"AJ, why do you keep bothering me?"
"Because I'm really into rejection."
He almost smiled at her sassy reply, at the way her chin tilted up a notch as she said it. Almost. He was too tired to be that amused, and afraid that any positive reaction would only encourage her more. Instead he rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Forget it AJ. The answer is no. You might as well just accept it and move on. It's not going to happen."
"What about a deal?"
"No deals."
"A bet, then?"
Alec chuckled to himself. AJ sounded almost desperate. He shook his head. "No bets."
"Alright then, how about a dare?"
That one almost got him. Or maybe it was the sly look in AJ's eyes. A dare? Did she really think he would agree to a childish dare? He was half-tempted to say yes, just to see what reaction he'd get. In fact, he actually opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by an even more annoying presence that appeared from nowhere.
"Kolchak, Gerry Brown, we met the other night. Great practice out there."
Alec turned to face the intruder as one thought came to mind.
"What a moron."
Alec froze, wondering if he had said it out loud, then realized the phrase had been muttered by AJ. Gerry Brown either didn't hear her, or chose to ignore her, because he continued to stare up at Alec with a gleam in his eyes.
"No. No interviews. I thought this was a closed practice anyway." Alec looked around, his humor taking a turn for the worse, and felt a brief sense of relief when he saw Nathan walking toward them. "Nathan, wasn't this a closed practice?"
Nathan shrugged, obviously not aware of what was going on. Alec turned back, his expression as cool as he could make it without actually scowling. "No interviews. I was just telling your associate here—"
"Oh, rest assured Alec that we're not associates." Gerry straightened to his fully inadequate height and nodded, a flat smile on his pale face. "I'm a professional, not some wannabe bimbo who isn't smart enough to know her own place."
The callous words echoed then died away in the absolute silence that suddenly surrounded them. Alec couldn't believe his own ears, and if it hadn't been for the reactions around him, he would have sworn he had imagined the words.
A couple of the players gathered nearby edged closer, their postures erect and stiff. Even Nathan looked defensive. But the reaction that stood out the most was AJ's.
It was the exact opposite of what Alec would expect from her. Instead of standing tall and looking eager to take the guy on, her entire posture was defeated. Her shoulders slumped and her head hung low, as if she had been beaten terribly in some major game. Alec couldn't see much of her face because it was covered by her hair, but what he could see was red and blotchy. Quickly he looked away, not wanting to see if there were tears in her eyes, not caring for the protective feeling that rippled through him at the thought.
But Gerry Brown stood there as if nothing had happened, as if his words had gone unnoticed. Or worse, as if they were acceptable and he expected everyone to agree with him. Anger swept through Alec, cold and quick, and he opened his mouth to speak. Nathan's hand clamped down on his shoulder with enough force to stop him.
"Actually Alec, Mr. Brown's viewpoint aside, I think any sports writer should at least have some knowledge and enjoyment of the game, don't you?"
Alec stared at Nathan as if he had lost his mind. Maybe he had, because his words had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation.
"You see, AJ and I were talking, and she had a little proposition for you."
"I don't think—"
Gerry Brown interrupted AJ with a snort of laughter. "A proposition. Of course she did."
"Actually Mr. Brown, it was a very interesting proposal. Maybe you'd be willing to do the same."
AJ was now squirming and shaking her head, visibly uncomfortable at whatever Nathan was about to say. The fact that she seemed suddenly unable to talk peaked Alec's interest, because he had never seen her speechless. He motioned for Nathan to continue. "What kind of proposal?"
"A little one-on-one. Or maybe one-or-two, if Mr. Brown is interested."
Alec raised his brow, confused. He wasn't quite sure where Nathan was leading him, and he didn't know if he wanted to find out. "One-on-one?"
"Not one-on-one." AJ finally spoke up, her voice still more subdued than Alec was used to. She faced him again, some of her stubbornness coming back as he watched. "A shoot-out."
"What?" It wasn't what Alec expected to hear. "You want a shoot-out?"
"Well, yeah. Kinda."
"You're kidding."
"No, I'm not kidding. I get five chances. If I can score just once, you agree to let me do a story on you."
"You're kidding." Alec couldn't stop his chuckle, not sure which was funnier: that she thought he'd agree, or that she thought she had a chance. "No way."
"Why not?"
"Because it's ridiculous, that's why."
"Why? Are you afraid I might actually get one across the line?"
AJ stared at him, her hands fisted on her hips, the stubborn gleam back in her eye. Alec felt his eyes drawn to the shirt pulled tight across her chest and he had an irrational urge to shake some sense into her. The urge had nothing to do with what she was proposing, which irritated him even more.
Several of the players watched him, waiting for his answer. Alec glanced around at them then at Nathan, and saw the corner of his mouth twitch in a smile he was obviously trying not to show. He tried to think of a way to say no without looking stupid. He had nothing to worry about—there was no way AJ would be able to get a puck by him.
So what reason could he possibly have to say no?
Alec clenched his jaw and swore to himself.
"Okay, you're on. And I'll do one even better. Five chances to cross the line. Do it just once, and I'm yours for a month, twenty-four/seven. How's that sound?" He readjusted his grip on the goalie stick and lowered his helmet. "Nathan, get them suited up. I don't want them getting hurt."
"What?" AJ's voice was a squeak of disbelief. "You want to do this now?"
He faced her before she could speak again. "Now or never sweetheart. What's it going to be?"
"Uh..." AJ studied him for a few seconds then nodded, her lips pursed in an obvious attempt to stop herself from saying anything else. He smiled at her then faced Gerry Brown.
"And you Mr. Brown...now or never. What's it going to be?"
"I would certainly never—"
"Good, just what I wanted to hear. Somebody get him out of here. And Mr. Brown, I never want to see you again. Is that clear?" Alec didn't even wait to see what the reporter would do, just turned and walked back to the ice.
This whole thing was ridiculous. There was no way AJ would score. But if he had to play this little game to be left in peace, then he would. At least he had managed to get one of them out of his hair. With any luck, the other one would be gone in a matter of minutes as well.
Alec ignored the weird feeling that last thought gave him as his blades hit the ice.
**
"Oh my God, what have I done?" AJ muttered the phrase under her breath for the hundredth time. She wanted to rub her chest but she couldn't reach it under the thick pads now covering her. She wanted to go home and curl up in a dark corner and forget about the whole thing.
Me and my bright ideas.
"Are you going to be okay?"
AJ snapped her head up and looked at Ian. The poor guy had been given the job of helping her get dressed in the pads, and she almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Between her nervousness and the threat of an impending migraine, she was too preoccupied to muster much sympathy for anyone else right now.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She took a deep breath and stood, wobbling for only a second on the skates. This was not how she had imagined the bet going. When she cooked up the stupid idea, she had figured on having a few days to at least practice.
Well, not really. If she was honest wi
th herself, she never even imagined that Alec would agree to it. But if he had, then she would have had a few days to practice.
So much for her imagination.
She took another deep breath then followed Ian from the locker room. It didn't take too long for her gait to even out and she muttered a thankful prayer. She only hoped that she didn't sprawl face-first as soon as she stepped on the ice.
Her right hand clenched around the stick, getting used to the feel of it, getting used to the fit of the bulky glove—which was too big to begin with. This would have been so much easier if all she had to do was put on a pair of skates. She had never considered the possibility of having to put all the gear on, right down to the helmet that was a heavy weight bearing down on her head.
She really needed to do something with her imagination and its lack of thinking things all the way through.
AJ took another deep breath when they finally reached the ice. She reached out to open the door but was stopped by Ian.
"Listen, AJ, I'm not even going to pretend I know what's going on or why you think you can do this, but I'll give you some advice. Shoot fast and low, and aim for the five and two holes—those are Alec's weak spots. The five hole is—"
"Between the legs, I know." AJ winced at the sharpness of her voice. Ian was only trying to help her. He had no reason to realize she knew anything about ice hockey, and not just because she liked to write about it. She offered him a smile to take the bite from her words then slammed the butt of the stick down against the door latch so it would swing open. Two steps later and she was standing on a solid sheet of thick ice.
AJ breathed deeply several times then slowly made her way to the other side of the rink, where Alec was nonchalantly leaning against the top post of the net talking to Nathan. They both watched as she skated up to them and came to a smooth stop. Alec's face was expressionless as he studied her, and she wondered what thoughts were going through his mind. Probably nothing she really wanted to know.
Nathan nodded at her, offering a small smile. She had to give the guy some credit for not laughing in her face when she asked his opinion on her idea. "Well, at least it looks like you've been on skates before. That's a plus."
AJ didn't say anything, just absently nodded in his direction. The carefree attitude she had been aiming for was destroyed by the helmet sliding down over her forehead. She pushed it back on her head then glanced at the five pucks lined neatly on the goal line. All she had to do was get one of them across. Just one.
She didn't have a chance.
She pushed the pessimistic thought to the back of her mind. "So, do I get a chance to warm up or take a practice shot?"
Alec sized her up then briskly shook his head. "No."
AJ swallowed and glanced at the pucks, then back at Alec. "Alrighty then. A man of few words. That's what I like about you, Kolchak." AJ though he might have cracked a smile behind his mask but she couldn't be sure. She sighed and leaned on her stick, trying to look casual and hoping it didn't slip out from under her and send her sprawling. "So, what are the rules?"
"Simple. You get five chances to shoot. If you score, you win. If you don't, I win." Alec swept the pucks to the side with the blade of his stick so Nathan could pick them up. She followed the moves with her eyes and tried to ignore the pounding in her chest.
She had so much riding on this. Something told her that Alec was dead serious about being left alone if she lost. It had been a stupid idea, and she wondered if she would have had better luck at trying to wear him down the old-fashioned way.
She studied his posture and decided probably not. He had been mostly patient with her up to this point, but even she knew he would have reached his limit soon.
"All or nothing, then. Fair enough. So, are you ready?"
AJ didn't hear his response but thought it was probably something sarcastic. She sighed then turned to follow Nathan to the center line, her heart beating too fast as her feet glided across the ice. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to readjust the bulk of the pads, and watched as Nathan lined the pucks up.
He finished then straightened and faced her, an unreadable expression on his face. He finally grinned and shook his head.
"I have no idea if you know what you're doing or not, but good luck. You're going to need it."
"Gee, thanks."
Nathan walked across the ice to the bench and leaned against the outer boards, joining a few of the other players gathered there. AJ wished they were gone, that they had something better to do than stand around and watch her make a fool of herself.
Well, she had brought it on herself.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, pushing everything from her mind except what she was about to do. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was on the first puck. Heavy, solid...nothing more than a slab of black rubber...
Okay, so she wasn't going to have any luck becoming one with the puck. Stupid idea. AJ had never understood that whole Zen thing anyway.
She swallowed and began skating in small circles, testing her ankles as she turned first one way then another, testing the stick as she swept it back and forth across the ice in front of her. Not too bad. Maybe she hadn't forgotten—
"Sometime today would be nice!"
AJ winced at the sarcasm in Alec's voice, and wished she had some kind of comeback for him. Instead she mumbled to herself and got into position behind the first puck. She didn't even look up to see if he was ready. Didn't ask if it was okay to start, she just pushed off hard and skated, the stick out in front of her.
This was her one shot, she couldn't blow it.
FOUR
AJ surprised herself with how quickly she gathered speed. The net loomed ahead of her, getting closer as she skated. Her mind focused on the net, on the puck cradled against her stick as she moved forward...
And on Alec standing oh-so-casually between the pipes, acting as if she was no threat at all. The jerk.
She took a deep breath and crouched lower, then pulled back on the stick and shot forward with it in one quick move to send the puck flying...
Too wide, it hit the outside of the net and harmlessly bounced off, sliding to the edge of the boards.
"That was one." Alec's voice sounded bored, but AJ was gratified to see that at least he was paying a little more attention. She had pulled back and shot too soon, irritated at his stance. Maybe she didn't really have a chance, but she wasn't completely hopeless, either.
AJ returned to center ice and puck number two, shooting a little better this time and actually hitting the post. The third time was even more gratifying because Alec had to reach out and stop the puck, neatly pulling it into his glove and cradling it against his chest. She skated around the back of the net and could have sworn she glimpsed an expression of surprise on his face as she went by him.
AJ had to aim lower, go for the five hole like Ian had suggested. But she wasn't sure she could control her shot that well. Her last three passes had succeeded in bringing her comfort level back up, but it had literally been years since she played hockey with her brother.
Never that great to begin with, she was pretty sure she didn't have the skill necessary now. Her legs had turned into rubber, her breath was coming in short gasps, and her body was covered in sweat. A dull throb was building at the base of her skull, and she was very much afraid that it wasn't from the helmet. Now would be the worst time for one of her migraines to strike.
Two more shots, that was all she had. All or nothing, AJ knew it came down to this.
Just two more shots.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then skated up to the fourth puck and took off. No more straight shots, they were too easy for Alec. Instead she skated back and forth, cutting side to side, hoping she could at least catch him off guard enough to...
One last deep breath and she lunged forward with her stick, hitting the puck with all the strength she could muster to send it flying. She lost her balance at the last minute and fell with a jaw-snapp
ing thud, sliding toward the net on her back at break-neck speed.
For as fast as she was going, everything else moved in slow motion. AJ's eyes followed the puck as it flew through the air, straight toward the back of the net. Alec's catching hand reached out for it, barely tipping the edge of the puck as it sped past him, his eyes focused more on her. She kept sliding toward him, unable to stop and not really caring as the puck hit the back of the net with a soft whoosh.
AJ would have jumped for joy if she hadn't still been sliding. The puck made it past Alec! She won!
Her enjoyment only lasted a brief second before she careened into Alec's legs, sending him tumbling across her lower body as they both crashed into the net. A flash of pain throbbed through AJ's back and shoulder as she slammed against the outside post but she ignored it.
"Yes! Yes!" Her voice was muffled but she didn't care—she wasn't yelling for anyone else but herself.
"Holy shit, are you okay? AJ? Are you hurt?" Alec clambered from on top of her, sliding toward her head on his knees. His helmet and gloves were gone and his brown eyes were wide with concern. AJ waved off his worry, still flat on her back, and lifted her stick in a little victory shake.
"I did it! I actually did it!"
"Never mind that, are you hurt?"
More voices surrounded her, the words jumbled so she could only make out a few here and there. AJ started to push herself up then winced slightly at the pain in her left arm and fell back to the ice. Instantly Alec was beside her again, his strong arms coming around her as he helped her stand, then steadying her as she wobbled slightly on the skates.
Her breath caught in her throat at the look in his eyes and she quickly stepped backward, almost sending them both back down to the ice. His hold tightened around her and for that quick moment, it was just the two of them on the ice by themselves.
AJ swallowed then allowed herself a quick smile, not knowing exactly what the look on Alec's face meant. There was a very real possibility that he wouldn't be pleased with the fact that she had actually managed to score. And she knew he couldn't be pleased with the prospect of having to give her an interview.
Crossing the Line (The Baltimore Banners Book 1) Page 3
