I can tell the player across from me is surprised I’m out here. He must be a newbie because I don’t recognize him. He’s not the one I want to have a little fun with, anyway. I glance at their left winger and make eye contact with the one who’s been playing dirty this whole game. He scowls back at me, and I can’t help but grin in his direction. I throw in a little wink for added effect, pissing him off even more.
I hear Hayes chuckle as he gets into position across from the douchebag.
“Not the best way to start off the season, rookie,” he says, loud enough for me to hear. “You’ve pissed off Stone,” he tsks. “I would skate fast if I were you…very fast.”
The others on my team laugh as the ref blows a short whistle.
“That’s enough, guys. We have five minutes left. Let’s keep it clean so we can all get out of here.”
He skates into position, and I bend down low with my stick to wait for the puck to drop. I get into my zone as the crowd around me disappears, and I focus all my attention on the round black object as it’s dropped onto the ice.
I quickly take control and pass it to McCormick as he comes up on my right. He handles it with ease and dodges his opponent as he shoots it back to Foxx at the center line, who whips it over to Kane. Kane sees Hayes in the corner and shoots it down the side.
Douchebag picks up speed, and I know exactly where he’s headed.
Not on my watch.
I dig my blades into the ice and tear off across the rink, ramming him into the sides right before he reaches Hayes. He grunts at the hard impact as he struggles to remain upright on his skates.
“That’s for being a dick to my team,” I throw at him before returning my focus to Hayes, who’s in control of the puck behind the net. Taking my position at center, I wait for the right moment. I make eye contact with Hayes, and he knows the move. We’ve practiced it a million times.
The other player tries to block me, but I spin around just as Hayes shoots the puck to McCormick, who passes it right back to me as I fake a high shot and slide it easily through the goalie’s legs.
The red light goes on just as the remaining seconds go out on the clock, giving us a win.
“Fuck yeah, Stone,” Hayes says, skating over and raising his arms as the rest of the guys surround me.
“Nice shot, captain,” Kane grins and slaps my back with his glove.
“I thought the rookie was going to shit himself when you came at him,” Foxx laughs.
“That was the plan. Damn, it felt good,” I grin. “Nice assist, McCormick.” I hold out my glove as he knocks his to mine.
“I’m just glad I’m on your side now and not the one you just hit into the boards,” he chuckles. “Can’t say I’m going to miss that.”
“You deserved every one of them.”
“Yeah, I probably did,” he laughs as we skate back to the bench to celebrate the win with the rest of the team.
“Nice teamwork out there,” Coach says, coming over. “Could have done without the hit, Stone.” His eyes narrow at me, but I can tell by the humor in his eyes that he didn’t mind it as much as he’s letting on.
“Just a little teaching moment, Coach,” I grin as he tries to suppress a smile.
“Get your asses in the locker room,” he says to the rest of the team. “Stone, Blade…you have press in twenty minutes. Shower and wear something nice. I’ll be in the conference room waiting.”
Great.
I know it comes with the territory, but I loathe being in front of the cameras. Especially when they try to dig into my personal life. I pay good money to keep my past buried, and it’s none of their business what I do outside of the rink, even though they love to be thoroughly invested in who I’m seen with.
After a quick shower, I change into dark slacks and a white button-down dress shirt, leaving the collar loose under my suit jacket. I meet Cayden outside the locker room, looking freshly showered with a similar outfit to mine.
“Ready?” He asks, shoving his hands in his grey slacks.
“No,” I reply without hesitation, causing him to chuckle.
“They wouldn’t be so hard on you if you would keep your mouth shut and stick to the basics. You make good TV when you throw those insults, and now they love to get you riled up just for the views.”
“Yeah, well, they need to stick to what’s important—the game and the charity. Anything else, they can shove it up their asses.”
