Anna sighed heavily. “Can you shut up for a minute and listen? I need you to pull yourselves together, okay?”
“What do you mean?” Dax asked sanctimoniously.
She gritted her teeth. “When I run into you in the hallway or treat your injuries, you have to act normal! You will not ruffle my hair, you will not call me Annabanana, and above all, you will not give the others a stupid speech about not flirting with me or touching me!”
“No way, absolutely not,” Jack said.
Dax waved his hand dismissively. “C’mon, what do you think we are?”
Chapter Three
Third encounter
“How stable do you think my kitchen table is?”
You will not touch her for fuck’s sake, is that clear?” Temple bellowed.
“You will not look at her the wrong way, you will not make lewd jokes, and you will not flirt with her!” West added abrasively.
Hm. So far, he had really only been guilty of the touching – that was lucky, Moreau thought.
“Above all, you will act normal so that Anna never finds out we gave you this little pep talk,” Dax added, folding his arms across his chest.
Moreau leaned back on the locker room bench and slowly let his gaze wander from one to the other. Strange that Jack and Dax were directing their speech mainly at Alvarez and a few young rookies. They should know that those meatheads couldn’t take on Anna.
“Come on, Dax,” winger Matthew Payne called out. “Charkov just learned what a vulva is. You can’t deny him practicing new knowledge. And a doctor would be the perfect study partner.”
Dax didn’t appear to find that funny. It was more like he was going to slap the next puck straight into Matt’s temple.
“Guys, you can save the speech,” Fox, the eternal diplomat, intervened, standing up. “As if any of us were suicidal enough to even shake Anna’s hand for too long!”
Moreau’s jaw hardened. Yes. As if.
“Well, I’m not suicidal, but I’m definitely interested in the vulva thing,” Alvarez said. “Man. Now I’m almost glad that I bruised my shoulder and have to go for a check-up every week.” The young player grinned broadly. “How fitting that I’m a fan of playing doctor.”
Dax rose angrily, but Jack pulled him back into his seat, rolling his eyes. “Calm down! It was a joke.”
“Exactly.” Leon grinned broadly. “I won’t do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
Moreau’s mouth twitched. As if anyone here could force Anna Temple to do anything. If you asked him, the whole conversation was ridiculous. Anna was gifted at articulating what she did and didn’t want. Really, Dax should have forbidden her from attacking another unsuspecting hockey player, not the other way around. But they hadn’t asked him, and maybe that was for the best.
“Alvarez!” Fox snapped before Dax could jump up angrily again. “Pull yourself together! I don’t want to hear any more of that crap. The playoffs start next week, and we have a better chance than ever of winning the Cup. We’re going to go to the Ice Lounge on Saturday after our last game of the regular season to enjoy one last quiet evening — and I want everyone to come! No exceptions. Bring your family for all I care. Your girlfriends, partners, dogs, you name it. Whatever relaxes you. But afterthat, the only thing we’ll be concentrating on is our game. Do we understand each other?”
The other players grumbled their agreement and nodded to the captain.
“Good,” he said sharply. “Then finish getting dressed so Dr. Temple can introduce herself and practice can begin.”
“I don’t quite understand why we should get dressed,” Blake Ford muttered. He was the Hawks’ second, much younger goalie and he’d been breathing down Lucas’ neck for months. “We’ll be naked most of the time around her, anyway.”
Fox gave him a withering look, while looking relieved that Ford had spoken softly enough that neither Dax nor Jack had heard him.
“Jesus Christ,” the captain whispered, pulling on his shoulder pads. “Are you the only one I can rely on not to mess up now? I had hope for the Saint, but that turned out to be a mistake.”
Lucas lowered his gaze and decided to remain silent. That usually worked best for him. He didn’t like lying to his best friend, but in this case, it was better the less Fox knew. In his opinion, the little sex thing with Anna wasn’t worth mentioning anyway. He and Anna hadn’t spoken in weeks. If she hadn’t texted him that she was starting with the Hawks, he probably wouldn’t have given her another damn thought!
Well, maybe one or two. At night, when he was in bed. When he had no control over his imagination.
There was a loud knock on the locker room door, and Moreau knew immediately that it was Anna because no one else here ever bothered to announce themselves before entering.
