The Tao of Hockey (Vancouver Vice #1)

by Melanie Ting

  “So, if you’re coming back, that means you liked the hockey game, right?”

  “Meh.”

  “A meh from you equals five gold stars from anyone else.”

  We got her bicycle from where it was chained up and put it in the back of the truck. Once we got in the cab, I turned to face her and held both her hands.

  “Okay. Tell me what you thought of the game.”

  Josie’s eyes widened, and she actually hesitated before blurting out her opinion. She was definitely getting sweeter these days.

  “You guys sucked.”

  Well, maybe not that sweet.

  “I’m sure that’s not news to you. But watching the other team, I think you need to move the puck around between each other more.”

  “It’s called passing, and yeah, you’re right.”

  Great, someone who had never watched hockey before was able to identify that we needed more teamwork.

  Josie squeezed my hands. “But, Eric, you were the best player out there. I love the way you skate. You’re so smooth and fast. You’re flying—just like a butterfly!”

  She was sweet. I kissed her. I ran my fingers through her short hair, and she leaned into my touch.

  “It may be time to quest for a new spirit animal,” I said.

  “Why? I like that my spirit animal can eat yours as an appetizer.”

  “A butterfly symbolizes movement and change. I’m becoming more settled.” With hockey, trades meant that there could be change at any time. But whatever happened, Josie and I would find a way to be together, and that grounding made me comfortable.

  “Well, if you get something bigger, I want something even bigger than that.”

  I laughed and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you for coming to my game. I hope you’ll come to some more.”

  “Maybe next time, I can come to a game against a bad team and you’ll win.”

  “We are the worst team in the league.” I didn’t talk hockey much at home. It was better for me to have a place to get away from the rink.

  “Oh.” Josie cleared her throat and changed the subject. “You didn’t even notice that I dressed up for the game.”

  “Really?” I looked over. She was wearing her usual uniform of leather jacket, faded jeans, and tiny t-shirt. Today’s accessories were those boots and a low-slung belt that looked like a medieval weapon of torture. When I looked closer I noticed that her t-shirt had a Vancouver Vice logo on it. It was really worn out and looked like it had been sized for a five year-old. The logo was our old one, a rip-off of the Miami Vice logo that looked a lot less lame across Josie’s chest. I reached out and ran my fingers over the logo and felt her nipples rising to meet my touch. “Looks hot on you.”

  Car headlights swept over the truck, and I stopped feeling her up. No point giving Panner a reason to insert a morals clause again. I liked fucking Josie everywhere, but not in public. I was beyond the days of post-game blow jobs. I started up the truck.

  “How did you get that old t-shirt anyway?”

  “The fact that you’re the worst team explains why there are so many Vancouver Vice t-shirts in Value Village.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “Does it suck to lose all the time?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Winning feels good. Not only the points, but the room feels good afterwards—like you’ve done something together. That’s what can bring even a dysfunctional team together. Whereas our team is splitting further into cliques because all we get is negativity. And that doesn’t lead to better teamwork.”

  “So, a vicious cycle.”

  “Yeah. It’s tough to break.”

  I had ideas on how to break it, but they were never going to happen under Panner. He had never forgiven me for forcing him to take me back on the team. He felt I had humiliated and undermined him, and he had tried to get back at me in a hundred ways. I’d been healthy-scratched, demoted to the fourth line, played out of position, blamed, and constantly harangued.

  But what he didn’t realize was that this treatment was exactly what I wanted. The Vice were the perfect team for me. We were going to go through a ton of pressure, with none of the highs of success. There was going to be temptation to drink with the guys, most of whom were major partiers. I figured that if I could make it through a season here, I would be genuinely healed and ready for the next step. Besides, I was already the leading scorer on the team even after all of Panner’s antics.

  And there were a lot of advantages to living in Vancouver. The city was beautiful and exciting. And it wasn’t that far from Nelson. My mom and Dino had come out at Thanksgiving and stayed at Joe’s place in his newly reno’d suite. Then all of them, including Margie, had come to my games. My mom loved Josie, but then my mom loved everyone. It didn’t matter though; all that mattered was how Josie and I felt about each other.

  My dad had come to our first games, and he was coming back soon, but he’d be staying in a hotel. And Gary and the boys were coming—as soon as I broke the news to Josie that there’d be guys sleeping all over her sectional. Or maybe it was a better idea to see if Joe’s place was free for a weekend.

  I had mentorship going in Vancouver as well. I could still train with Tony and get his guidance on my playing and my mental game. I was keeping in touch with the other guys from training, and we had plans to see each other when they were in town for games.

  Of course, there was Josie. Beautiful, unpredictable Josie. I reached over and held her hand. I lifted it up to my mouth and kissed it.

  “I love you, babe,” I said.

  “Of course you do,” she replied.

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you for choosing this book. I hope you enjoyed it and will consider posting a review on Amazon. Your reviews help readers discover new authors like me.

  I’d love to stay in touch with you through my newsletter. I offer information about upcoming books as well as free stories. You can sign up here.

  I want to thank the supportive community of writers and readers who help me create every book. For Tao, the lovely Kate Willoughby and Jaymee Jacobs both beta-read this novel and listened to me brag or whine—depending on my mood swings. They also write wonderful hockey romances that you should check out.

  To make my books as realistic as possible, I need all the help I can. Thanks to Jamie Plume, who read over the medical sections of the book for me. Any medical errors are my fault and not hers! And thanks to Daisy M., who became a lawyer just in time to read over the legal bits and tell me What Would Richard Do.

  About the Author

  When not assuming Cat Pose with actual cats underneath her, Melanie Ting is watching hockey in beautiful Vancouver, B.C. She began writing hockey romances during the 2010 Olympics, inspired by both the extraordinary athleticism and the crazy party atmosphere. Her aspirations include winning the Stanley Cup of hockey romance writing, finding the perfect little black dress, and world domination.

  Keep in touch with Melanie:

  @MelTing21

  melanie.ting.31

  www.melanieting.blogspot.com

  melanieting21@gmail.com

  Also by Melanie Ting

  Coming in Spring 2016, the next book in the Vancouver Vice series!

  An Irresistible Force

  It’s no surprise that Amanda Richardson despises Chris Luczak at first sight. She’s a driven businesswoman and he’s a lazy ex-NHL player and playboy. They’ve been thrown together in a mission to save the Vancouver Vice. But the more they clash, the more complicated everything gets—including their feelings for each other.

  How The Cookie Crumbles

  She’s champagne and cupcakes. He’s beer and burgers.

  Frankie Taylor has a perfectly organized life—including a checklist for her ideal man. When her dream boyfriend is dumps her, she impulsively flees across the country. She lands in a small town where her only romantic prospect is unshaven, unsophisticated, and definitely not her type.

  Jake Cookson lik
es living large. After the grind of playing hockey eight months of the year, he wants to party in the off-season. And he’s more than willing to have a summer fling with the curvy brunette who’s new in town. To his surprise, she’s unimpressed by his NHL fame, money, and athletic prowess.

  Can Frankie throw away her plans for the future and appreciate what’s in front of her now? And can Jake even pronounce the word relationship?

  Hockey is My Boyfriend is a trilogy that follows the adventures of the hockey-obsessed Kelly Tanaka as she stickhandles her way through life and love.

  Hockey Is My Boyfriend, Part One is a funny and passionate journey into first love. Kelly dreams of playing hockey for a top university team and even winning a scholarship. To achieve that, she’ll need to focus hard and switch to a new competitive team.

  Phil Davidson has been Kelly’s best friend since they laced up skates together as kids. And now their last year of high school means his last chance to make her see him as more than just a friend.

  Part Two picks up Kelly’s life at university. When it comes to hockey, there is no physical challenge she won't take on. But when it comes to love, she's running scared. Luckily for her, a job at a summer hockey camp is the last place she would expect to meet Mr. Right.

  James Frechette is a top NHL prospect who is completely confident about his hockey abilities—but when it comes to women, he's wiping out. And now he’s fallen for the only girl at his hockey camp—but so has every other instructor. Can he overcome his awkwardness and convince Kelly to take a chance on him?

  It’s crunch time for Kelly Tanaka. Now that she’s graduated, all she wants is a career that’s related to hockey. But before she can climb the first rung of the corporate ladder, her love life explodes.

  James Frechette is playing in the NHL now. He has it all, but what he really wants is the one woman who got away. Phil Davidson has graduated and moved back to Vancouver, and he’s ready to settle down with the woman he’s loved forever. She’s only loved two guys in her life, and now they’re asking her to choose.

  The only guarantee in Part Three is a happy ending.