Not only did she look beautiful in her Bobcats’ green tank that hugged her body perfectly, showing off her immaculate breasts, but she absolutely stunned me silent when she admitted to creating a corner specifically for Sophia in her office. The thoughtfulness and care that went into that gesture had me inches away from pulling her into my arms and never letting go.
To add fuel to the fire, she insisted on watching Sophia during tonight’s game after I told her my parents are both down with a nasty stomach bug.
Sadie is quickly becoming the most influential woman in my daughter’s life next to my mom. The realization makes me feel both excited and uncomfortable.
After everything Sophia and I have gone through, I’ve locked my heart away to not only protect myself, but to protect my daughter. But each time I see Sadie, she doessomething that chisels away at the stone wall I’ve built around my heart.
Connor knocks his skate against mine, clearing the Sadie-induced fog I find myself trapped in more and more these days.
“You good, man? Looks like you’re in your own little world over there.”
I finish tying up my skate and lean back into my stall. “I’m good. Just visualizing the game.”
More like visualizing my dream woman, but he doesn’t need to know that.
Connor shakes his head. “You’re a bad fucking liar, dude. Just get your head on straight before puck drop.”
I give him a quick nod and then close my eyes to try to focus on our game. He’s right. I need to clear my head of all things Sadie if I want to be at my best for tonight’s playoff matchup. The last time we played the Columbus Hawks we got our asses kicked. Tonight needs to be different.
Ten minutes goes by, and Hunter calls into the room that we have five minutes until the coaches come in for their pregame speech. I move my eyes around the room, looking at each one of my teammates to see that they’re all dialed in. I have a good feeling about tonight.
Ellie, Lincoln, and Hunter make their way into the locker room, and we all fall silent to hear what they have to say. Lincoln is the last to speak and every person here has their eyes glued to him as he paces the middle of the room.
Finally, he halts his movements, and looks around before a smile breaks out on his face.
“It’s been a hell of a ride this year, fellas. Not a single person had us in the playoffs this year. ‘We’re too broken.’ ‘There’s no coming back from last year’s scandal.’ ‘There’s no way in hell they’ll win with a woman behind the bench.’” He looks over and smirks at Ellie before turning his attention back to us. “You’ve proved every single one of them wrong.Youdidthat. You clawed your way back from the dead andearnedyour spot in the playoffs.”
The room is so quiet. I swear I can hear Connor’s heartbeat pounding next to me.
“We’re here for a reason. Because we’re a good fucking hockey team and we deserve to be here. Now, go out there and fucking prove it. Let’s fucking go!”
We all scream out in agreement. We’re amped up, our blood pumping so hard, adrenaline coursing through our bodies.
Coach Scott calls out one last thing. “Jefferson, you got the lineup tonight.”
Our youngest rookie makes his way to the center of the room, wearing his goofy-dimpled smile with the lineup in his hand.
“Let’s do this boys! Gimme a beat!”
In true Bobcat pregame routine, we all oblige and bang our hockey pants twice and clap once, repeating the rhythm as Jefferson starts his lineup read.
He makes his way to our goalie, Mack, and points at him. “When I say ‘Mack’, you say, ‘Attack.’ Mack!”
“Attack!”
“Mack!”
“Attack!”
Next, he walks over to Connor. “When I say ‘C,’ you say ‘Money.’ C!”
“Money!”
“C!”
“Money!”
He continues the ridiculous, rhythmic lineup read we all love way too much, finishing with me at center. I try but fail at hiding my smile, already anticipating the ridiculous nickname they use for me during this routine.
