Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
ASH
I get to the arena early and take my time greeting some of the fans that are posted outside. There’s a dedicated line near the side of the building where we stop by and chat with people as we come in and out of the arena.
“Meyers, Meyers!”
I turn around and see a kid who looks to be about thirteen, waving a big sign with my name and number on it. I can’t help but smile as I make my way over.
“What’s up, my man?”
He looks up at me and freezes on the spot. My eyebrows shoot up and he shakes himself out of it. “Woah, you’re really tall,” he says.
I laugh and point over my shoulder at my teammate who is 6’8” and towers me by about five inches. “No, I’m average for a hockey player, he’s the tall one.”
The kid’s eyes go wide like saucers and just when I think he’s shell shocked, he says, “Could I take a picture with you both?”
“Sure thing. Hey Baz, get over here!” My teammate finishes up signing a jersey and comes over, slapping me on the back.
“What’s up?” he asks, looking down at the kid.
“Picture time,” I say and motion to the kid to get his phone out. He tries to take a selfie with us but can’t point it well enough to have us all fit in the frame. A woman nearby sees this and walks over to help him.
She snaps our picture and we sign his jersey and hat and the kid tells us he’s excited to watch the red and white game that’s coming up.
Once the kid leaves, Baz moves on to talk to other fans and I’m about to do the same when the woman steps back up to me.
She’s wearing a black one piece that kind of looks like a romper, except it has long leg pants that flare wide at the bottom. Her shoulders are exposed, with no straps and there’s a lanyard around her neck. Considering that everyone else is wearing a jersey, she looks out of place. My gaze runs down to read what’s on her lanyard but she must think I’m checking her out because she crosses her arms and her chest swells with the movement.
She smirks at me but my face goes stone cold when I read one word—media. I don’t have anything against reporters and journalists, I just prefer not to talk to them because every time I do, all they ask about is my father.
“I have a question for you Ashton,” she says and then pauses, waiting for me to take the bait.
I run my tongue over my teeth and say, “And what’s that?”
“Is the rumor true?”
My hands start to sweat and I ball them into fists. She can’t possibly know about me and Eli. Not that I would care if word gets out, but I know Eli does, and the last thing he wants is his personal business being scrutinized by strangers on the internet.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, forcing my body to stay cool and collected.
“Well you see, there’s this rumor that Rhodes Bonavich might be retiring from his position as Detroit’s GM.” Okay…what the hell does that have to do with me?
“And that your father, Nelson Meyers might have his eye set on us. Any comment on whether he’s leaving Boston for Detroit?”
There it is. The mention of my father. I keep my face completely blank but inside I’m panicking. My ears are ringing and I don’t even hear the rest of what she’s saying. My father would be conniving enough to move here just to piss me off, especially after I embarrassed him this summer and cut him out of my life.
Would he actually do it just to mess with my career? Boston is one of the best teams in the NHL and they won the Stanley Cup last year, there’s no way he would ever give up on such a great team.
“I don’t know anything about this rumor,” I say and turn to leave.
“So it wasn’t discussed over family dinners this summer?”
“Nope,” I say and give her an ironic wave over my shoulder.
Jackson avoids me in the locker room as I drop my bag and if he’s heard the same rumor as that reporter, he probably believed me when I threatened to ruin his career the other day. Good.
I mind my own business and hit the upstairs gym, the one that overlooks the ice. I run through a series of squats and Baz comes over to spot me.
“You didn’t come out with us last night. Are we too good for you now?” he says with a shit-eating grin, so I know he’s just messing with me.
“Damn right, I’m a Calder Cup champion now, don’t you forget it!” I let some of my old confidence come up to the surface as we switch spots.
“Ah of course, you forgot about us chumps at the bottom. I see how it is,” he teases with a laugh. Baz is on the ECHL team but gets called up to the AHL often. Unfortunately, he wasn’t called up while we were playing for the Calder Cup so he didn’t get to experience the chaotic playoff games like the rest of us did.
We spend another half hour working out and then we both head out to the locker rooms. The arena has two rinks and the NHL players and part of the AHL players practice on one rink, while the rest of the AHL players and the ECHL players practice on the other.
So far, Eli and I have been paired up on the NHL side, which might be random, or it might show that we have the potential to do more this season.
Baz heads out to the ECHL side and I get my gear ready. Eli walks in with Juuse and his eyes immediately land on me. He smiles and takes a seat across the room, putting on his skates.
“Damn, someone got lucky last night,” Mike, one of our defensemen, says to me. I’m confused until he points at my naked chest as I’m getting ready to put on my underlayer. There are at least three visible hickeys on my neck and collarbone. Probably a few lower too. I smirk down at myself and then up at Mike.
“A gentleman never kisses and tells,” I say, trying really hard not to look over at Eli and give anything away. I keep my gaze on my gear instead.
“Since when are you a gentleman? Weren’t you the one boasting last year about a threesome you once had?”
“It’s called growth, Mike. Look it up,” I say, giving him a wink.
Eli
Juuse asks me a question, but I’m too distracted ogling Ash to reply. I should feel guilty for all the hickeys I left on him, but instead, a weird, primal feeling of pride comes over me. He is mine.
I must be smirking because Juuse elbows me and quietly asks, “What’s that face for?”
I clear my throat and look away, mumbling something in response. Juuse is too observant for his own good and keeps looking between me and Ash, so I try to keep my eyes trained on something else in the locker room. It fucking sucks, because all I’ve done since this morning is think about him.
Instead, I put my gear on and head out for practice. I’m dying to tell Ash about the reservation I made at the winery on the peninsula and the tour they’ll give us through the vineyard. But that’ll have to wait until after.
Today’s practice is ruthless as we go through 3v3 overtime plays. This is something both our AHL team and the NHL has struggled with the past season as we kept losing in OT, so the coaches are coming down on us hard, pointing out all our flaws and coming up with ways to make us better.
Fans come and go on the bleachers and we take the time to read signs and acknowledge them, waving at the little ones. I didn’t get a chance to say hi to any of the fans in line when I arrived at the arena with Juuse, and I hope to do that after I get off the ice and take a shower.
The shower bay at this arena doesn’t have any dividers, so everything is out in the open. There aren’t many guys in here and I walk in, naked. Juuse isn’t far behind me, and even though there are plenty of shower heads open, he takes the one right next to me.
What is it about me that says please, do burst my personal bubble, I’d love nothing more than to chat while naked ? I try to push the irritation down and rush through the shower. By the time Juuse rinses his face, I’m already shutting the water off and wrapping a towel around me.
“I’ll see you later,” I say, not glancing back.
“Alright man, see ya.”
As much as I like Juuse, I need a break from people at the moment. He’s an incredibly chatty guy and I can feel my social battery running out after spending the entire morning with him.
The team provides us with catered lunches every day and today there is a pasta and salad bar set up in the conference room upstairs. I make my way up there alone, mostly because I need a break, but also because I haven’t seen Ash since our drills earlier.
I load up a plate with pasta, breadsticks, and a side salad and take a seat at one of the high top tables that overlooks the ice. I finally see him downstairs by the locker rooms. He looks up and sees me watching him, munching on a breadstick. I should be embarrassed that I got caught staring but instead, I smile.
I haven’t been able to stop doing that. Ash smiles back and motions that he’ll join me shortly. I leave my food and go load up another plate for him. When he sees me carrying it to the table, he joins me.
“You didn’t have to do that, I could have grabbed it.”
“Yeah, but what if they ran out of your favorite breadsticks?” I say, waving one around in his face. Ash grins and catches my wrist, stopping my hand. Then he gets closer and takes a big bite of it.
I shake my head at him and say in a quiet voice, “So cute, you’re like a little dog.”
There’s mock offense written all over his face. “Excuse me, if anything, I’m an orange cat. You know, like the ones with only one brain cell.”
“You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for,” I say and catch the end of a shy, appreciative smile on his face.
Ash looks behind me, eyebrows drawn together, then looks back at me. “So,” he hesitates, taking another bite of breadstick, “how was your non-date this morning?”
I laugh, thinking how right he was and ponder how to tell him. Maybe he deserves to be messed with just a little.
“Oh it was definitely a date,” I say and take a big bite of pasta. Ash’s eyes go wide and he looks behind me again. I turn to see what or who he’s looking at and see Juuse laughing with some other players, grabbing food. He notices us and gives me a wink. Shit.
When I turn to Ash, he looks like someone just kicked his puppy. No, he looks like he’s the kicked puppy. I immediately feel bad for my idiotic comment. Of course it wasn’t a date.
I don’t get to take it back because Juuse comes up and asks, “Mind if I join?”
Ash nods, and turns his focus on the food while Juuse takes a seat to my left. There’s an awkward silence but Juuse fills it with questions about Grand Marquee and the Calder Cup. Ash politely nods and smiles along and I hate this subdued version of him. I nudge his leg with mine under the table and watch his profile for a reaction, but he doesn’t give me anything. He just ignores it, and that makes me feel even worse.
“Got any plans for tonight?” Juuse asks and it takes me longer than it should to respond so he says, “A few of us were thinking of renting a boat and taking it out into the bay. You’re both welcome to join if you want.”
He lets the question hang and when Ash doesn’t say anything either I make an attempt at a joke. “Nah. Ash doesn’t like boats that much.”
His head snaps up and he glares at me. At my smile, he bites the inside of his cheek, realizing what I’m doing. Come on, hani. Play with me.
“Bullshit. I love boats, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, so you’ll come?” Juuse asks. Ash looks at me skeptically to see my response.
“We actually have something else planned,” I tell him. “Maybe next time.”
“Of course, the offer stands if you change your mind.” He gets up, grabs his empty plate and water bottle, then over his shoulder he adds, “On both counts.”
“What does that mean?” Ash asks, eying me wearily.
I let out a long sigh. “I’ll tell you all about it in the car.”