Chapter 8
Conner
Conner walked into his kitchen and hung his keys up. He had just gotten in from eating lunch with his sister. It’s not something he usually did on a game day, but she had reached out and things had been strained between them since she stopped playing hockey. But he was hopeful after their meal because she had told him why she quit. She had also told him she was dating Wes Darling, his teammate and probably his closest friend on the team besides Cash. And honestly, he was happy for them. It had taken some getting used to, but Wes was a great guy and Kate could use someone like Wes to dote on her.
Conner was feeling pretty good about his game too. During practice this week his shot had been back. He was making strong passes and getting his shots to the back of the net. There was a part of him that kept trying to connect the dots to the return of his shot to the first time he felt Sasha’s amazing body against his, but that was silly. Even as superstitious as players could be, that didn’t make any sense.
But something was still bothering him about the whole Sasha situation.
And those feelings had only grown when he walked into the diner and caught his sister scrolling through the team”s page. There was one of those stupid slow motion suit videos. Only this time it wasn’t Cash, it was him. He saw the look on his face over his sister”s shoulder, it looked like he was making that face at the camera, but he knew he didn”t do that.
Conner sat at the kitchen table scrolling through the Magic”s social media on his phone. Cash looked right at the camera and winked, it”s what you got with Cash. Conner had smiled at it once but had just ignored it since.
But here he was on the slow-motion suit camera. The zoom in on his face was what was killing him. He licked his lips, and his eyes were hungry, and the number of views this video had and the way some of the fans were going crazy over it made him uncomfortable. He remembered this moment. This was the moment he was walking into work and saw Sasha. He still remembered what she was wearing that night; a navy dress that hugged her ass, and these red pumps that matched her lips. He was just glad the camera didn”t seem to pick up the slight bulge in his pants he remembered he had right then.
Fuck. This was not good. This was not the kind of focus he was hoping to have this year, but he just couldn”t seem to get her off his mind. Yes, his shot was better, but his focus was still scattered. Maybe he should stop trying to distance himself from her. And it would help if he would stop putting his foot in his mouth. He was usually able to talk to anyone. People liked him. Why did he keep saying stupid things to her?
But still, he didn”t want to be a sex symbol, he just wanted to play hockey. He just needed to tell that to her, he was sure she wouldn”t post anything like that without his consent. She had said as much when they were making their captain”s tips videos. He enjoyed making those, and when he scrolled down to those videos they seemed to be doing well.
A text came through, interrupting his scrolling.
Frankie – Thanks for the tickets tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing you.
Conner – Of course, it will be good to see you. Got you seats on the ice right by the penalty box.
Frankie – How’d you swing that?
Conner – Ethan’s parents season tickets are open tonight.
Frankie – You fix your shot?
He hung his head and groaned. Frankie was a friend from college. She had played on the team with his sister and now she was a coach for a women’s college team. Of course, she noticed, and she wouldn’t be Frankie if she didn’t have the balls to say it to his face.
Conner – I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Frankie – Right. Well, I’m excited to see you tonight. Try and find the back of the net this time.
That night during warm-up he looked over to the seats and saw Frankie and Kate sitting together.
“Those two look like trouble.” Turning he saw Wes beside him bouncing the puck on the end of his stick.
“You have no idea. They were roommates in college. All I know is I better fucking score tonight or I’ll never live it down.”
After warmups Conner was center ice. He took a deep breath as he skated in for the face-off. This was it. This was the game. He was going to put all this nonsense behind him. His sister and Frankie were here, they knew his game almost as well as the players on the ice. If he ever needed to shake what had been happening it was tonight. He got in position for the face-off and won the battle. Within moments Cash had the puck and skated into their zone. He pulled the defensemen, leaving Wes open. Wes took the puck to his side and looked like he was about to shoot but sent the puck straight to Conner. Conner didn’t even think, he took his shot. The puck whizzed top shelf over the goalie’s left shoulder.
It was back. His shot felt just like it always had. In the first five seconds of the game, he was on the board for the first time in months. Wes and Cash were the first ones to skate over to him hug him and tap his helmet in celebration. He was ready for this game now. He turned to Frankie who grinned at him.
After his game, which had gone great, he was heading home. He had a big house he had bought when he signed his second contract with the Magic. As he walked into his house, he couldn”t help but notice for the first time it felt empty.
Thirty was right around the corner. His older brother had been married for years with three kids. His sister was in a relationship with his teammate, who also happened to be one of his closest friends. And there he was in a big, empty house. He went and flopped on his couch, kicked his feet up on the coffee table, and grabbed his video game controller. His life had never felt empty before, but right now it did.
Something inside of him wished Sasha was here. Even though he was pissed at her for posting the video, he wanted her curled up on the couch next to him, his arms around her, her luscious soft body pressing into his. And fuck it all if he wasn”t hard right now. He shouldn’t jack off to the woman who could hardly stand him, also one he worked with. But as if it moved on its own, his hand slipped down the waistband of his sweatpants and his fist was wrapped around his cock. He needed to unwind after the game, and this was as good a way as any.