I swing around behind the goal, not looking at the faces of the disappointed fans. A Leafs defender says something to me as he skates by, but I’m oblivious.
The one thing I’ve got going for me tonight is that I can’t hear the chirping. Several players have tried to get in my head, but their taunts go in one ear and out the other. I’d call it progress, except that the reason I haven’t heard a word all night is because I can’t think about anything but Gray right now.
I head to the bench for the end of my shift, and my eyes immediately seek her out in the stands. My stomach lurches when I find her seat empty, and I panic as I look around.
I relax when I see her come down the stairs with a plastic cup of winein hand. Because of course my girl would drink wine at a hockey game. At least she wasn’t here to see me miss an easy shot.
Having Gray spend the night at my place last night and waking up with her body curled against mine this morning was a special kind of heaven. I wish her first time sleeping there had been under different circumstances, but for the moment, I’ll take what I can get.
I really wanted to fuck her this morning, but she had a long night, and I didn’t push. She was jumpy as hell when we went to her place to get her things, and she only relaxed when an inventory of her underwear drawer and her box of dildos and vibrators yielded nothing obvious missing.
She blushed furiously when I saw all the toys she had, including a dildo shaped like a long tentacle, but I reminded her I had plenty of toys as well. I also made her pack the tentacle to bring to my place.
There hadn’t been time to use it, though. We went to bed almost as soon as we got home, and it took Gray a long time to fall asleep. She tossed fitfully next to me for nearly half an hour before I pulled her into my arms and she finally quieted enough to drift off.
She had an early class this morning, and I came to the rink for game prep, so I haven’t seen much of her.
For my own part, now that Gray knows about the intruder, I can’t help dwelling on who it is and whether the creep will be back again. My money is still on it being Drew, but I’ve had a security guy watching him as well, and Gray’s ex hasn’t come anywhere near her house.
“You okay, man?” Cote asks next to me. “You seem spaced out.”
I want to laugh. I’ve finally found a way to block out the trash talk, but it involves spending the whole game worrying about my girlfriend.
“Fine,” I say. “Just got some things on my mind.”
“Well fucking get them off your mind,” Mack snaps at me from my other side. “We need you to get your shit together.”
I purse my lips. He’s right. I do need to get my shit together. This thing with Gray’s stalker is a distraction I can’t afford right now.
The buzzer sounds the end of the game. We won 2-1, but it was nothanks to me.
Ash
When I get out of the shower forty-five minutes later, Cedric is waiting for me in the locker room.
“Mr. Kaladin wants to see you in his office,” he says.
I swear inwardly. This can’t be good. I hurriedly towel off and get dressed.
“You going out?” Kelsier asks me as I grab my stuff.
Tomorrow’s an off day, so some of the team are going out tonight for a few drinks.
“Probably not,” I say. “Just got called to the principal’s office. I have to go see Kaladin, then I should get Gray home. She had a rough night.”
I filled Kelsier in today on how I came clean to Gray last night about having her followed and about the perve who broke into her house.
“I’ll text you where we end up in case you change your mind,” he says. “Maybe Gray will want a drink after the last couple days.”
“Maybe. Text me, and we’ll see,” I say as I hustle out of the locker room to head for Kaladin’s office.
When I get up to the administrative floor a few minutes later, Kaladin’s assistant sends me right in. I feel sorry for the woman. It’s almost eleven o’clock at night, and she’s still working.
I enter the office and head straight for the desk. Kaladin is seated behind it, but he stands when I enter.
“Ash, good to see you again,” he says, but he’s not smiling. “Thanks for joining us.”
Us?
