Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
ALL KINDS OF FUCKED UP
NASH
Scrimmages are usually my favorite part of training, but today I went through the motions, letting my muscle memory guide me. My head is not in the game.
Not by a mile. I have no one else to blame but myself for the mess I’m in. I did what I vowed I wasn’t gonna do and broke my resolution to keep my head strictly in the game before the season even started.
My head is still in Vaughn’s bathroom last night as I skate past Mack on a breakaway after dodging Davis, one of our second line defensemen.
“Nash, over here.” Colsen is wide open on my right, but I ignore his call.
I’m barreling toward the crease at breakneck speed, ready to face Tucker, who is laser focused on the puck at the end of my stick.
My slapshot is as sloppy and unfocused as I feel, as my head is not in the game.
The puck goes wide, flying over the boards into the spectator section.
“Belkin!” Coach Harrison barks after blowing on his whistle until his face turns purple.
“What in the ever loving fuck was that? Where’s your head today?
You’ve been distracted all practice. Whatever is the matter, you better snap out of it.
The mini tournament our sponsors have organized begins in two weeks, and unless you want to be eaten alive by UCLA, you need to focus. ”
I hang my head. I know Coach is right. “Yes, sir.”
“But Belkin isn’t the only one who sucks,” Coach bellows.
“Prescott, you’ve been off your game since day one.
Don’t think I’m not gonna bench you if you don’t whip yourself back into the shape I know you can be in.
Hewitt might only be a sophomore, but he’s talented.
Unless I see some big improvement, you’ll be watching him in your crease from the bench. Is that clear?”
“Crystal, Coach.” Tucker’s gaze is fixed on his skates.
Coach Harrison gives us one last, disgusted look before shaking his head.
“Hit the showers, ladies. And you better think long and hard about how you’re gonna step on my ice tomorrow morning.
We’re the defending national champions and the team I’ve seen so far?
We wouldn’t even have a shot at the playoffs.
You’re all dismissed.” He yells with a scathing glare at the cameras that have been filming this whole shit show.
If there’s one good thing about the obsessive thoughts that have been running through my head since last night, it’s that I had totally forgotten that we were being filmed.
Usually that would have made me anxious to look good in case my future team is watching. Today I didn’t even think about that.
All I could think about was Taryn. Her soft lips, her big green eyes, her perfect tits and her tight silky pussy.
I’ve had my fair share of hookups, but no one has ever made me feel the way she did.
By the time I came in the condom harder than ever before, I was ready to break every single promise I made to myself when I accepted the transfer to Star Cove. I thought Taryn was worth it.
But I might have fucked everything up instead.
“I’m dating Colsen and Tucker. It’s complicated.”
If my two teammates found out that I fucked her, this could turn into a repeat of the situation in Hemlock Beach. Would they believe me if I told them that I didn’t know they were involved with Taryn? That if I had known, I would have never touched her despite how much I wanted to?
Or would they think that I’m fucking with them? It’s possible especially after I expressed my skepticism when they told me that they were both pursuing her.
This has the potential to turn into another Hemlock Beach. And while neither Tucker nor Colsen have the power to bench me like Coach Hiddink did, they’re well loved by the entire team.
Coach Harrison might be hard on them. But if push came to shove, who would he choose between two team veterans who won the championship with him last year, and the new guy with a reputation for fucking other men’s women?
It’s a huge risk to tell them about me and Taryn, but they have to hear this from me. If she told them about what happened between us, they would think the worst of me.
Usually, I’m not the type to dilly dally in the locker room, but I wait until most of our teammates leave.
The film crew is still here, and there’s no way I can broach the subject until I’m sure we have complete privacy.
“What are you guys up to?” I ask them, keeping my tone neutral.
“Nothing much.” Tucker is shoving most of the contents of his locker into his duffel bag. “I was gonna hit the laundry room later, but until then I’m wide open.”
Macklin slaps him on the back. “I was gonna challenge Tucker to a game of the latest edition of NHL on my PlayStation. You and Col can join too. We could make it a roommate challenge. The loser has to load and unload the dishwasher for two weeks.”
I frown at the idea. What I want to discuss could turn into a hard conversation. I want Tucker and Colsen in a good mood, but I don’t want them distracted by video games or the TV.
“I was hoping for something a little more… relaxing.” I sigh. “I’ve been having trouble focusing today, so I don’t think I have the bandwidth for a video game.”
Mack wiggles his eyebrows. “That’s exactly why I invited you. If you’re distracted, it’ll be easier to beat you. I’ll have you doing all my chores in no time.”
“That’s fucked up.” I chuckle. “Would you take advantage of your teammates like that?”
His smile widens. “Absolutely.”
“You’re new here, Nash,” Colsen sounds clearly amused. “But you’ll learn soon enough that Mack is ruthless. On and off the ice.”
Tucker agrees. “Yeah, he’s the worst chirp in our conference.
Maybe in every D-1 hockey team. He isn’t just one of our fastest skaters with the most wicked slapshot I’ve ever seen.
He gets under the other team’s skin with all kinds of taunts.
The best part is that he isn’t nasty. It’s not shit like ‘your mom was sucking my cock last night.’ He’s provocative as hell, but he keeps things funny as shit at the same time. ”
“Aww, shucks.” Mack grabs Tucker and puts him in a headlock despite our goalie’s taller stature. “You’re gonna make me blush, dude. It’s always nice to see that my hard work is appreciated.”
The two men jostle and horse around until Tucker frees himself from the headlock.
“I’m happy to hang,” Tucker tells us. “But I’m with Nash. I’m having a hard time focusing, too. Maybe we could put on a movie or something.”
“Or,” Colsen chimes in. “We could go check out the hot springs area?”
I arch one eyebrow. “We have hot springs?”
Colsen nods. “Yeah, didn’t you check your welcome pack?
This training center will be where the new NHL team will practice year round.
They have a whole bunch of crazy stuff. Saunas, a Japanese garden, a spa, and a couple of hot outdoor pools.
They found the hot springs while building the center, and they tiled them so we can use them as well as ice baths to soothe our muscles. I’ve been meaning to check them out.”
“Sounds good.” That could be a good place to talk to them while they’re relaxed. “I guess I need to swing back to my room to get my swimming trunks.”
“Nah,” Tucker zips his bag closed. “There’s no need for that. I’ve walked by those pools on the day we moved in. They aren’t very big. Each one takes a maximum of four or five people, and they’re surrounded by shrubs and bushes for privacy. We can go in our birthday suits.”
Mack’s ear to ear grin would be contagious if I weren’t worried about the news I’m planning to break to them.
“Aww, baby,” he bats his eyelashes in Tucker’s direction. “If you wanted to see me naked, you could have said so.”
Tucker flips him off, but he’s laughing too. “Fuck you, dipshit. There would be nothing wrong if I were attracted to you, but I don’t swing that way.”
Mack grabs him and kisses him noisily on one cheek. “Me neither. But a shame, huh? We would be hot together.”
“We would be,” Tucker agrees. “But I don’t know if I could trust you with my heart, Mack. Since you broke up with Gen, you’ve been banging every hot girl in sight. I wouldn’t want to be another notch on your belt.”
Mack’s eyes are as wide as saucers. “Never! You would be husband material, Tuck. There’s going to be one very lucky woman one day who gets to call you hers.”
Macklin and Tucker keep laughing and fake flirting as we leave the locker room, headed outside.
Colsen shakes his head, clearly amused. “Too bad that love story isn’t meant to be. Those two would be perfect for each other if they weren’t exclusively into women.”
I listen to my teammates joking and laughing, and the tension in my chest skyrockets.
The easy banter, the friendship between them, is what I’ve been craving more than anything else in the world. They’ve been nothing but welcoming from the moment I joined the Cove Knights. And my stupid ass might have fucked it all up already.
COLSEN
The walk to the hot springs is pleasant. Tucker had the idea to stop at the food hall in the main building and get a few sandwiches.
We’re always starving after practice, and we all agree to have a picnic while we enjoy the hot springs.
“Aah.” Tucker sighs, content as he lowers himself into the luxuriously warm water.
“I could get fucking used to this. What’s better than a nice dip in a hot pool, surrounded by nature, with some of my favorite dudes and,” he takes a giant bite out of his Italian meat sub and sets the sandwich down on the stones that decorate the edge of the pool.
“Some delicious food? This is why summer is my favorite season. It’s seven p.m. and we still have several hours of daylight to enjoy. ”
“I can’t disagree with you.” I say eating a piece of my sushi. “My muscles are definitely thanking me for the hot water.”
For a second, we all soak up the warmth of the hot springs, enjoying the peaceful, quiet surroundings and the sea scented breeze.