He walks away, and heads towards practice. I smell my armpits and don’t scent anything. I shrug my shoulders at the odd encounter and dress in all my gear.
When I skate onto the ice, I can feel Johannson’s glare on me. He’s shooting me daggers, but I ignore him. It was simple; I played better, and I got the spot. I’m not sure if he feels like the position should be his because he’s been in the NHL longer or because he has a solid five inches on me. But nothing in hockey is just given to you. You have to work at it. I’m a testament to that. It feels like my life is finally clicking together, and piece by piece, this anger I’ve been holding on to is starting to fade away.
Practice is brutal, but I welcome the physical exertion. I’m sweating so hard I have to take my helmet off and squirt some of my water bottle into my hair before putting my helmet back on. I can’t help but notice Alexi staring at me.
“What?” I ask him.
He shakes his head, and skates away with the puck. Bram Nilsen skates up to me. He’s one of our best defenders. He’s been in the league for a while and has been nice to me since I joined the team.
“The Canes have a player, Kristiansen. He’s a fucking prick; he’s always getting too close to the goalies. You need to be prepared to get physical tomorrow.”
“I can do that,” I promise with complete sincerity. Am I the biggest hockey player ever? Not by any means. But I can get rough when I need to be.
“Good. I’m hoping to get my hands on him too.”
“Bad blood?”
“Could say that,” he says, shrugging and dribbling the puck in place. “He’s my cousin.” Familial rivalry is something I can get behind, and I give Bram a curt nod of acknowledgement.
“I get it. Anything you need tomorrow, let me know.”
“Knew I could count on you, Connery.”
Every day it feels like I’m solidifying myself on this team, and I can’t help but note just how fucking good that feels.
* * *
Am I getting pho in hopes that I’ll run into a tall, smart, hot Alpha I haven’t had the guts to call or text?Possibly.
Also, I absolutely love the food. It’s the right mix of cozy, hot, and filling. I order my meal and sit at the table, waiting for my food. I’m looking up Canes’ stats and players, even though we had a meeting after and during practice for what we should be looking for.
I also look at our schedule and sigh. I have a few weeks until we have a home game with the Sharks. I’m not sure how it’s going to go down, what my mom has told Max, or how he’s going to respond to me being with the Foxes. It’s not that I give a shit. I think I’m more so worried about him blowing my cover.
My food comes, and I’ve lost hope that she’s going to show up. I told myself that I just needed a friend, someone outside of the team. Someone I don’t have to put a full facade on for. Well, that’s a lie. No one can know, but there’s something about Piper that allows me to put my guard down just a little bit. I haven’t been able to put my finger on it, but it’s addictive.
I’m about to leave when she walks in. Her gaze meets mine immediately, and she smiles. “Hey there, did you already eat?” she asks, and I lie, shaking my head no. I could always eat. We order separately and sit down and wait for our food. I don’t miss the small smile Diep gives me when taking our orders. I’m just lucky she doesn’t out me for being pathetic.
When we sit down, Piper looks much better than the last time I saw her. Lighter, like she isn’t carrying around the same pain she was last time. I also note how much I like to see her in casual clothes. She hangs up her large coat and just has a large sweater and black leggings that accentuate her long legs.
“New job still treating you well?”
“Very well.”
“Are you going to tell me what said job is?”
“Not yet.”
“So mysterious,” she says with a small smile.
“I take it work has been going better for you?”
“It has. I’ve been on the same rotation for a few weeks, and things have been going well. But I don’t think neuro is for me,” she says as Diep brings our food.
“Thank you, Diep,” Piper says, and she smiles at us. “She’s the sweetest lady ever.” I nod my head and look over at Diep who gives me a wink. I have to shake her off before looking back at Piper.
“Why not neuro?”
“The stakes are too high. A lot of times, surgery is the last resort. So it can be all or nothing and very tricky. I don’t know, I just don’t like it.”
