After she escorts Connor off the ice, Lincoln’s cousin, Katie, slides up next to me to take her place.
Katie joined the Bobcats staff in January to fill in for the team’s therapist who went on maternity leave. She’s about my size, maybe a smidge taller, and has the most beautiful auburn hair I’ve ever seen. Tonight it’s pin straight and looksabsolutely phenomenal in contrast to the emerald green suit she’s wearing.
She’s recently become one of my favorite people ever because she likes to poke fun at Hunter just as much as I do. She’s joined the two of us many times for a late-night out. On rare occasions, all five of us will go out for drinks and laugh the night away. I love having her as a part of our friend group and hope she finds a permanent position here in Green Bay so she can stick around.
Hell, I hope I find myself a permanent position here soon too. As much as I love being roommates with Ellie, it’s very obvious that she and Lincoln are in it for the long haul. I don’t want to be the one who holds those two back from taking the next step. As soon as I find a good job with decent money, I plan to move out and start my next chapter here in the city, so they can start theirs too.
“That poor guy can’t catch a break with that injury this year.” Katie’s eyes are tracking Connor down the tunnel and a look of sympathy is etched on her face.
“Yeah, Ellie said his groin injury is like a splinter you thought was gone, but it actually just keeps getting deeper. Hurts like a bitch.”
Katie laughs and nods, moving her attention back to the game on the ice. “I would’ve never thought of it like that.”
“I’m sure it fucks with his head too. Can’t be easy battling a lingering injuryandthe mental stress that accompanies it.”
Katie looks from the ice to me, taking me in for a moment. “No. It can’t. I’m hoping now that you’re here, you might be able to help me out with some of that mental stress the guys carry. Some of the guys utilize therapy and see me from time to time. But, as you can probably imagine, there’s still a handful of them who think therapy is a crock of shit and makes them weak. Toxic masculinity and all that.”
Her statement takes me by surprise. I’m no stranger to the stigma that accompanies athletes. My best friend is thesecond-ever female coach in the NHL and she faces her fair share of hateful comments. But I guess I never realized that, in this day and age, men still saw therapy as a bad thing.
Hell, both Lincoln and Ellie are in therapy and they’re very open about the fact. It just hit me now that maybe they’re so open because they’re hoping the guys on the team might take a chance on it.
“I’m here to help in any way I can. Hopefully you and I can work together to get the team mentally prepared for playoffs in a couple weeks. Assuming we’re still on track to clinch a playoff spot.”
Katie smiles, but before she can respond, Niko slams someone from the other team over the boards with such force, the player falls on top of the guys sitting on our bench. My hand clutches my chest and I can feel my heart pounding through my jacket.
“Holy shit. Is it always like this?”
Katie laughs as the player from the other team is thrown back onto the ice by our guys. “I grew up watching Lincoln play, and I’ll still never be over how physically demanding this sport is.”
I’ll say.
There’s less than a minute to go. One of our defensemen has the puck and he fires it down ice to Niko who is standing just outside the other team’s zone. Once the puck hits his stick, he takes off down the far wall into the zone. Jefferson is flying down the middle to join the rush, which creates a two-on-one situation. Niko looks like he’s about to shoot, but at the last second, sends a beautiful pass right over the defenseman’s stick to a waiting Jefferson. He doesn’t even cradle the puck back. As soon as it hits his stick, he’s firing it into the net over the goalie’s pad.
The players on the bench jump up, going wild, hugging one another and screaming. The Bobcats have the lead. I can barely see when the guys on the ice skate past to hit gloveswith their teammates on the bench but they’re all shouting, excitement radiating off every player.
This is so much fun.
The buzzer sounds and the Bobcats secure their third straight win since attending goat yoga. I know there’s been a ton of other things going on behind the scenes, but the fact that I had something to do with their success makes me feel a sense of pride I haven’t felt in a long time. It’s validating my work, which many people, especially my family, have never understood.
I wait for Ellie in the room they have designated for families after the game. Since she’s a coach and doesn’t need to take any equipment off or shower, she and Hunter are the first two people to enter. They chat with a few people then both head my way.
“Great game, you guys! It’s so much more exciting down at ice level. I couldfeelthe energy and excitement coming off the guys. It must be even better on that bench.”
Hunter laughs and wraps his arm around my shoulder. “It never gets old, I can tell you that.”
I lean into his side and wrap my arm around his lower back. How cool is it that I get to work at the same place as my two best friends?
Ellie waves to someone behind us and I see she’s waving Lincoln over. She turns her attention back to us. “I was thinking we could go celebrate the win and your new job tonight. It’s been a while since the four of us have gone out. You game?”
My body is still humming with energy from the game and a smile splits across my face. “Hell yeah!”
Hunter hoots and hollers with his own excitement just as Lincoln steps up to join us. He looks around at the three of us and his eyes bulge when he sees Ellie’s mischievous grin.
“I don’t like that look.”
Ellie shrugs. “Get ready, baby. We’re heading to The Cracked Mug!”
It’s already close to midnight when we finally arrive at the bar, so the place is packed. The last time the four of us came here, Hunter and I worked our magic, setting Lincoln and Ellie up with a duet on karaoke night. Now they’re happily in love and the rest is history.
