Chapter 4
Conner
It had been a couple days since Sasha started working at the Magic Center and Conner was doing his best to avoid her. His shot was still off. He refused to think about the yips, but the little twitch at the end of his shot was weighing on him heavily. No player likes the clink of the post as the puck bounced off, but it had started to haunt his dreams. It all started when she showed up. She was a distraction he didn”t need. He had answered his questions for the player profile, but she kept trying to get him to film some videos, but he needed to focus. Still, he couldn”t help but look for her in rooms and walk by her office on the way in, no matter how he tried.
He was dressed in his suit walking into the arena for his game on Tuesday. As he walked in, he walked past some of the camera”s that were always set up to catch them on their way in. He usually ignored them and tried to focus on the game. Tonight”s game should be a decent one for them. They were playing one of the lowest ranked teams in the league but with his game being off he was nervous. Before the break for the All-Star game, he and Wes had been on fire, if his game was off, it would be noticeable.
“Hey, Conner.”
He turned around to see Sasha coming in over to him. “I have the camera”s set up to catch you guys walking in. In the past I know you have always just ignored them, but I was wondering if I could get a smile or a wink or something for the camera this time.”
“What?” he asked. He was trying to focus and get into the right headspace.
“Smile for the camera,” she said pointing the camera in the hallway. And she gave him a big smile herself.
“Sasha, I’m trying to focus on the game,” he said with a sigh.
“Not even time for a smile,” she said to him with her big doe eyes.
“No. I”m here for hockey not to smile for a camera.” As he walked away from her, he regretted saying it like that. He knew he must have sounded like a dick, and he didn’t mean to. His head was a mess, and he hadn’t dealt with anything this bad in years. But as he walked by the camera he did turn and give it a smile. There. Now he needed to focus.
Once he was in the locker room, it was time for his game face.
“Hey Murph, how are you feeling tonight?” Conner asked the young rookie.
“Good, my cousin’s in the crowd tonight. He’s with the BU team.”
“Nice. I’m sure you’ll have a great game. If they are around after the game, I would love to meet them.”
“Really? You”re my cousin’s favorite player.”
“Well, let’s get a win and maybe I can sign a stick for him.”
“Thanks!” said Murphy with a smile on his face.
“No problem,” Conner said before he popped in his earbuds and started his pregame playlist. Back to focusing and finding his center, because he did not have the yips, no matter what Niko said.
But that focus was broken when he went out on the ice for warmups. There, in the front row next to the penalty box was his sister. His sister hadn”t come to a game without him begging her in years. They had grown up playing together. All McPhee”s played hockey and his sister was an amazing goalie. After college she stopped playing and stopped coming to his games. He knew she was going through something, and he didn”t push, but he had gotten her on the ice when they were home and now she was here at his game. Great…more pressure. If anyone would be able to tell his game was off, it was his twin sister.
He caught her eye and waved. He was happy she was there, but it was throwing him. Then he saw Wes skate over to her. That”s weird…but he couldn’t think about it. He needed to focus. Why was the universe so set on messing up his mojo tonight? Between Sasha and his sister and the yips he refused to think about, his head was all over the place. He took a breath and did some puck handling warmups. Before he left the ice after warmups, he sent the puck to the net and cringed as it bounced off the post again.
Once they were in the tunnel waiting to skate onto the ice his focus was hard to find, but once he stepped he was center ice for the face-off, he hoped he would find it.
The game was awful for Conner, but they won so that”s all that really mattered. His shot was off. He couldn’t seem to stop the little twitch that kept pulling his shot left. Between his shot and his lack of focus, he was a mess. Good thing Wes got a hat trick and kept the game going.
“Hey man, you wanna head to West Side Pub?” Ethan asked as they were heading out.
“Yeah, let”s go.”
Conner and Ethan got there at the same time and headed up to the balcony where the team usually sat, only to find his sister there with Wes. Fuck. He didn”t care who she dated, and Wes was a hell of a lot better than her ex, but it was still more to throw him off his game.
He sat in the corner drinking a beer. Wes and his sister had already cleared out and he knew he should go home, but he decided to would stay for one more drink.
“Woah, two beers,” Ethan said, looking at him eyebrows raised.
“Yeah, I know. Tomorrow”s an off day and I need it. I couldn”t get my head on straight tonight.”
“No worries, man, you are the most consistent player I”ve ever played with. You’re good.”
He was watching the crowd under him while tossing around the idea of going home. Then he saw her, and god damn it, his heart fluttered in his chest. Sasha had just walked into the bar.
“Hey man, I”m heading home,” Conner said as he clapped Ethan on the back. Cash was busy flirting, and the rest of the team was starting to filter out also.
He snaked his way through the crowd, his eyes on Sasha trying to steer clear of her. She was at the bar while he was slipping out.
“Hey man! You”re Conner McPhee!” shouted a drunken frat boy. “Let me get a picture.”
Conner turned and greeted him and took a picture. He turned to leave and damn it if he didn”t bump into Sasha.
“Hi Conner,” she said, “are you taking off?”
“Yeah, I”ll see you later,” he brushed past her. He was ready for tonight to be over. He would spend his day at home tomorrow getting his head straight before they left Thursday for a road trip.