Page 19 of Holding Penalty

I sit up on the couch, the slight elevation change making pain pulse behind my eyes.

“What kind of name is Cheesecake, anyway?” I ask, my voice gruff.

But I can’t deny to myself that I actually like the name. It’s cute. Even though I’d deny it vehemently to anyone who accused me of feeling that way.

The plot of land I own is big, and the petting zoo is some distance away from the one-story ranch house I live in. Mostly I’m able to stay out of the way of the zoo’s operations, though not as much as I’d like to.

Except for Cheesecake. Every day just about, she likes to wander away from her herd, and she always finds her way here. She’ll spend hours hanging around me, pestering me for pets and scratches and generally refusing to leave my side.

She’ll hop up onto the couch right next to me while I’m reviewing game film and keep her little eyes pointed at the TV just like me, as if she can understand what she’s watching.

Luckily, since these animals are meant to interact with the public, they’re bathed regularly by staff.

I could always put up some extra fencing to keep Cheesecake from wandering toward my house … but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

My phone buzzes on my coffee table. I reach for it faster than I normally do, and I realize it’s because my first thought was maybe Piper is texting me to let me know what happened with her fiancé …

But we never exchanged numbers. Of course we didn’t. Why would we?

I frown when I see that it’s a notification from the group chat I’m in with five of my teammates.

HAYDEN

Look who I ran into at the grocery store!

Our left defenseman Hayden Bloom posts a picture in the chat of him with a giant smile beaming from his face, his arm wrapped around the shoulders of our goalie, Eli Vaughn.

Vaughn—no one calls him by his first name—is sporting his signature sour expression, nothing but annoyance written in his eyes.

ADRIANO

Wow, looks like a bestie bro-date

VAUGHN

…

COOPER

I’ve never seen a more menacing ellipses in my life

NOAH

I did once but I don’t want to talk about it. It traumatized me

ADRIANO

Sorry, Vaughn. Please don’t beat me up at practice tomorrow. You know how important my face is to me

HAYDEN

Vaughnnnn, where’d you go? I went to get a frozen pizza, and you disappeared!

COOPER

Hayden, what did I tell you about eating frozen pizza for dinner five nights a week?

HAYDEN