45. Hayden
“We need to talk.”
I tear my eyes off Cassidy and focus on my teammates. Warren, Kingston, Saint, and Torin stand shoulder to shoulder behind me and I spin on the barstool to face them. ”What”s up?”
War looks at Mattson and then back at me with a smirk on his face. ”We think we came up with a way to get you back on the ice.”
Gritting my teeth, I narrow my eyes at them with a mix of fear and desperation. My whole body tenses as I struggle to contain the rising hope within me. I”ve been focused on fixing Cassidy”s bar so I didn”t have to stop and think about how my career has gone to shit, but War’s words strike me like a bolt of lightning, sending my heart into a chaotic rhythm. ”How?”
Saint leans forward and rests his forearms on the bar as he stares at the TV hung behind the bar showing the Knights-Hellcats game. ”We”re going to refuse to play.”
”What?”
Kingston nods once, looking like he wants to kill someone. But then that’s his usual expression. ”The four of us will refuse to play unless they reinstate you.”
My jaw drops and I look between the four of them in shock. They”re serious. And they”re willing to risk their own careers for me.
”Maybe some of the other guys, too,” Warren says, reaching around me and grabbing a maraschino cherry and popping it into his mouth. ”And we”re telling Coach we”re not skating as long as Morozov”s wearing the C, either.”
”Holy shit,” I whisper as my heart does its best impression of an MMA fighter against my ribs. I can”t believe they”d do this for me. And it just might fucking work. ”You guys...” I bite my lip and look down at the floor as emotions I don”t want to deal with right now threaten to choke me up. ”Thank you.”
Warren shoves my shoulder with his. ”We”ve got your back, man.”
”And we”re not about to stand for what Morozov did. Shit stays with the team. He took it outside, he”s done,” Mattson adds.
I nod, knowing he”s right. That”s the unofficial teammate code and Roman broke it. I just didn”t expect them to come to my defense. I”ve never been a team player, so knowing these guys have my back is weird as hell, but I appreciate it more than they know.
Kingston nods once like he”s decided something and then turns to walk away, Mattson following him. Saint claps me on the shoulder and then goes back to watching the game while Warren spins on his stool and leans against the bar so he can watch Saylor work.
I refocus on Cassidy. She”s got a smile on her face and a lightness about her I’ve missed. She has no idea what just happened, but fuck if it doesn”t make me feel like I can breathe again for the first time since I walked out of the Anchors facility thinking my career was over.
”When are you guys going to do it?” I ask War as he grabs another cherry, grinning at Cassidy when she tries to slap his hand away and misses.
”Tomorrow,” he tells me, popping the cherry into his mouth, ripping off the stem, and chewing it before swallowing. ”We”re all going to meet at the arena before practice and tell Coach we won”t skate unless you”re back on the ice.” He sucks the stem back into his mouth, and a few seconds later, he plucks it out tied into a knot.
Saylor laughs as he grins at her where she”s cracking the tops off half a dozen beers. ”Impressive,” she says, shaking her head.
”You know it, babe. Wait until you see what else I can do with my tongue.” He winks at her and then turns back to me. ”Tomorrow, we got you. Be ready to skate.”
We play the Orcas tomorrow night and if the guys” insane plan works, I”ll be in that game. And fuck if that doesn”t make my blood pump faster through my veins.
Cassidy comes over and leans against the bar beside me, resting her head on my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her waist, my palm splaying across her stomach where my baby is, and kiss the top of her head, breathing her in while Warren talks about some new trick he wants to try on Saylor when they finally hook up.
I tune him out as I look down at Cassidy who”s watching him with a small smile on her face, but her eyes are tired and she looks like she”s about to fall asleep standing up. It”s a good thing so much shit”s been going down lately, because otherwise she”d notice how the pregnancy”s affecting her and get suspicious. ”You okay?” I whisper in her ear.
Her slow nod is laced with a devious glint in her eyes as she looks up at me with a dangerously sweet smile. I couldn’t resist her if I tried. This burning desire to taste her sweetness overwhelms me. Without a second thought, I close the space between us and kiss the hell out of her.
I have to take advantage because normally she”s two seconds away from tearing into me. I love that fiery side of her, but this soft side is something new and I”m going to eat it up like it’s my last meal. ”I”m great.”
We”ve been here for hours and the crowd”s thinning out as it gets later and later, but there”s still a buzz in the air that wasn”t there before we showed up. At least for now, Cassidy”s bar is saved. And maybe my career, too, if the guys” crazy plan works.
It feels strange as fuck to hope, and it”s not really my style. Forcing my will on everyone around me is more my standard, and I can”t even hide my grin when I think about how much I”ve rubbed off on my teammates. Them pulling this protest shit? That”s something straight out of my playbook. Force the team and the coaches to listen. Make them see what a piece of shit Morozov is. How toxic he is to this team.
How he”s the reason they played like shit before I got here, and how he doesn”t deserve a place here. I may play dirty, but he’s the fucking worst of us all. I want to win. He wants power.
Cassidy leans into me more heavily and I know it”s time to go, no matter what she says. She”s exhausted and I’ve had enough sharing her with people anyway. So I stand up and pull her with me, saying goodbye to the guys and thanking them one last time as they head out with us, making a plan for them to text me the second they walk out tomorrow.
I”m not going to be able to sleep tonight until I know what Coach says. And if he doesn”t give in, I don”t know what we”ll do.
But I”m ready to fight for my place on this team and for Cassidy. It feels fucking great for once. Like maybe I can have something good in my life that isn”t just hockey.
And maybe that”s what love is supposed to feel like.