“Anyway,” he went on. “He’s going to get your car. It’ll probably be early afternoon after our practice.”
I reached over and ruffled his hair. “Making the rookies do your bidding, huh? Some captain you are.”
He finally softened with a smile. “Gotta earn their stripes somehow. May as well make them work for it. They’d prefer this over running the arena steps.”
“Alright, well. Thanks again. Have a good day.”
“You too.”
I shouldn’t have looked back. I knew it was a bad idea. But when I hit the doors and tapped my badge to get in, I looked over my shoulder.
And there was Colton, looking like the puppy I left behind in the pet shop window.
SIXTEEN
COLTON
OCTOBER | COLUMBUS, OHIO
“Everything alright last night?You took off fast.”
Sorrento sat in the locker across from mine, lacing up his skates and slamming his heel back to get the perfect fit. Every guy has their routine, the rhythm of how they lace up. Mine has more of a wiggle to it. And I have a special routine to fit the ribbon in there. I’m so careful not to bust the damn thing after all this time.
“Yeah, it’s all fine. Old friend needed help.”
“Old friend who you called baby?” Sorrento lifted a brow at me.
“What’s this? Cap finally found somebody?” our goalie, Royce, chimed in.
Sebastian Lindberg, the other half of my defensive pair, had to have his moment to shit on Royce. “Finally? Like you’re so successful, Royce.”
“I have discerning tastes,” Royce snapped, giving Lindberg a pointed look.
“Don’t look at me! I’m married!” Lindberg put his hands up.
“Swear to god, we can never have a normal conversation in this place,” Leroy grumbled.
He wasn’t wrong and it would have been worse if it wasn’t the morning skate before a preseason game with a high volume of rookies trying to prove themselves. They usually knew when to let the adults do the talking.
“Her name’s Violet,” the rookie we were definitely keeping, Owen, said. “She’s a scientist. I saw her lab. It was pretty cool.”
So much for letting the adults do the talking. I rounded my eyes at Owen and sighed.
“Wait, where do I know that name from?” Sorrento asked. “The girl you were with at Stelle’s wedding?”
Leroy straightened, flipping his stick to tape the blade. “Yeah. The long dark hair? Kitty’s bridesmaid?”
“How the hell do you remember that?” I asked.
Leroy shrugged. “I was alone at that wedding. I sat watching the dance floor a lot. You two seemed close. She’s pretty. You looked happy.”
“I wanna see,” Royce whined. “I wasn’t at that wedding. I didn’t get invited.”
“Because you don’t know Stelle,” Leroy said with a slap to the back of Royce’s head.
“But it was Hollywood royalty. And I’m a personality hire. I should get an auto-invite to every league wedding,” Royce said. “Come on. Show me a pic!”
I got my phone out of my locker and pulled up Violet’s contact picture, showing Royce the screen.
