All the guys crowd around me and congratulate me.
“Shit, dude. That’s awesome,” Theo says.
“Thanks. Coach told me to keep it quiet until training camp though, so let’s keep this between us, okay?”
They all say they will.
“No offense, but I thought Ryker was a shoe-in for alternate captain,” Del says.
Ryker shakes his head. “I’m too old for that shit. I just wanna play.” He nods at me. “Connors is young enough that he sees all the extra stress and responsibility you deal with as alternate captain as a good thing.”
I laugh.
“Seriously though, Coach made the right choice,” Ryker says to me. “You’re the right person for the job. You and Williams are gonna do a kickass job of leading us this next season.”
I grin. “Thanks, man.”
My teammates nod their heads in agreement. It feels good to have their support, especially after how skeptical Xander and Blomdahl were at the idea of me being alternate captain when I first brought it up months ago. But I still feel like I have a lot to prove when the season starts in a month.
Xander’s expression turns serious as he looks at all of us. “I meant what I said earlier. We look pathetic on the ice right now. We’re gonna have to train our asses off for the rest of the off-season if we want a decent showing at training camp.”
“Let’s go again,” Del nods at the net.
For the next twenty minutes, we play hard. By the time we finish the game, we’re all drenched in sweat.
“Damn, that was rough,” Theo says.
“Felt good to get back out there and play though,” Sam says.
“Connors was the only one out there playing with the same energy that he has during the season,” Xander says.
I flash a smug smile. “Perk of being the youngest one in this group.”
Del throws his glove at me, but I manage to duck before it lands. I laugh.
“Have you been doing any extra training lately?” Sam asks.
I shake my head. “Same as you guys.”
“You’ve been doing some extra cardio with the missus,” Xander says.
I frown at him. “What?”
He just laughs. “Dude, we heard you and Ellie when we all came back to the vacation house after Blomdahl’s wedding. And the morning after. And that night too.”
Heat engulfs my cheeks. “Shit, really?”
They all nod, except Blomdahl.
“Glad Bella and I stayed in a hotel suite that night,” he says.
“Sorry about the noise, guys,” I say, an embarrassed smile on my face.
“Thank fuck we’re all staying in our own hotel rooms next weekend when we head to Cabo,” Del mutters.
I’m all smiles as I strip off my gear, thinking about Ellie. We’ve been going at it nonstop since the night we first had sex.
But it’s more than the incredible sex we’ve been having that’s making my heart beat faster in my chest.
