Chapter 1 #2
“I should have known,” Ricki snickered. “I do admire how you put yourself out there and have fun. But… I’ll say it again…
you have to focus on your fitness. You’re in a good moment on the ice right now, but as the season goes on you just won’t be able to keep on partying like this.
Not unless you want to be spending more and more time in here rather than on the ice. ”
Jacob didn’t respond.
Part of Jacob knew that Ricki was talking perfect sense. But admitting that was a whole other thing. As far as Jacob was concerned, he was riding high – and his already stellar performances on the ice were only going to get better as he got used to his teammates and the coach’s tactical outline.
As Ricki continued to work his magical fingers into Jacob’s back, Jacob cast his mind back to high school.
He might not have been the biggest, and he certainly wasn’t the strongest, but the second that Jacob picked up an ice hockey stick for the first time had truly been a gamechanger – quite literally.
Despite only being a freshman, Jacob had danced a merry dance around the seniors and established hierarchy.
Some of the roughest, toughest kids had quickly decided that some strongarm tactics would put the cocky junior in his place – but Jacob had seen them all off in his very first practice session.
From that day onward, Jacob was his high school’s hockey star and pretty much untouchable around the school. From being a quiet boy who kept to himself, Jacob had been catapulted to a whole other level.
And this journey had only continued, Jacob’s unstoppable upward trajectory now bringing him to the Enforcers.
I play fast, I party hard.
I’m too good to try and control.
I’m Jacob freakin’ Gosling.
With that, Jacob told Ricki that he was done with the massage. It was time to hit the practice ice and show all his new teammates that even when he was late, Jacob Gosling was still the number one pick in town.
* * *
“Hell yeah!” Jacob hollered, cutting inside and firing another deadly accurate shot past the goalie. “And another one!”
“Well done, Jacob,” Mitch Vale, the assistant coach shouted from the sideline. “Now hustle back into position. We need to be quicker in transition. It’s been happening too much in matches. And I’m talking to everyone here, not just Jacob.”
Jacob looked around and saw that not all his teammates welcomed Mitch’s comment.
The truth was that Jacob didn’t enjoy tracking back and covering defense. Jacob loved to attack the opposition goal and either score or assist. Doing the dirty work wasn’t Jacob’s calling as far as he was concerned. Far from it, in fact.
“Coach, I think most of us do hustle back,” Connor said, his gruff voice carrying some hefty weight to it. “And there’s some of us who really need to step the fuck up in defense. Yeah, I’m talking about you, Jacob.”
Jacob shrugged.
And Jacob could see that it was likely only the presence of some of the Enforcers board of directors watching practice that was stopping Connor Valley powering over and making his presence felt.
“Coach, I need to hit the locker room,” Jacob said, the fixed glare from one of hockey’s most feared players in Connor Valley proving enough to make his back niggle seemingly flare up again. “My back… I want to make sure I’m good for the game on Saturday.”
Jacob could see that he was causing some consternation amongst his teammates, but he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. As long as he produced the goods when it mattered, it really would make little difference what his training standards were like.
“Fine. Do what you need to do, kid,” Mitch said, quickly moving on to barking orders at the remainder of the squad.
With that, Jacob skated off the ice and hit the locker room.
Jacob stripped, showered, and was just taking his seat when the rest of the squad came in from practice. The atmosphere was somewhat on edge, no doubt fueled by Connor’s minor outburst to Jacob only a few minutes ago.
“Guys, good practice,” Jacob said, standing up in nothing but a fluffy white towel around his waist. “We’ll nail the Ravens at the weekend. You just need to feed me the puck and I’ll rack up those numbers.”
Jacob was feeling good.
No one could dispute how quickly he had made an impact on the squad. And every single one of the players in the locker room would rather have had Jacob on their side than face playing against him, that was for sure.
But that didn’t mean that Jacob’s cocky demeanor was going to go down well.
Locker room politics and hierarchies never bothered Jacob much. He was going to do what he wanted to do regardless of what others thought. And the sight of a snarling Connor Valley and some of the other grizzled veterans on the team did little to put Jacob off.
“You know, I’m the future of this team,” Jacob said, allowing his mouth to run even looser. “Just let me do my thing and I’ll bring home championship after championship.”
Jacob was wondering why none of his teammates were responding to his words. He had expected at least some reaction, be it good or bad. Not even Connor Valley was speaking up – instead, Conor Valley had nothing but a sly smile on his face.
Jacob turned and saw that a new player had entered the locker room.
And it wasn’t just any player either. No, this was Tane Rivers…
“You may be the future,” Tane said, his voice stern and full of natural authority. “But I’m still very much its present. I need a word with you, boy. And we can do that right here in front of everyone, or we can do it in private. It’s your call.”
Jacob felt his heart skip a beat.
Tane Rivers had been recovering from a serious injury in a rehab clinic in Switzerland since before preseason. Jacob had seen Tane on TV countless times over the years, but to be in his presence in real life was something else altogether.
With his dark brown haired littered with flecks of grey and his soulful brown eyes, Tane was every inch the mature hockey heartthrob that had been on people’s screens for years. His body was clearly in immaculate condition too, perfectly filling out his smart shirt and tailored suit trousers.
Jacob couldn’t stop his eyes scanning all over Tane, drinking him in thirstily and marveling at his appearance.
He’s bigger in the flesh.
Those arms, that face, he’s so…
So… hello Daddy.
Jacob felt himself blush.
Suddenly, Jacob didn’t feel like the next superstar on ice, he felt like something else altogether. Struggling to get his words out, Jacob felt a mixture of arousal, anger, and vulnerability.
Tane Rivers may have been in his final season as a player, but it was clear that when it came to the Enforcers locker room, he was still very much in charge.
Jacob’s heart was beating harder than it would before a big game, and his cock was suddenly beginning to rise and press up against the thickness of his fluffy towel.
“Well?” Tane said. “Do we do this here, or do we take it private?
“P-P-P-P-Private,” Jacob said, his cheeks by now flushed red.
Jacob didn’t know what to expect from this talk with Tane, but he knew one thing – his experience at the Toronto Enforcers was about to change…