I laugh at them. Coach comes out and blows his whistle and then sets up the play. “Okay, we’re going to warm up our legs a little,” he says and I think everyone has the same reaction to that when a few of us groan out and a couple look up to the ceiling. “Forwards, you are going to start at the corners of the ice, opposites sides. Skate up to the other blue line.” He draws on the board in front of him. “Go around and come back to where you started from. Someone will give you the puck from center ice,” he says, “then you bring it into the zone.” I look at the play, thinking that it’s too easy. “Defense,” he continues, “you will start at the same sides as the forwards.” He writes D right on the line. “Go around this circle.” He motions to the circle right next to where we start. “Then skate up and try to get the puck from the forward who is coming back to you.” He drops the marker that is hanging on a string before he blows his whistle.
I skate over to the side and go in a circle as we watch Lane in front of us go. “Go, go, go.” Zane, the assistant coach, is skating with him to the other side, pushing him to go faster. I’m up second, Patrick is behind me with Joel, and Jaxon is watching. Kirby is the first defenseman to do his drill as he skates to center ice to try and intercept the puck. He keeps pressure on him and only when he comes across the blue line and into his zone does Kirby really put on the pressure. He totally sees Lane trying to fuck him up by going left, but still staying right, and he outstretches his stick and knocks the puck off his stick. Lane tries to turn his back toward him and grab the puck back, but Kirby moves the puck from his stick to between his legs and catches it behind him with his stick, making the defense line cheer.
“That was good!” I shout. “You should try that in a game when it counts!”
He looks over at me and gives me a chin lift while holding up his middle finger. “Let’s see you do better.” I look over and see I’m against Jaxon, and I inwardly groan. He’s the best defenseman in the league. His game gets better and better every fucking year. He’s a beast and has the hardest shot in the league, after his father, who retired.
“Don’t worry,” Jaxon goads, “I’ll go easy on you.” He smirks as I hunch down and wait for the whistle to blow before taking off. I skate down the ice, turning around and grabbing the puck effortlessly as it hits the middle of my blade. Jaxon doesn’t even try to skate to me, instead waiting at the blue line for me to skate into his zone. He moves his skates backward, his eyes on mine, not my stick, not the puck, knowing I’m going to have to look right and left before I decide what my play is going to be. That’s why he’s so good, he can feel the play coming. I look left and right then left again as I get closer to him. I fuck him up when I go right then deke left, taking the look to the left, but shooting right and he goes left as I shoot the puck toward the net. The puck is saved by the goalie, but now it’s the forwards who celebrate. “That was good; better if you found the back of the net,” he teases me, “but I guess you are saving that for the game.”
“Fuck off,” I bark, pushing his shoulder as we skate back to the boards. We do another five drills by the time our coach finally calls the end of practice. My ass is dragging as we skate off. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done the bike for an hour before ice,” I mumble, unsnapping my helmet and walking back down to the locker room.
I place my stick against the wall before tossing my gloves in the gray plastic bin in the middle of the room, then take off the jersey and throw it in the bin right before heading to the bench and sitting down. I start to unwrap the tape from my socks before untying my skates.
“Hey,” Jaxon says to me, and I look up as I start on my other sock, “you getting the kids tonight?”
I shake my head. “I get them tomorrow,” I tell him as he takes a sip of his protein shake that was waiting for him when he got off the ice. “Why?”
“We are going out for dinner,” he says, and I just look at him. “Kirby and Lexi are coming.”
“Have fun,” I tell him, taking the roll of tape I just took off me and tossing it into the garbage bin but missing it.
“You said you were lonely, so tonight it’s not just us. Lexi’s cousin is also joining us.”
“With a couple of guys from Nash’s office,” he mentions of Zoey’s husband, one of Ariella’s many cousin’s husbands, who I’ve met a couple of times when we went to play golf during the summer.
“You sure it’s not a thing for couples, right?” I ask him and he shakes his head.
“Yeah, send me the information,” I tell him, getting up after I take off my skates. I shower and when I get home, I collapse on the bed.
I pull up to the address Jaxon texted me at five, seeing the parking lot is pretty much slammed. I park in the back of the place, almost away from everyone. Getting out, I reach for the long sleeves of my black shirt, pulling them up to mid-forearm. As I open the door to the restaurant, I look around, seeing if I can find them. I step up to the hostess, who has her black hair high on her head in a ponytail. Her face forms a smile as she blatantly scans my body up and down. “I’m meeting friends,” I tell her. “Stevenson, maybe.”
“They are in the private room,” she says, “follow me.” she motions with her head to the side as we walk to the side of the restaurant. Then she stops right beside the bar, gesturing to a room off the side, but still in view of the bar.
“Hey,” I greet, walking in and doing a sweep of the table and seeing that it is, in fact, couples and I’m the odd man out, again. I turn to look to Jaxon, who avoids looking at me. I walk to the end of the table and pull out the seat right next to Kirby that is empty. “I’m going to kick his ass,” I mumble and then look at Lexi, who is sitting in front of Kirby with an empty seat across from her. “Hey.” I give her a chin lift, and I’m pissed.
“Hi.” She smiles at me. “How are you?”
“Good,” I start to say and then stop when I sense someone else walk into the room and I turn, hoping it’s not who I think it is.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Kylie apologizes as Kirby pushes out from his spot to get up, blocking my view for a second but not for long. Once he walks to her, I see Jaxon get up to greet her too. My eyes roam, starting at the strappy white heels that are crossed over her toes then over the tops of her feet, moving up to wrap twice around the ankles. The white skirt she is wearing hits mid-thigh and has a little slit on one side, so you get an even better view of her leg as she walks. The top is white and looks like a blazer, but is cropped, showing a touch of her stomach. The lapels are folded and tied to the side. “Traffic and then getting an Uber was like the hunger games.” Her black purse dangles in her hand.
“It’s the Hunger Games.” Kirby kisses her cheek after she says hello to everyone. “You remember my teammate, Knox,” he says of me.
“How could I forget.” She smiles. “It’s nice to see you again.” She looks at her brother. “I’m going to go get something to drink.” She points to the bar. “I’ll be right back.”
I push off from the table. “I’ll join you,” I say, shocking her and myself, but I owe her a thank you for not telling her brother I was a dick.
“Oh, goodie,” she deadpans and turns to walk toward the bar. Finding the side of it empty, she leans against the bar as she waits for the bartender, trying to ignore the fact I’m right beside her.
“Kylie,” I call her name.
“I would look at you, but I wouldn’t want you to think I wanted to have your children,” she goads, and I laugh.
“Okay, I deserve that.”
“You deserve a lot more than that,” she mumbles and then smiles at the bartender when he comes over. “I’ll have a Cosmo, with a twist of lemon.” He nods at her then looks at me.
“I’ll have a water,” I tell him and he nods, turning to walk away as I lean on the bar, turned toward her.
