4. Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Iloved coming in for training camp. Each season was a new chance to go after the Lord Stanley's Cup. For the first time in a couple years, the Legacy had some new life. We got a couple new guys, and we could finally have a chance at going far if everyone clicked.
Carter and I walked into the rink together. For a change, we weren't the first ones there. Two of the cars weren't the usual stuff you would see from our AHL guys, so I was pretty sure that had to include at least one or two of the new guys.
We both headed into the locker room, which still seemed pretty bare. Lutzy would be filling out the room with our gear next week. Thankfully, he had already labeled all the stalls. Our lockers were in the same spots as last year, right in the middle of the room. I loved that Carter and I had our spots right next to each other.
We both chucked our jewelry into the mini-safe and switched into our gym stuff.
From there, we headed into the weight room. While there were lots of clangs from weights hitting other plates, the room wasn't awash with music like usual.
There were two potential rookies at a squat rack, and then there was Spencer Levine, a returning vet, spotting Terry Schubasomething, a new guy that we signed from Sound who was playing for his hometown team, at one of the bench presses.
"Yo, Levine, what the hell? No music?"
The two of us were the team DJs. Although I was the true DJ, whereas the other Spencer just had good music picks.
"No aux cord," he said as he pulled the bar back onto the rack.
Terry sat up and held out a hand. "I'm Scuba."
Both of us shook his hand. Carter continued, "I'm Carter Carmichael. Guys like to call me either Carts or Carmie. This is Spence or Jetski."
Terry's eyebrow went up with my other nickname. "Last name is Suzuki. You know, a jet ski brand. Plus, I'm quick on my feet. I was here first, so I got to use Spence, and he's Spence2.0 or Deuce."
I walked over to the stereo system. It was one of the things that wasn't fully up-to-date at the stadium. It still had CD slots, and there was even a book of CDs sitting on top of the stereo. My mom had the same system, so all music wasn't lost. If the CDs were shit, I would just text Nat to grab an aux cord from my supplies.
The CDs were all unlabeled. Okay, there were labels on them, but they said things like Legacy Jams or Petey's Hockey Hits. That's when it hit me. The reason the sound system was on the ancient side. Our owner still liked to play CDs from back in the day, although you would have thought that he would have upgraded the music by now since his whole family was loaded. I would have thought he would have preferred to listen to something besides CDs.
"Alright. I'm going to give this one a shot. If it sucks, I'll call Nat."
"Who's Nat?" Scuba asked Carter as I inserted the disc into the player.
"My sister and one of the best personal assistants a guy could have. She's willing to help you out with all the shit you don't want to think about when you're traveling. Only rule, you can't try to pursue her."
Scuba snorted as he folded his arms across his chest. "Don't tell me that you're one of those older brothers who refuses to let his sister get laid."
Carter put his fingers in his ears. "La la la."
I shouted over my shoulder as hip hop music blasted through the gym. Not the worst music, so I went with it. "He can't bear to hear anything about sex with her, but if you touch her, you have to deal with me."
I wasn't too proud to admit that I protected her like my own little sister. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was Carter’s little sister. It was all about my feelings for her and how she got drugged at a college party that I was at. Since then, I've beat myself up for not protecting her. Since that night, I haven't let anyone mess with my Natalie.
Okay, I wasn't that much of an asshole. If she told me she wanted to date a guy, I would let it happen as long as it wasn't a hockey guy. Thankfully, she seemed to like doctors and accountants. Guys who weren't totally players. But she'd been having a dry spell lately.
Scuba laughed and went into position to spot Levine. "Don't worry. I don't mess with teammates’ little sisters. It always gets messy."
Carter slapped Scuba's shoulder. "Let's just keep it that way, and we won't have a problem."