by Kat Obie
They were out of pucks, which was a good thing if he didn’t want to risk a new injury. Besides, she wasn’t in her funk anymore; he had done his duty for Scotty and also learned a ton about Jenna. As he went toward the net to retrieve the pucks, he looked up and said, “Come on, Al, don’t be mad.”
She huffed. “I’m not. Just don’t ever tell me that Jenna is your little sex kitten.”
“Deal.” But wanting to niggle her a little more and see what Alice would say, he asked, “What if I tell Scotty?”
What Corey didn’t realize was that she was close to a puck and she fired it his way. Thankfully it just caught the boot of his skate. It hurt, but he knew it wouldn’t do any damage. “Damn, Alice. Be careful. I’m supposed to play soon.”
She shot him a dirty look but then smiled as she said, “What? It slipped.”
They both knew full well that the puck didn’t slip. Her shot was improving the entire day and she had aimed the puck at him. He knew he might have crossed the line by bringing Scotty into it so he was going to let her get away with it. “Come on, let’s order a pizza.”
9
Jenna
She had mixed feelings about coming to Cleveland after learning that Corey was hurt. While she didn’t need to see him play hockey, she just didn’t want to hinder his healing. She knew that concussions sucked big-time and he was still suffering a ton of symptoms. He seemed so cold and out of it on their calls lately, so she canceled only one of her scheduled trips.
They decided that Alice would pick her up at the airport. That way he could rest a little more and not have anything to worry about it. Plus it was always nice to catch up with Alice. It seemed like her relationship was moving at the speed of light and she was half expecting Alice to tell her that they were going to get engaged or pregnant at any given point.
It was easy to spot her friend. They immediately greeted each other and Alice handed her a cup of tea. “I figured you might need some caffeine with everything today.”
“Ah, thanks. So tell me, how are things are going?”
“You know, it’s the same old, same old. With the court date starting to come up, all that shit is front and center but thankfully Scotty’s been a rock for me. So how’s things with you and Corey?”
“He doesn’t seem like himself. He says the concussion is pretty much gone and I just feel bad for him.”
“I know you know this, but don’t pity him. Just try to keep things light and give him support but also an escape.”
“Yeah.” She took a sip of the hot tea. “I know. I’ve avoided the pity thing so far. Come on, take me over to his place.”
“Wait, you aren’t even going to give me a lunch before you go get your sex on with your boyfriend?”
“I’m good with getting some lunch. But can you blame me for wanting to spend as much time with him as possible? Besides, I know you are just as guilty of wanting your time with Scotty if he’s around.”
“Touché. Get in the car.”
They then headed over to a little bistro in an area of Cleveland that she didn’t remember from her last visit. She saw that it was called Shaker Square and they sat out on the patio as they caught up. Thankfully, Alice hadn’t done anything crazy and things were relatively normal with her and Scotty. But it was nice to just hang out with her friend.
Then they headed over to Corey’s place. It looked dark, as if no one was actually there. She almost wished that she kept the key that he loaned her on the last visit. She tentatively rang the doorbell. She heard footsteps slam down the stairs. Then the door opened up and she saw her hunk.
He looked like he wanted to eat her alive but he also looked a little unsteady on his feet. He immediately grabbed her into a bone-crushing hug that she came to expect from him. “God, I’ve missed you, beautiful.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
He released her and said, “Come on inside.”
“How are you feeling with everything?” She could see his balance was a little screwed up. But he was pretending that it wasn’t happening. If he wanted to pretend, she wasn’t going to stop him.
“Eh. Still not cleared for much since the headaches keep coming back, but it’s better. Hey, beautiful, do you want to go skating today?”
“Didn’t you just tell me that you weren’t clear for practice? Is skating smart right now?”
He sighed. He didn’t like her trying to protect him. “We aren’t going to do anything crazy. Just follow me.” He led her downstairs to the basement to his personal rink. He then brought out a couple of CCM boxes that she presumed were skates. He grabbed the top pair and said, “I think these are the ones that will fit best. I have backups if they’re not right. But remember you do want them a little tight.”
“Thanks. You didn’t need to do that.” But she was touched that he would go out of his way to get her skates. She was surprised too. She was glad though, since hockey skates were all that’s ever used when she would go to public skates.
He grabbed his backup skates. He stuck his naked foot into the skate and pulled the laces tight before tying them up. He smiled over to her. “You’re welcome. Now how do those feel?”
“Fine. But are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Babe. You were swaying pretty good earlier. Are you sure? I don’t want you to have a setback.”
“Two things, babe, there was a study that said some exercise actually heals concussions faster, and I wasn’t swaying.” He kissed her lips and helped her stand up. “Come on. Don’t tell me that you’re scared.”
She immediately got fired up. “I am not scared.” She headed out onto the little ice surface on her feet. The skates felt stiffer than she was used to, but they fit and weren’t unbearable.
He smiled and got onto the ice. He started to skate backward. She was shocked that he was so much more stable on skates than he was on land. He was taking it easy, which was clear, but he was joyful.
After about ten minutes, her ankles were starting to lock off and his eyes didn’t seem as clear as they were when they first got on the ice. “Would you be okay if we head off?”
“Yeah, no problem. Are your feet okay?”
“Hmm. They could be better.”
“New skates are the worst until you break them in.” He kissed her and headed off the ice. They quietly removed the skates. He immediately put a cloth around the blades of his skates. She smiled when she saw that it was branded for his team. “Shoot. I forgot to get you a pair of soakers. Let me grab a rag so you can wipe off your blades.”
He ducked around the corner and then came back and handed her a rag. She wiped the blades and hoped she was doing it right. “So what do you want me to do with these?”
He grabbed the skates and tied the laces together and then hung them up on a hook on the wall. He did the same thing with his skates. “I hope you don’t mind keeping these here. That way we can skate together anytime you like.”
He touched his head and seemed to be doing some microcircles with his fingers. She knew that he had a headache setting in. “Do you need any medicine?”
He was quick to say, “Nah. It’s fine.”
She didn’t quite believe him. But what could she say? Calling him a liar wasn’t going to help things. So she just hoped that he was going to be okay.
Corey
Seeing Jenna again was the perfect distraction for him. He was starting to feel a bit better, but he was having some issues with his balance so the trainers wouldn’t let him do any sort of skating or heavy exercise. He hated it and while he wouldn’t ever tell Jenna, she was providing him much needed light in his life. Just like he wasn’t going to tell the trainers, he sometimes laced up the skates at his own personal rink. ’Cause if he was being honest with himself, he’d been in a funk without hockey and it was easy to lock himself up in the dark. Sure, Scotty and Petey were constantly checking in on him, but they didn’t excite him the way that Jenna did.
They
were keeping this trip pretty simple. There was a part of him that wanted to sweep her off her feet and lavish her with everything. But he wasn’t feeling great, and he needed to be smart with his money. Thankfully, Jenna didn’t seem to mind. Hell, she didn’t seem to care about his money at all and only cared about him.
She was pretty relaxed with everything. He saw the looks she would give him whenever he would try to massage out the headache that set in when they were skating. He ignored them. He didn’t want her to feel bad for him. He knew just by the looks that she was concerned about him and not trying to smother him.
As it approached dinnertime, he asked, “How does some food sound? I can order a pizza or I can grill steak and veggies.”
“Hmm, I think steak and veggies sound good. Are you sure you’re okay? I can cook dinner if you like.”
“I’m fine.” That came out more as a huff. He didn’t want her to worry about him. It was bothersome, but he was nowhere on the pain scale where he would even think about taking medicine. He was glad he wasn’t nauseous. If he was, he would have taken the Dramamine, but he didn’t want to do anything else.
She came up to him and started to hug him. “Babe, I’ve seen you rub your head all day. Why not take some meds?”
He wasn’t going to confide in her just yet. Not that she wouldn’t understand. It was more that he wanted to minimize the situation. He hated taking painkillers. He knew he was being dumb about the situation. But he was so anti drugs. He was terrified of getting hooked on painkillers. It didn’t matter if he knew that there was no way he could get hooked on Tylenol and Advil. But he heard of other guys getting hooked on opioids.
“I don’t need them.”
“Seriously, babe? You have been rubbing your temples all day. Talk to me about it.”
He really wanted to walk away, but she deserved better. He put his hands on her upper arms and started to rub them slowly as he debated what he was going to say. She was the one person who wouldn’t judge him but it was a stupid fear and you never let your fears to be known.
“I have it under control. Don’t worry.”
“Don’t put yourself through hell. I have Aleve with me. But I’m sure you got your fair share of stuff too. Hockey is brutal on the body.”
He shook his head. He looked deep into her eyes and tried to show her so much endearment and hopefully strength but he was doubtful about that part. “That’s why I don’t want anything. I got the medicine if I wanted it. It’s not that bad. It’s just a damn nuisance but completely tolerable. I don’t need any painkillers right now.”
“Alright, Corey. But if things change, don’t feel like you need to suffer. Got it, boo?”
“Got it.”
10
Corey
Corey was hanging out at home when he got a message from Scotty asking him to bail him out and loan out the rink downstairs tonight. Of course Corey said yes. He wasn’t going to deny Scotty on a good day but tonight he was downright curious as to what was going on.
Corey assumed that Scotty and Alice would be over shortly, but it was taking them a lot longer than he first thought. After like forty-five minutes, he finally heard a car pull up. He opened the door and said, “Hey. I didn’t think you guys were coming.”
Scotty had a guilty look on his face as he shrugged his shoulders and Alice didn’t say much. For a change Alice wasn’t looking upset. If anything she almost looked confused. Scotty rounded the car to pull out two sticks and his skates while Alice pulled out a bag that Corey assumed held her skates.
As they entered the house, Scotty said, “So I want to run some ideas by you before we get going on Alice’s shot practice.”
“What kind of things?” asked Corey.
“Ideas for game three.”
Corey had to laugh. His captain never seemed to take a break. He’s been obsessing about the playoffs lately. But there was something in the tone that had Corey wondering if that was all the captain wanted to talk about.
With Alice being the one person who didn’t work on the ice for a living, she seemed to be the one who wanted to skate the most often. She asked him, “Do you mind if I skate while you guys talk?”
“Nah, as long as you don’t tear up the ice with that damn toe pick of yours.” He loved poking fun at Alice for those skates. Scotty raised an eyebrow, obviously not realizing that they were teasing each other.
Showing her fire and the side of her personality that she shared most, she responded with, “As if you don’t tear up the ice on your own.”
Corey just shook his head. He knew that he wasn’t going to stop her from using her figure skates but it was fun to bust her balls. Alice went downstairs while the two of them stayed upstairs.
Corey turned his head and said, “So what’s going on?”
“Well, I think the two of us are finally ready.”
Corey had to think for a moment and then he realized what Scotty was talking about. It didn’t have anything to do with the playoffs. “Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?”
“About making that girl mine forever? Yup, and I think she might be finally ready.”
“’Kay, but that doesn’t explain why you wanted to come over tonight.”
“Um…” Scotty folded his arms and looked sheepish, a look that Corey had never seen on his friend. “I lost track of time and Alice basically caught me on her computer trying to plan out the best people to invite to the engagement party.”
Corey shook his head. It was so unlike Scotty to lose track of time. “So you needed a distraction and you figured my rink would be a good way to do it. “
“It was that or sex.”
That got Corey laughing. “Wouldn’t that have been easier and more fun?”
Scotty smirked. “Easier, yes. Likely to distract her from her suspicions? Hell no.”
“Are you sure you’re doing it right then?” asked Corey as he cocked an eyebrow. “I know if I’m going down on Jenna, she’s like clay in my hands.”
“Of course I’m doing it right. But Al”—Scotty paused, turned his head to the side and started to smile as if he was thinking about sex with his love—“she’s determined to find out what you’re hiding unless you exhaust her first and then do the takedown. It’s actually one of the things I love about her, she is so smart and determined. Thanks for covering for me.”
“No problem. So besides me covering your ass tonight, what is your master plan?” Corey knew that Scotty would probably have an over-the-top romantic plan.
The grin on Scotty’s face morphed from something lustful to thoughtful. “You know, surprise the hell out of her on the ice. Do it at the practice rink, since we met there. Pass the ring box to her on the ice and hopefully she will pass it back so I can go on bended knee for her. Surprise her with our friends and family watching. Hopefully it will be right after we win the Stanley Cup.”
Corey shook his head. That was a master plan, and it seemed perfect except for one part. He knew he cocked an eyebrow initially when Scotty said that he was hoping she would give the ring back to him. Then it dawned on him. Al hated shooting and carrying the puck; it was only when they made her do it she would actually shoot it if she was in front of the net. “That’s a plan for sure. Does that mean you’ll help to get Jenna out here to watch us lift the Cup, in addition to the proposal?”
“Oh, yeah. Trust me, she was top of the list of people who need to be here for that. But you’re on your own for the game tickets.”
“Fine. Let’s get downstairs. I don’t want your girl ruining the ice before we’ve even had a chance to get out there.”
11
Jenna
Jenna had been looking forward to the engagement party ever since finding out about it. It’s been killing her not to tell Alice that she was coming up for Game 7 of the playoffs. She tried to play it off so that she couldn’t get off of work. It was probably the hardest ever secret to keep from her best friend, but she had a feeling that it would be totally
worth it.
Jenna was walking through the airport and reactivated her phone. She noticed she had missed a few messages from Alice, but she continued to ignore her messages for fear of the secret getting busted. It’s amazing how quickly she learned the airport with no problem, and she was so excited to be picked up by Corey.
As per usual, her young stud was waiting for her at the other side of the gate. He immediately grabbed her into a hug as soon as she was within range. He squeezed her tight and said, “Hey, beautiful.” He was inhaling her scent and trying his best to squeeze the life out of her.
As she struggled to breathe, she got out the phrase, “Down. Please.” She was afraid to look into his emerald eyes that were hooded with lust. But he loosened his hold on her and set her back on the ground.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he said as he intertwined his fingers with hers and raised them to his lips. He gave her a soft kiss before leading the way out of the airport. At this point, he knew she wouldn’t check a bag for such a short trip.
She laughed. “It hasn’t been that long. You got me out here last weekend.”
What she wasn’t telling him was how she felt much the same way. She loved seeing him. It wasn’t just about the best sex in her life, which it was. It was his heart and soul that kept drawing her back. She wished that they didn’t have to go straight to the engagement ceremony, but they didn’t really plan to do anything else. “So are all of Scotty’s plans going well thus far?”
“I think so. I know he hasn’t been too concerned other than he was driving Lager nuts with all the planning and invites. Come on, we gotta get going if we don’t want to miss the surprise.”
It was an easy ride to the rink but a lot longer than Jenna thought it would be. Corey led the way to the rink area. You could tell that this was a second home to him and he knew the various nooks and crannies. He carried her skates and Jenna didn’t think about where his stuff was until he started to duck into a locker room. He kissed her and said, “Get your skates on, I’ll meet you in a few minutes. You can use that locker room.”
