greeting.”
“You’re telling me a girl has you all fucked up today?” He laughed. “Wow, I never thought I’d see the day where a girl would screw with your head, even a little bit.”
The asshole is bent over laughing at me and tears are starting to form in his eyes from how hard.
“You’re an asshole. So much for you being my best friend.” I pull myself up and out of the pool making sure to shake some water on him as I go to the cabinet by the pool and grab a towel.
Cam slowly gains back his composure while I stand there glaring at him. “I’m sorry man, but seriously? A girl doesn’t give you attention and it screws with your head. Are you that much of an arrogant asshole to think every girl in the world will just drop at your feet?”
“Yeah, thanks for that,” I say sarcastically then walk into the house to the kitchen where the cool burst of air shocks me for a second, giving me goosebumps. I yank open the fridge and grab a beer, opening it and chugging it down. Cam finds me, still with a little laugh in his voice.
“I’m serious, not every girl is going to fall at your feet. Sometimes you have to work for it.”
“Yeah well, it isn’t like this shit is normal for me either. I have no idea why she even has any effect on me or why this particular girl keeps popping in my head.”
“You need to get your head on straight by tomorrow. We have a big game and we need the win if we are going to win the conference this year. We need every win.”
“I know man, I’ll be straight. We need to get the cup this year.”
“You know it.”
“You want a beer?”
“Nah man, I just wanted to check on you. You’re not known to disappear like you did today.”
“I needed a break for a minute, I’m good. I’ll be there in the morning with my head on straight.”
“Good. I’m going to get out of here. See you in the morning,” Cam gives me a fist bump then walks out of the house leaving me with my thoughts again.
I wish I knew why this particular girl had a pull on me. But for now, I’ll have to brush it off and focus on the game.
5
Mandy
Last night was an amazing experience and I realized while I missed hockey, I miss the hockey life with grandpa more.
Callie and I make our way to the kitchen where I find Grandma cooking breakfast. I stand in the doorway and think about how I really missed the life I had here. I’m so happy I’ve decided to move back home. With everything crumbling back in Boston, this is where I need to be, where I actually feel wanted and loved. Callie makes a noise and catches grandma’s attention.
“G’morning ladies. Mandy how did you sleep?”
“Once I settled down from the excitement of the game last night, I slept well. How long have you been up making all this food, and for what army?”
With a small chuckle she answers, “I missed cooking. With all the food that was brought over I haven’t had the need to cook. I guess I got carried away.”
“You won’t get an argument from me. I’ve missed your breakfasts.”
Grandma finishes up cooking, and I grab Callie her bottle before we settle down to eat.
“So, what are your plans for today?” she asks while placing mountains of food on the table.
“I need to start planning my move here, and unfortunately Callie and I need to get back to Boston so I can finish my contract with the team. Once the World Series is over, so is my contract. The condo needs to be sold, and I’ve decided I’m going to sell it furnished. This way I have less to move. I’ll easily be able to tow a small trailer behind the Volvo SUV I have. Once the season is over, we’ll be able to come back here with ease,” I say as we sit and eat this carb loaded breakfast.
“I wish you didn’t have to drive all that way alone with Callie. I’ll worry about you two.”
“Grandma, we’ll be fine, I promise.
“What if I could find someone to drive back with you? Someone to help you pack the trailer. You can’t do all of it on your own with a baby.”
“I guess you’re right. I guess that would be okay. I really hate depending on people. I’ve done all this on my own. It’s hard to let people help.”
“I get it, but how are you going to do everything looking after a baby?”
“Leave it to you to be the voice of reason.” I chuckle.
“Ugh, I hate to leave so soon but we have to get back to Boston, I have to go back to work in three days. I have a flight booked to leave the day after tomorrow.”
“I know you do, sweet girl. Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine, and I’ll have you back before we know it. Until then, I talked to Angie already and she agreed to watch Callie tomorrow so we can go to another game before you head back.”
“Sounds great. I can’t wait to go to more games with you. I might have to hire Angie permanently once I move here and if I get a job with the Notes. We’ll have to see what happens. Do you mind keeping an eye on Callie while I go make a few calls? I need to start the ball rolling and call my boss to let him know I won’t be renewing my contract. I also have to see about setting up an appointment with a realtor to get the condo on the market when I get home.”
“Sure, you go make your calls and we’ll be in the living room.”
I get up and kiss Grandma on the cheek and then Callie before going back to my room to make my calls. My boss, the head trainer, was sad to hear I wouldn’t be renewing my contract but understood. He did however confirm when I’ll need to be back, because the team moved onto the American league championship and he needs me. After confirming I’ll be there for the rest of the games in the season, we hung up. Next on the agenda was to find a real estate agent so I can get the condo sold. I call my nanny back in Boston to see if she has any ideas and to also let her know we will be moving. I hate to let her go we’ve become friends over the past months but, I won’t be needing her anymore.
I make one more call out of pure curiosity. I start to get nervous as the phone starts ringing to the personal number of the Notes owner Jason Talbot.
After four rings he answers, “Hello, Jason Talbot here.”
“Hi Mr. Talbot, This is Mandy Hutton. We spoke last night at the game and you gave me your card.”
“Hey Mandy, please call me Jason. Remember, we are all one big hockey family.”
“I appreciate that Jason. I was wondering if you meant what you said about a job with the organization.”
“Of course, I did. Mandy you’ve been around this team your whole life. I know you’d fit in and I also know how hard of a time you’ve had in Boston. Jerry talked to me about you all the time. He was worried about you. I know it’s hard to be a female and get a good job and be respected for what you do in basically a man’s world, meaning the locke
r room. I also know you would do amazing here. I’d love to have you here. What are your plans for moving here?”
“Once the baseball season is over, I’m moving back. I’m already setting things up and I have an appointment when I get back to get the ball rolling on selling the condo I have in Boston. I hope to be back here no more than a month from now.”
“So, right before the holidays. Perfect. Come to the office January second and we’ll get you a contract all set up and get you working with our head trainer. What is your main domain?”
“I mainly specialize in rehab and reconditioning. I can also do immediate care and treatment. In Boston, I was mainly the girl who gave the massages and stretching before and after games. They kept me behind the scenes.”
“That’s what I figured. Don’t be surprised if we have you doing the same thing for a little while, but I want you out on the bench with the other trainers, you are a part of this team no matter what. Next season we’ll be able to integrate you into a more medical aspect as the head trainer’s assistant. I want this opportunity to mean something, and if the boys get an education on how to treat a lady in the process, that would be great too.” He chuckles on his end of the phone.
“Jason, I can’t even put into words how excited and grateful I am. I’ll be in your office on January second ready to go. Thank you so much.”
“Your welcome Mandy. I’ll look forward to seeing you soon. Have a safe trip back and don’t hesitate to let me know if you need any help moving.”
“Thank you I will.”
I hang up the phone with him and sit on the edge of my bed in shock. I can’t believe I already have a new job in the place that fits me best. Once the shock wears off, I go down to the living room where I find grandma and Callie sitting on the floor together playing.
“Hey you two. Having fun without me?” I jest.
“Hi sweet girl, how did your calls go?”
“Well actually. I was sad to have to tell my nanny I’m moving here. She’s pretty much the one and only friend I have in Boston. I quit my job, and as soon as the season is over, I’m done. Then I called Jason. I needed to know if he was just being kind to me or if he was serious about me working with the team. He was dead serious. I have an appointment January second in his office to sign my contract with the team.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am. I’m still in shock. I can’t believe how generous and kind he is. I get to be out at the bench during games and then next season he wants me to be the assistant to the head trainer. This is such a big deal for me. I’ve been kept in the shadows, so no one knew they had a girl on the training staff. I’ll get to be more than a masseuse and rehab. I’m so excited and happy.”
Leaving Callie sitting on the floor at our feet she hugs me in the tightest hug I have ever felt. “Congratulations Mandy, I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you, Grandma.” I lean down to pick Callie up and give her a hug. “Callie we are going to have the best life here. I can’t wait.”
The next night, Grandma and I set out to another game. I talked to Angie before we left about becoming Callie’s nanny once we move and settle in here, and she was excited for the opportunity. Especially since I told her I would want her to travel with us when I travel with the team. She’s going to talk to her husband about it when she gets home.
Grandma and I were on our own for transportation tonight but that’s fine since we have a parking pass to the garage next to the arena. We arrive in time to watch the boys warm up before puck drop. I’m standing at my seat watching everyone come out of the tunnel. Some go for a puck and start working on some drills and some go down on the ice to stretch. Right in front of me I notice number thirty-nine clad in goalie gear stretching like he has never stretched before then getting on his knees and wiggling his ass side to side. I don’t know how he can do that with all those pads on but I’m not complaining one bit. However, I am kicking myself in the ass for even giving a goalie any attention, let alone a player on a hockey team, one for which I’ll be working with. Before he notices me watching, I turn and talk to Grandma, mainly to distract myself from what literally stands in front of me because he is now standing right in front of us, waiting for his turn in the net. He let his replacement warm up first while he stretched. Grandma wasn’t a distraction enough because he turns his head my way and catches me watching, gives me that same smirk from the other night and skates off before I can even react.
“What was that about?” Grandma asks me when she sees me frustrated.
“What part? The part where for some damn reason I’m attracted to that playboy of a goalie, or the fact he is a goalie, and I swore them off years ago. Hell, I don’t know, it could be he saw he had an effect on me before he skated off. Ugh,” I spit out before taking my seat in a huff.
Grandma looks down at me and starts to chuckle. “Sweet girl, I think it’s in your blood to like a goalie. Grandpa was a goalie before he was a coach, then your dad was a goalie. Now it’s your turn it seems to fall for the goalie. Maybe it will end with you, and Callie won’t get the goalie bug?” She shrugs her shoulders and takes the seat next to me. I say nothing the rest of warmups.
Once the puck is dropped, I’m all into the game and nothing else can distract me, though when the puck is down by our net I might stop and watch number thirty-nine do his job a bit more than the rest of the team in those moments.
The game ends after sixty minutes with another win and only one goal made it past thirty-nine. After the team congratulates each other, he makes his way to the glass in front of me and bangs on it twice. Looking up, I see a gorgeous smirk in front of me but before I can react, he skates away to join his team at center ice, raising their sticks to the fans.
Lord have mercy, this guy is going to be the death of me. I wish I knew why he is so interested in me of all people. Grandma is standing next to me with a knowing smirk on her face. She isn’t helping this situation any. I say nothing as we gather our things and make our way out of the arena. Inside, I’m questioning my sanity because I liked the attention. This is what got me into trouble the first time around, so I shake any thoughts of this guy away and concentrate on the next few weeks. Tomorrow will be a long day traveling back to Boston with a lot of work to follow, but I’m ready for my new adventure after the series is over and my contract is done. I’ll leave Boston in the past and look toward my future in Nashville.
6
Parker
I’m sitting in my stall in the locker room getting my last pad attached when Cam comes over to me.
“You good today?”
“I’m straight man, my only thoughts today are on the game.”
“Good, now let’s get out there and put some work in,” followed by a fist bump.
I grab my stick and we both walk down the tunnel to the ice, my home away from home, where I feel most comfortable. Skates on, pads in place, and a net behind me.
Morning skate goes well, I felt refreshed and ready to play, pushing all thoughts of that girl out of my head and only thinking about the game. Coach doesn’t keep us more than an hour on the ice, but a media circus is waiting for us, so it takes another hour to get out of the building. Before I go back to the condo for my pregame nap, I grab some lunch full of carbs. Lying in bed trying to fall asleep my thoughts again drift, to the beautiful woman who won’t leave my thoughts alone. God the things I’d do to her if I had her in my bed right now. I try and forget about her, and the things I’d like to do because she’s Hutton’s granddaughter, and a part of this team family. Slowly my eyes close and I drift off to sleep.
A few hours later I wake with a raging hard on and brief snippets of a dream I was having during my nap. Visions of Mandy sucking my cock like it was her last meal, then her riding my cock leaning back with pure pleasure on her face as her hair cascades down her back. Damn, remembering my dream isn’t doing me any favors. I get up and take a cold shower, then grab a snack before dressing in my game suit for the night and
making my way to the rink, still with her in my head. Once I hit the players’ entrance, I clear my head of her and focus on the game. What the hell am I going to do if she’s there tonight? Focus on the game.
The locker-room starts to fill with my teammates. Cam, Seb, and Ski come over all with a questioning look on their faces. They see the distraction I can’t get rid of completely.
“Hey man, you doing okay?” Seb is the first to ask.
“Yeah you look like something is bothering you,” Ski is next to comment.
Cam is next up, greets me with a fist bump then straight out calls me out, “Some girl got in his head. Marsh, you need to squash it and focus on the game. We need you in that net tonight, focused on the job at hand.”
“Yeah, I know, asshole. You think I like this shit? One fuckin look at her and she has me twisted in knots. I got this shit though. Nothing is going to fuck with me while I’m on the ice.”
Cam looks at me like he doesn’t believe me, “You sure about that? What if she’s here tonight? What are you going to do then?”
“Block that shit out is what I’m going to do. Protect the net, do my job.”
“Yeah well, I had a meeting earlier with Jason, you know our team owner. Looks like we’re going to get a new trainer after the holidays, and you will never guess who it is.”
“Please don’t tell me it’s who I think it is.”
“It’s exactly who you think it is. Mandy. She’s been working on the training staff for the MLB team in Boston and after their season she’s moving home. Jason offered a training job with the team. He wanted to talk to me so I can make sure the guys stay in line. She’s going to be around the locker room a lot, doing our after-game care and massages. He wants her in the bench area too. It’s my job as captain to keep you assholes in check and respecting her.”
“Fuck.” It’s all I got. I’m fucked, how can I get her out of my head when she’s going to be around me all the damn time, have her hands on me for treatment, she’s going to fuck my shit up.
Breakthrough Page 3
