I took a deep breath in and peeled out of the parking lot.
At least I could tell my mom I tried, I thoughtlamely.
11. TJ
I thought about going after her as I watched her tiny, cute butt marchaway.
I drained my drink and sat back, making sure she made it to her car.
I mean, I really wanted to grab her, throw her over my shoulder, and walk her back to the table to eat dinner with me. It’d be easy too; she was a tiny thing. She definitely gave off a stray cat vibe though… Don’t force it and it’ll come. I hoped at least.
It seemed she had limits, and I hadn’t figured them out yet. It was a shame because if we had the time, I think we really could be great.
I thought back to what Grey said and realized he had a good point- we probably could balance each other out. She needed some of my easy-going self, and I needed some of her reality check.
I tried to replay my words to figure out where I’d gone wrong. Something about self-confidence was definitely a trigger for her. Yeesh, she was a complicated little thing. Cute as hell though.
I quickly got some cash out of my back pocket and threw it on the table.
At least I could say I gave it my best shot. I needed to get back to business now and catch the first flight out of thisplace.
12. TJ - Saturday, August 7
Preseason Camp in Vancouver
I sped to the corner to beat the defenseman and scoop the puck up without being checked.
I made it out by a sliver, but that didn’t matter, only that I made it. If I was being honest, I think my bum knee from last season was making me skate faster because I didn’t want to get hit. Guess it could work out well in a way.
I hightailed it up ice as fast as I could, ignoring my right winger who shouted at me to pass. I needed to show off my own skills right now- he wouldn’t be offended- I think everyone felt that way at preseason camp. If it was a game, I’d be passin’ it right over to him. He hung back a bit by the blue line to avoid going off-sides on me and I felt him starting to trail for the rebound in case I missed.
My decision to puck hog a bit proved beneficial, because I had a one-on-one now: just me and the goalie. This was my favorite part. I quickly stickhandled short, wide, faked a shot, and then sniped one right top-shelf, our goalie’s weakness.
Boom. The goal light went off and I threw my arms wide- just to make sure the high-up guys making the calls knew it was me.
This season would be golden. It was mine for the taking. I was feeling powerful as all hell after hitting almost every shot this week. Now I was just waiting to hear where I’d be- either still on this affiliate team of mine in Vancouver, or… called up for my big break. I knew in the back of my mind that getting a shot to be called up this season seemed pretty unlikely. We all kind of knew it. The team we were affiliated with was stacked this year with old and new talent, and no one was really close to retirement. It would take someone getting hurt to get called up, and no hockey guy would wish injury on another. I just had to keep grinding, and hopefully get my shot one way or another, even if that meant getting traded to a different organization.
The buzzer went off then signaling the end of practice, and my buddy Eric Jones, aka Jonesy, came over and gave me a glove punch.
“Nice work, bud. You definitely made a name for yourself this week,” he said.
I pulled off my helmet and pushed my sweaty, shaggy hair back. “Thanks, man. Hopefully I did enough.” I looked around the empty stadium and took in the low quiet hum of the cold rink. Pretty soon, these seats would be packed with cheering fans, and I couldn’t wait. I fed off the crowd’s excited energy.
“I feel ya.” He grabbed a water bottle off the boards and squirted it in his face before stepping off the ice. “We’ll know soon I guess,” he said with a sigh.
We walked in silence, beat from the long practice, through the dark hallway back to the locker room to rip off our equipment.
As soon as I got to my locker, I heard, “Vonnie!” barked atme.
I turned to see Coach Johns, my head coach, holding a clipboard and wearing some reading glasses which didn’t match his hockey warm-up outfit at all. He gave me a stern look and nodded toward his office.
I cut my eyes to Jonesy… this was it. I’d know my fate in the next couple minutes.
I felt excitement and unease swirling in my chest, and I tried to stop my hands from shaking as I quickly tore off the rest of my equipment so I could get my butt into his office. With this kind of career, there was always a chance of getting bad news and being traded down instead of up… I was definitely taking the longer route and having a harder go at this career than some people. I was never drafted at 18, and ever since then, it felt like I’d been pigeon-holed with a reputation of being good, but not good enough… I just needed my shot to prove that I could hang in a game with the NHLers. I wanted it more than anything… but if I was traded down at 26, I wasn’t sure if there was any coming back from that…
Jeez. I couldn’t help but think that this was how Ellie must’ve felt when I scared her in the tent that morning after the wedding. Maybe I needed someone to compress me… The thought of her delicate chin and stunning green eyes brought a smile to my face, which I immediately wiped off. She didn’t want me, she made that pretty clear. I asked Grey to ask Jules for her number when I got back to Vancouver, and I shot her a quick text, but I had yet to hear back. I shook my head to clear her from it. I needed to focus right now.
As soon as I was back in my team joggers and dry fit t-shirt, I walked across the locker room and knocked on Coach’s door. I heard his signature gruff harrumph, signaling me to come in.
