She smiles down at me. “I don’t sleep with strangers.”
“Good thing I’m not a stranger.”
“You will be. You’re going to become this big hotshot NHL player now that you’ve won the cup and forget about little ol’ me.”
I crack one eye open at her. A smile lights up Alice’s face. “Please. Like I could ever forget about you, Froggie.”
She brushes a stray lock of hair off my forehead. “We’re home.”
“Thanks man,” I say. With very little grace, I unbuckle myself and stumble out of the car.
“Congratulations, Mr. Paddack,” the driver tells me.
Shutting the door, Alice wraps a supporting arm around my waist and hauls me inside.
Unlocking the door, Alice pushes it open with her hip and leads me straight to my room. I collapse onto the bed, wanting the mattress to swallow me whole. I kick off my shoes and nestle into the pillows.
“Do you need anything?” Alice asks as she pulls back the comforter and lies down next to me. Flipping onto my side, I turn to stare at her.
“Thanks for being my best friend, Froggie.”
She smiles back at me. A smile I’ve grown to love every time I see it.
“Always.”
Chapter Two
DECLAN
“How are you feeling today?” Cash asks as I drop down into my seat next to him.
I stretch my legs out in front of me. “Fuck, I could sleep for a week. I’m exhausted.”
He shakes his head. “Whoever decided to have locker clean out a few days after the big win is a sadist.”
“And the day after the championship parade? I need an IV to recover at this point.”
It’s been nonstop since we won. Celebrating every minute of each day since. Getting to carry the Cup through the streets of Denver and seeing the fans’ excitement might have been the best moment since winning.
“Worse things in life,” Cash points out.
“And we still get to look forward to our rings coming.”
His smile grows. “Damn. Those are always fun to get.”
“Novelty hasn’t worn off yet?” I ask, grabbing my bag and starting to chuck everything from my locker into it.
Even though I’ve only been here since the trade deadline, my stall is a mess. I’ve managed to collect a mishmash of things since I got here.
I smile at the little frog that Alice gave me as a good luckcharm before my first game I played here. I didn’t see much ice time then, but it picked up the closer we got to the playoffs.
Trash cans are spread out through the locker room. Music is blasting through the open space. The cup is sitting in a place of honor in the front of the room.
I can’t wait until I get my day with it.
Damn. It feels incredible to have won. I never thought I’d get to this point in my career, given I was playing for the Knights. We didn’t have the best coach. He didn’t seem to have much fire in him to win.
Playing for Colorado is a dream come true.
