Page 4 of Hockey Player Seeking Fan

“Sounds good. Be great to hang out with you off the ice, Tyler. Maybe you can give me some tips. You know, I would love to have a career like yours.”

“Yeah, maybe.” I nod and then head to the showers, dropping my duffel bag on the ground before peeling off my top andshorts. It’s been a long day. We were practicing for a while, and my muscles are sore.

I step into the shower gratefully and allow the hot water to caress my back before grabbing the soap and rubbing it against my skin. I’ve been thinking a lot about my career recently: how much longer I think I want to stay in hockey and what my next goal is. I know I can always retire at any time. My last two contracts have seen to that. I have well over thirty million dollars in the bank, and not even my mom and sisters needed that amount to live, especially not in Iowa.

Even though my youngest sister, Brittany, wants to move to New York City, which I’m not really excited about. I don’t want her here, meeting up with jackass men like Elliott, who are looking to take advantage of her. She is too sweet and innocent for city life. But I’m not sure if I’ll be able to dissuade her for much longer.

I hear some of the guys walking into the shower and laughing about something. I smile as they rib each other and talk about our next game. Even though I’m not as in love with the game as I used to be, I do like being on a team. I like feeling like I’m part of something bigger than me. We have a shared goal. We want to become the number one hockey team in the NHL. And this season, we have a good shot, if we can all remain focused.

I sigh as I shampoo my hair and then grab my towel. I rub my face dry and grab my phone to see if I have any other missed calls or texts. I notice I have three from Melissa, a girl I’d gone on a couple of dates with, but wasn’t really feeling it. I have another missed call from my buddy, Jason, who I went to high school with, who was hoping for me to fund another new business idea that he had. I see I have another missed call from Selena, a sweet girl I’d met just the week before at a museum and spent an hour talking about the artist Edward Hopper with. I tell myself that I’m gonna give Selena a call, maybe take her out on a date.

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten laid, and she seemed sweet, though I tried not to date sweet. Sweet meant feelings got involved, sweet meant tears, sweet meant her wanting promises for a future I was not willing to give. Maybe I wouldn’t call Selena after all.

My phone rings as I step back into the locker room. It’s my buddy Wes. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Hey, where are you?”

“I’m at the gym, but I am just about to put on my clothes and head out. Did you figure out where you wanted to meet tonight?”

“Not yet. But would you mind terribly if?—”

“Let me guess, you want to know if Sabrina can join us?” Sabrina is his new love, and while she’s beautiful and sweet, I’m still shocked he has finally settled down.

“Do you mind?”

“Nah, that’s cool.”

“I think my sister might be joining, as well.”

“Your sister?” I burst out laughing then, as I knew she hated me. I’d accidentally thrown a drink on her a couple of weeks ago, and she still hated me for it. His sister, Erica, was pretty—really pretty. But as one of my best friend’s sisters, I knew she was off-limits. “Does she know I’m coming?”

“I don’t know if she knows that you’re coming,” Wes says with a tone of amusement. “But you and I already had plans, then Sabrina wanted Erica and me to hang out, as well, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone.”

“That’s fine. Is Miles still coming?”

“Yeah, he’s going to meet us there.”

“Do you mind if my buddy Elliott comes? He is new to the team, new to New York, and trying to figure out the town and his life,” I add as an aside.

“Not a problem. Want to meet at Bumblebee in forty-five minutes?”

“Sounds good. “Do you know if they have food? I’m actually quite hungry, as well. I think I want to get a bite.”

“Yup, they have bar food. I mean, we can go to dinner somewhere else if you want.”

“Nah, it’s okay. Bar food works. I will see you there.”

“See you there.”

I open my locker and start pulling on my clothes. Elliott saunters down and stands next to me, staring at me with a goofy-ass grin on his face. I don’t say anything.

“Fuck yeah,” he says finally, grinning. I can tell he’s dying to share his news with me.

“What’s going on?”

“So, I just texted that chick I was telling you about.”

“Uh-huh.”