Page 70

Andie

Me too! And now you HAVE to come to the game with us on Friday.

Noel

Oh yeah, I guess I should probably watch hockey now, huh?

Andie

Girl, you know I don’t go to games for the hockey. I go to stare at Mitch.

Mel

I love hockey, watching West is just an added bonus.

Noel

Okay. I can manage staring at Colby for an evening, I guess.

CHAPTER 29

COLBY

Coach Young was kind enough to allow an afternoon practice the day after we got back from our away game. We all needed to catch up on sleep, Coach included. Not that I got much sleep after that kiss.

If I thought about Noel Woodcock a lot before, it’s even worse now. My need for her ignited beyond reason. I was too excited to sleep last night and finally turned my lamp on and finished The Fellowship of the Ring. Now I know why chicks are obsessed with Aragorn. The dude is a stud.

I enter the locker room, still daydreaming about Noel, and almost slam right into the new defenseman, the one that’s been out with a minor injury, Travis Evander. He’s all suited up and wearing a full contact jersey, his reddish-brown hair peeking out from under his helmet.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going,” he grits out, his brow furrowed in an annoyed way.

I’m almost the same height as him even though he’s wearing skates and I’m not—he must be barely 5’10”.

When he sees me and realizes who I am, he huffs a laugh, trying to back track. “Oh, sorry Knight. Didn’t realize it was you. I thought the equipment manager was back with the wrong gloves again.” He rolls his eyes.

“Jim is great. He’s never gotten my gear mixed up all the years I’ve been with the Eagles. A little respect goes a long way. Doesn’t matter if it’s the general manager, or the social media manager. We’re all part of a team here,” I tell him earnestly.

Jim is the most organized person I know, but some players are total divas and are never happy.

“Right, I’ll remember that.” He appears slightly embarrassed.

“Glad to see you’re in full contact today. We need your defensive skills.”

“Me too, man,” he says tersely, a tick in his jaw. “See ya on the ice.” Travis brushes past me.

Something about the guy sets off my douchebag meter. I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is. Just a vibe I’m getting, and that he was talking crap about Jim. Hopefully I’m wrong, because his defensive skills are exactly what we need to help us win the cup.

I walk into the locker room where everyone is putting on their gear and their skates. Jim comes in behind me. He smiles and says good morning before dropping off three different sizes of gloves at the station with Travis’s name on it. Three of the walls in our locker room are lined with large cubbies where we store our gear, and we each have a name plate. It’s similar to preschool cubby, but fancier. I turn and find Remy and West talking quietly in the corner of the room.

“Why does everyone have so many secrets these days?” I ask, placing one arm around each of their shoulders.

Remy sighs heavily. “The new defenseman that they pulled from the AHL is a drama queen.”

West nods in agreement, then grins. “So? What happened last night?”

I release them, stepping toward my cubby. “A gentleman never kisses and tells.”

Bruce waddles up beside me in his full goalie gear, removing his mouth guard before saying, “Yeah, but you’re not a gentleman.”