I bite my tongue. She continues her announcement unfazed and clearly unaware that more than a few of my teammates are checking her out in her little black skirt and heels. “Not a lot of press here tonight because it’s preseason, and the few that are here only want to talk to the Casco brothers, so everyone’s free to go to the party afterward. No media scrum.”
She turns on one of those heels and storms out of the room as quickly as she entered. “Jesus, that woman is all kinds of smokin’ hot!” Eddie says after a long, low whistle. Every fiber of my being tenses. “I mean, she’s like got a total stick up her ass, but she’s so hot you want to take it out and replace it with—”
“Hey!” Levi snaps, his stern baritone stopping Eddie midsentence, thank God. I was about to lunge across the room and knock him out. “I know it’s preseason, but let’s focus, okay, Rollins?”
Levi’s eyes move to me, and he nods a little. “Thanks,” I whisper.
But of course Eddie, being Eddie, isn’t done. “Come on, Casco, I know you’re all married and everything, but the other single guys here know how hot she is. And she’s just an intern, not an employee, so it’s not like we can’t, you know, try to see what’s under that tight little skirt.”
“They hired her full-time in June,” Elijah corrects, which shocks me. I don’t know how he knows that. Maybe he read a press release or something?
I tug on my skate lace so hard it snaps. I’m going to rip that pervy mustache off Eddie’s face and feed it to him. Elijah stands up. “You know, Rollins, you should probably concentrate on the fact that I’m here to show you up and take your job, and not what’s up the skirt of a girl way too smart to touch you with a ten-foot hockey stick.”
We all look at Elijah and a couple of guys let out exaggerated “ohs!” His voice was light, teasing, but his face is tense, his jaw locked, his brows pulled together. I glance at his hands and they’re fisted by his sides. I realize Levi must have told him Dixie was my sister, or he figured it out on his own. Maybe Dixie even told him herself, because I did see her talking to him a few times. Either way, it’s the only reason I can think of that he’d be this pissed. Elijah is all about the inappropriate jokes and looking up any skirt he can, so it’s got to be his loyalty to me making him stand up to Eddie.
“Easy, little Casco,” Eddie replies, and he’s pissed but trying to mask it. “Guess you have that uptight attitude in common with your big bro, huh? Come on, Jude, you know. You’re single.”
“I’m not.”
It comes out of my mouth before I even think about it, and even though I hadn’t planned on admitting that to anyone, not even really myself, it feels normal to have the words out there. Not just normal, but good. I toss the broken piece of skate lace in my hand in the garbage and stomp toward the door, teetering a little on my unlaced skate. “I’m dating Zoey, and even if I wasn’t, trust me when I say I would never hit on Dixie or talk about her the way you are. And you should do what Eli said and shut the fuck up and concentrate on playing well so you don’t make it too easy for him to take your spot on this team.”
I storm out of the room in search of a trainer and new laces.
The game was crazy. We beat the San Diego Saints, barely, but we beat them, and it felt good to be out there competing again, even if it was only preseason. Levi was probably our best player, scoring two goals before he went to the medical room halfway through the second period because his shoulder started to act up. Eddie was definitely our worst, letting in three goals in that period, so they pulled him for the third and put in Eli. Levi didn’t play the third, so the media didn’t get their big Casco brothers moment, but it was probably for the best, since Eli looked shaky out there and let in an easy goal. Darby scored one, and I scored two back-to-back in the third, which took us to the win. I swear I played better knowing Zoey was in the stands watching.
After the game, Levi isn’t in the locker room, so I dosomething I never do: I take it upon myself to give the post-game speech. Usually the coach does it if Levi isn’t available. I even pushed Duncan into doing it once, since he is an alternate captain like me, but this time I don’t shirk my responsibility. I’mfeeling good about the way I played and, well, life in general, so I just doit.
“Nice work, boys!” I start, and they all lookup. Duncan reaches over and lowersthe music on the iPod he hashooked up to speakers. “We were rusty and a little shaky, but we pulled together and won. This was tough, and it was only preseason. After two Stanley Cup wins in a row, every team in the league wants to knock us down a peg. We need to use the animosity as fuel to make us do even better. Okay?”
There are a bunch of loud shouts of agreement. I see a few eyes dart past me, so I turn around, rubbing the sweat out of my eyes with my towel. Levi is standing in the doorway with a towel and a bag of ice taped to his shoulder. “Anything to add, Captain?” Duncan asks.
“What he said,” Levi repliesand gives me a nod of approval, and it makes my shoulders pull back in pride. No matter what our history off the ice, he’s still the most pulled together, solid player and leader I know on the ice, so if he not only agrees with what I said but has nothing to add, it’s a compliment.
Levi walks over to his brother, but Eli gets up and mutters something, then heads out of the room, still wearing half his equipment. Levi goes to his spot next to me and drops onto the bench. “He’s still shaken up from the injury.”
I look up and find his face worried. “That’s normal, right?”
“I have no idea. He’s the only goalie I know personally who has had an injury like that.” Levi almost chokes on the words as he says them, and my heart clenches. Jesus, I remember when it happened and how I felt seeing it. I can’t even imagine what it was like for Levi or for Elijah himself. “But you know this league, they need results every day, especially from rookies. He’s going to be shipped to the minors and stay there a long time if he can’t find his way around this.”
“He will. I know he will,” I say, trying to sound comforting because I honestly believe Eli is strong enough to get through any residual fear. The kid is as tough as he is crazy. Good goalies always are. I resort to what I’m best at to lighten the mood: teasing. “Speaking of Eli, did he grow over the summer? He’s got to have a couple inches on you now.”
“It’s his hairstyle. It’s like a foot off his head,” Levi mutters.
“Sure it is.” I smile. “Does he call you squirt yet?”
I’m a jackass for making fun of him, since Levi is three inches taller than me at six three, but it gets that morose look off his face, so who cares? Smiling, Levi rolls his eyes at my joke and changes the subject.
“So your girlfriend coming to the party tonight?” Levi asks. I nod and fight a smile at the word “girlfriend.” I do not need to look like a lovesick puppy in the locker room. “Good. Tessa is dying to see her again.”
“She’s back from her work thing?”
“She’s coming straight to the party from the airport,” Levi explains.
“Cool. Zoey brought her work friend Marti, who I’m sure will love to meet Tessa and Carla and anyone she can sell a house to,” I explain and pull off my shirt and start undoing my pads.
“I know it doesn’t matter, but I’m happy for you, Jude,” Levi says, and his serious tone, which most mistake for angry, is back.
I nod and drop my pads on the ground and look up. Eddie is watching Levi and me, his expression dark. I have no idea what his issue is, so I ignore him and turn back to Levi. “It matters. Thanks.”
