Chapter 2
Conner
Conner was ready to get started back to work after being away from the rink for so long. He and Wes had been chosen for the All-Star game, and after that they had both went to Conner’s hometown to play in a local hockey game and celebrate his father’s birthday. But he was back now and ready to get down to business. It was almost February and that meant it was time to get serious about playoffs.
He liked their chances this year. He and Wes had good rhythm and were both pretty good at getting the pucks to the back of the net. Cash and Taylor were the best defensemen in the league. Hell, even Ethan was in the top five goalies in the league. This was their year. He could feel it. They had come close twice in his time with the Magic, but this year they were going to bring the cup home.
He passed a new face in the hallway while on his way to their Monday meeting. She was one of the most striking women he had ever seen. Even now as he sat in this room waiting for the meeting to start, he kept thinking about her. She had these deep brown eyes and long sleek dark brown almost black hair, and quite possibly the most kissable lips he’d ever seen. Unfortunately, he had no interest in dating anyone, the cup was his priority. He wasn”t one of those guys who could handle casual sex, so that left him and his hand busy most of the time. There would be time to settle down, but he wanted the cup first.
But even with all of that, he had asked for her number and offered her tickets to the game. And then there was the way his whole body had lit up when she shook his hand. He was not dating, but if there ever was to be an exception it would be her. He looked at the number she put in his phone. Sasha Maloof. He would get her tickets and text her, and maybe he would invite her out with the team.
Cash Hawthorn walked into the room and Conner felt a twinge of jealousy. He loved Cash, he loved all his teammates, but guys like Cash had sex. They had lots of sex. And hey, more power to them. As long as everyone is up front, casual sex can be a great way to blow off steam, but it wasn’t how Conner operated. He didn’t like the thought of her having a casual hook up with him, so maybe he wouldn’t be inviting her out after all. He wasn”t quite ready, but he had her number and would get her tickets. It was a start. Maybe after the season he would call her up and take her out.
He texted the ticket office and had them put back two tickets, and then texted her.
Conner - Hi Sasha, it was nice to meet you this morning. There are two tickets waiting for you at the will call window for Tuesday”s game.
That was done. Now it was time to focus. Being the captain of this team meant he was the leader. He set the tone for team culture, and he was ready. It was time to focus and keep their eyes on the prize, the big cup sized prize that would be coming to Glendale this year.
The team was slowly starting to filter into the room. Conner was front and center because he always was. He could hear Wes and Ethan chattering behind him. They acted like teenage boys together, but they were good guys, and they worked hard. Cash sat down next to him, there was no one who wanted this cup as badly as Conner, but Cash was a close second. Conner and Cash had been on the team the longest, which made them hungriest for it.
“Hey, did you see the new hire?” he asked as he sat down.
Conner shook his head and his eyes glued to the number on his phone. Why was he looking at a name and number? This was silly. He slipped his phone back into his pocket as the coaching staff entered along with some of the management.
That’s when he saw her. The woman from the hallway. She was up there standing next to Hillary who ran the Magic”s PR. He looked over at Cash who was wagging his eyebrows.
“New hire,” he whispered with a shit eating grin on his face.
“Alright guys,” Coach Wagner started, “before we get ready for the team meeting and video reviews Hillary has an announcement.”
“Hello gentlemen. It’s been determined our social media needs an update, and we’re hoping this will help to bring in more fans. So, I would like you all to meet Sasha Maloof. She is joining us all the way from Illinois and has some fantastic ideas. Please be polite and courteous and help her out in whatever way she needs. I”ll let her tell you a little bit about her plan.”
Conner watched as the woman he had met in the hallway stood up in front of the room full of hockey players with all the confidence in the world. He couldn”t help but smile, even though he felt silly that he had just treated her like a fan because she was clearly more than that. Why hadn”t she said anything? Well, at least he could cross her off as a distraction. She worked for the Magic, making her off limits.
“Hello, I”m so excited to be working with all of you. I have a bunch of ideas, but I’m hoping to do a quick meet the player post on all of you, so I’ll be in touch with a few fun questions fans might enjoy. My goal is to make you guys look as good as I can and get more butts in the seats. I look forward to working with you guys,” she said with a big smile.
“Okay boys, let”s welcome Ms. Maloof to the Magic family,” said Coach Wagner.
The room erupted in applause and a few cheers. And Conner”s heart lit up at the smile that found her face. He wasn”t out of trouble yet where this woman was concerned. But he had his priorities. Playoffs and that cup.
After their quick meeting management left and the team set into video review. And for the first time in a long time Conner felt his attention drifting. He should be focusing on the videos, not the pretty smile or the knockout curves of Sasha Maloof, but there he was and that was the only thing running through his head.
After the meeting he was suited up for practice heading out onto the ice. He spotted Sasha over next to the ice taking some footage of the guys warming up.
“Hey,” he said behind her.
She turned and jumped. He has clearly startled her, he should feel bad, but she was just so freaking cute.
“Hi,” she replied, breathless. “Sorry, you startled me.”
“Sorry about that. I just wanted to give you an official welcome.”
“Thank you, I actually wanted to talk to you. I’m hoping to do a hockey tips series and have a few players give tips on basics like shots and skating, stick taping, really anything. Hillary said to ask you.”
“Oh yeah, I”m sure we can work something out. Why didn”t you tell me you were working here?”
“Sorry, I”m still trying to get my legs here. You hockey players are intimidating,” she said with a small bashful smile.
“Aww, we”re not so bad.”
“I’m beginning to see that. Can I talk to you about the videos?”
“Sure. I”ll find you when I finish up for the day.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
Conner smiled at her and skated out onto the ice. He couldn’t allow her to become a distraction. Still, he couldn”t help but take one quick glance back at her. She really was beautiful.
Nope. Hockey. That”s all that mattered for the next four months.
As Conner skated out onto the ice, he turned to see Coach Wagner calling him over. “We’re working on a new power play. Can you lead warmups, so when the specials coach is ready, we can transition into that?”
“You got it.”
“Thanks, I’ll be out when we’re ready.”
Conner skated center ice as the team started to filter on. “Okay guys, we’re running some shooting drills. Let’s line up. Then we are working on special teams.”
The guys all skated into lines listening to him without question. Conner had been captain for three years and he took that role seriously. They lined up at one end of the ice and skated in groups of three all weaving and passing the puck until one finally took the shot.
One of the young rookies was late to the ice. “Murphy. Why are you late?” Conner asked him.
“I was just talking to the new lady that was at the meeting. She was asking me some questions.”
Conner shook his head. “You’re here to play hockey, not become a social media sensation. Laps, then get in line.”
The rookie grumbled but took off skating laps. It looked like the beautiful woman he met this morning would be a distraction to more than just him.
After warmups, the specials coach came out to run their power play. They had been struggling with the power play all season.“Alright guys, we are running a simple 1-3-1. I want Cash up top and Niko at the net. Wes and Sven on the wings and Conner center.”
They all skated into formation. This was a switch up, but the s-play they had been running wasn’t working.
“I want a strong zone entry, then get the puck to Conner. Conner, take the shot if you can if not back up to Sven and then Wes. Let’s try it.”
The first time they ran the play without even a goalie just to get the feel. Conner took the shot. It should have been easy. A shot he could have made as a kid. Center with an empty net. No brainer. But he felt his wrist twitched at the end of the shot, sending the puck straight into the post. As the puck hit the steel pole the sound rang through the rink. That was weird, but Conner tried to shake it off.
The next run, he passed to Wes, and it was easy. Then they added the Goalie. Again, after a clean zone entry Conner went to take his shot and he felt the little twitch and once again sent the puck careening straight into the post.
The practice continued like that until the coach finally called it and called in the second power play unit into practice. Conner went into the locker room and slammed his helmet down on the bench next to him.
“Brush it off. We all have shit practices,” Wes said as he followed Conner into the dressing room.
While that was true, it wasn’t something Conner was used to. He knew Wes was just trying to help and was saying exactly what Conner would have said to him if he’d had a mess of a practice like he just did. It was meant to be comforting, but it only succeeded in pissing him off more.
But with one deep breath he tried to remind himself, Wes was right. It was one practice. It didn’t mean anything.
“It looks like someone has the yips,” said Niko in his thick Russian accent.
Conner shot him a glare.He didn’t fucking have the yips. Yips were the typically psychosomatic twitch he was pretending he didn’t feel. Sometimes your game was just off for a practice, sometimes it was off for a season. Conner wouldn’t even entertain that thought. He didn’t utter a word as he took off his skates and pads and got ready to go to a training session.
“Shut the fuck up man,” Cash said sitting down next to Conner “One bad practice doesn’t mean shit.”
“We’ll see…” said Niko before disappearing into the weight room.
“You got this,” Wes told him. “You’re the most consistent player I’ve ever played with.”
Conner nodded. His strength training session would hopefully help get his head back on straight. He wasn’t used to whatever this was. He wouldn’t even think about what Niko had said. As much as Conner liked all his teammates, that guy was an ass.
He did not have the yips…. He had an off practice. At least that’s what he was telling himself. What were the odds that the day he couldn’t make a fucking shot on an empty net was the same day the distraction with perfect pouty lips showed up? He was going to steer clear of her. That was it. He was going to get in a good workout and get a good night’s sleep and by tomorrow’s game it would all be fine.
After that awful practice Conner left the center. He just needed to put today behind him. With a deep sigh he flung his gym bag over his shoulder and headed to the parking lot.
“Conner, hey wait up,” he heard a voice call to him.
He turned to see Sasha walking quickly down the hallway towards him. Her chest jiggled as she walked quickly to catch up with him, but he wouldn’t watch, because he was not that kind of guy. Though today he seemed to have poor control of his eyes.
“Hey, I was just headed out. What can I help you with?” he grumbled. He was trying not to connect his shitty practice to the sudden arrival of their new social media manager, but hockey players were a superstitious bunch and that was hard to do right now.
“I wanted to talk to you about that video series. I’m going to do your ‘getting to know the players’ video tomorrow since you are captain. Can I ask you a few questions?”
“Sure,” Conner sighed. He was tired and sore and wanted to get home. He didn”t spend much time on social media, but he would do it for the team.
“Okay, here are the questions,” she said, passing him a sheet of paper. “If you could just fill that out and get it back to me. I have all the players doing them.”
“Oh ummm, okay.” he said looking over the sheet. “Do you think the fans really care about my favorite candy?”
“Yeah, I think they care, and I think the candy companies care. There is a lot of activity on social media, lots of fans and sponsorships to be found. Now tomorrow can I get you to make a couple videos? I was hoping you could show me a slapshot and some pointers.”
“I’m not going to be in tomorrow. It”s a game day.”
“Oh yeah, sorry. How about Wednesday before your road trip?”
“I’m not sure. Let me check my schedule. I need to get going.”
“Okay, just let me know. I”m hoping to have it up and film some other videos by next week.” Her smile pulled at something in him. He liked the feeling this morning, but after that practice it irritated him. She was a distraction he didn’t need.
“I’ll let you know,” he said curtly before turning to leave.
He didn”t have time for her and the distraction she would cause. He didn’t have the yips. He just needed to focus, and she wasn’t going to help him with that. It was best if he just stayed away from her.