Dropping the weights and grabbing a heavier set, I move on to lunges. Until a towel swats me in the ass.
“What the fuck?” I set the dumbbells down, turning to find the guys behind me.
“What’s got you in such a mood this morning?” Bode asks.
“Who says I’m in a mood?”
He exchanges a look with Marcus. “Oh yeah, obviously not in a mood.”
I wipe the sweat from my brow with the bottom of my T-shirt.
“You’ve been in a mood since the gala,” Bode says.
“Just tired, is all,” I lie. “I’m fine.”
I am not ready to get into a discussion about this.
“You know, you keep saying you’re fine, but I’m finding that hard to believe.”
“All I want right now is to focus on my workout and look ahead to playing against Carolina. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” Graham says.
“See?” I point at him. “He agrees. Nothing wrong with wanting to keep up with the younger kids so the fans won’t give you shit.”
“You know you don’t have to prove anything to anyone, right?” Dax says.
“I know.”
“So then why are you here so early pushing yourself?”
“You’re here early,” I retort.
“Practice starts in thirty minutes. Not that early,” Bode says. “How long have you been here?”
Shit. A lot longer than I thought.
“All I want is to keep my head down and play my game. I know I’m not cutting it like I used to.”
It’s no surprise that my game isn’t up to par as I’m getting older.
“No one said that,” Marcus tells me.
“Yeah, but every time I come off the ice and sit on the bench, fans yell at me about how terrible I’m doing.”
Marcus scoffs. “Has Coach Andrews said that?”
“Well, no,” I bite out.
“Then don’t worry about it. You’re doing just fine.”
“Right.”
Except it doesn’t feel like I am as I head over to the treadmills and fire one up. There’s too much going on in my head right now. I’m pissed that Quinn lied to me. I’m mad that my game isn’t up to my usual level. I’m pissy with the fans.
I’m just over it all right now.
Lately, the person who I would talk to about this is Quinn. I told her everything. I mean, I used to be able to talk to the guys about anything, but with all of them falling in love, I don’t want to be a burden.
