Our captain exhales heavily, then nods. “I could use a beer.”
Lawson lets out a loud whoop, and even Keller looks excited by this idea.
“Then let’s go. I’ll give Lilah a call and tell her I’m going to be late.”
“Good boy,” Keller mutters to our number one goalie.
Fox flips him off.
“You already know I’m in,” Lawson says. “Besides, I could use some time away from the old ball and chain.”
“Ball and chain?” Hayes rolls his eyes. “Please, you worship the ground Rory walks on. We all fucking know it.Oh, Rory, you’re so amazing. You look so cute in your scrubs,” he says in a high-pitched voice.
“Oh, Rory, you’re so incredible. I might be the dumbest boy alive, but I’m still smart enough to know how lucky I am to be in your presence,” Keller adds.
“Oh, Rory,you’re so…so…” Fox sighs. “Shit, I can’t think of anything. Rory’s just really cool, you know?”
We all laugh.Of coursethat’s what Fox comes up with. He’s always the nice guy, even when he tries not to be.
We clean up our equipment, and I ignore how jelly-like my legs are as I hop off the bike. If they’re already hurting after a simple preseason workout, I can’t imagine how I’m going to feel once I’m actually on the ice, where everyone is younger and faster than me.
It’s just more proof that I need to focus on this season more than anything else. No distractions, especially not in the form of a beautiful blonde bombshell with the most captivating green eyes I’ve ever seen. Hockey. Just hockey.
We hit the showers for a quick rinse and head out to the bar, each of us taking our own cars. I’m almost certain half the guys will make up an excuse to leave within an hour of being there. That’s how it’s gone since they started pairing off. One minute we’ll be there shooting the shit, feeling like it did back when we first started the club. The next it’ll just be me and Keller, drinking to forget how lonely we both are. He’ll never admit it, of course, but I can.
Iamlonely, and I wish like hell I weren’t. But there’s not much I can do about that now with everything on the line—my future as a top defenseman in the NHL, as a Seattle Serpent, and my hockey career. There’s no time to think about being lonely. That’s a problem for post-hockey me, and since I’m not ready to hang up my skates, I’ll have plenty of time to worry about that later.
I find street parking near Top Shelf and click the button on my key fob to lock my AMG just as Hutch jogs up to me.
“Hey,” he says, his shoulder bumping against mine as he shoves his hands into his pockets. “Sorry about getting a little riled up back there. Just a lot going through my mind right now, you know?”
“I know. But like Hayesy said, we’re here for you. We are friends. Yourfamily. We’re here through it all, even if you just need to do a little venting.”
He nods a few times. “Thanks, man. I, uh, I appreciate it.” His voice is thick with emotion, and I can’t say I blame him. He’s juggling a lot right now. Hutch clears his throat and opens the door to Top Shelf. “Now, let’s have a drink, yeah?”
We step inside, and Hutch comes to a dead stop. I barely catch myself from running into the back of him.
“What the fuck?” he says.
I look around him and blink. Once, then twice. A third time for good measure. The good news is that thanks to Hutch’s reaction, I’m not seeing things.
The bad news? We might have brought him to the wrong place to try to relax. Standing behind the bar is the very same blonde woman I’ve been trying hard to put out of my mind.
Nessa.
She’s nodding at whatever the bartender says as she pours shots into a glass. Her bottom lip is caught between her teeth, her eyebrows cinched together in concentration. Even from here, I can tell she’s tensed, afraid she’ll drop something and mess up.
“What are you doing here?”
I hadn’t even realized Hutch had moved, but suddenly he’s across the room, standing at the bar right in front of her. I was too busy staring at her.
She looks up, startled. “Reed.”
“What are you doing here, Van?” Hutch repeats, more bite behind each word.
I take that as my cue to join him, to hopefully keep him calm. The whole point of coming here was so he could blow off steam, not be triggered by his problems even more. I keep my eyes on his sister as I settle in beside him. She doesn’t look my way even once, and I’m not sure if that pisses me off or if I’m grateful for it. I’m not entirely sure how much longer I can pretend I don’t know her.
“Van? I thought you liked to go by Nessa,” the bartender says.
