Chapter 4 #2
People take in our suitcases, and a couple of the players look sympathetic. This kind of upheaval happens often, and we’re all reminded to be prepared for anything. I’m definitely the best option as their new goalie. I know I’m really fucking good, and Skylar’s skills make us a two for one special.
Koen, on the other hand, flicks his eyes up toward us before he pales. The omega wasn’t expecting to see us. Coach and everyone else has been keeping this trade under wraps. The team may know that two players cleaned out their cubbies to move on. But they don’t know we’re replacing them.
Skylar and I are springing a huge surprise on the team, and it could very well explode in our faces. I have to admit that Koen looks fine in a pair of joggers and a sweatshirt with the team’s logo. His blonde hair is slicked back, and his Caribbean blue eyes are wide with surprise.
Hello, sexy. Your daddies are home. He may not be ready to accept us, and that’s going to have to be something I’ll have to deal with for now. Yet, I hate when his eyes drop to stare obsessively at a speck of dust on the carpet.
Fuck, I want him to look at me!
“Come in,” Coach Weightman says impatiently, waving us in. “Boys, I’d like you to meet your new teammates. This is Rhodes Franz and Skylar Reynolds. They are newly traded and just arrived from Los Angeles.”
Edna steps inside as well to watch, and the click of the door as it shuts sounds loud.
“You may have noticed that Handler and Manchester’s cubbies have been cleared out,” Coach says.
“This trade happened quickly, and it’s an attempt to help level out some of our developmental issues on the team.
Handler was competent, but he has some growing to do as a newer goalie.
We wish him the best of luck with the Angels,” Coach says.
“And Manchester?” one of the men asks.
We’re going to have our work cut out for us. This is an icy welcome at best. I know this is Minnesota, but fuck me, this is rough. The Midwest welcome is not happening.
“Manchester was a necessary cut for Skylar Reynolds,” Coach grunts. “These two come as a pair or not at all.”
“Must be nice to be able to negotiate like that,” someone else mutters.
I don’t know names the way that Sky does, so I’m out of my element as I stand here like an idiot.
“Hush up,” Coach growls. “There will be none of that or I will force the team to hang out together and call it team building. Reynolds and Franz, take a seat.”
Sky and I do as we’re asked, and listen to the coach discuss where we fall into play for the team. Our high points are discussed along with what we can offer, and finally someone raises their hand with a question.
“Do they shit rainbows and unicorns, too? You’re laying it on a little thick, Coach,” he says.
“What are your faults, Reynolds?” Coach asks, deflecting.
“I don’t know if these count, but I completely zone out behind my crease,” I reply. “Nothing matters other than keeping pucks out of my space, and I’ll often miss huge chunks of the game because I’m in my own little world.”
“Typical goalie,” someone sighs. “I don’t think that’s a fault. That’s what makes you good at what you do.”
“I also am shit at names sometimes,” I admit. “It’ll take me time to learn who everyone is. If you see me muttering under my breath, it’s because I’m attaching something to your name so I’ll remember it.”
“That’s also very normal,” Coach says. “A lot of people do that so they can better remember names.”
“Outside of that, I don’t have many faults,” I admit. “I’m fiercely loyal, and I get angry when I see someone not getting a fair shake.”
“You were certainly distracted the last time we played against you,” someone says.
God, I wish they’d introduce themselves so I can get started on putting names to faces.
“You weren’t taking care of your captain,” I say without thinking. “I already knew then the possibility was high that we’d be traded to the Cougars. Why the fuck aren’t you taking care of your boy?”
“I actually wondered the same thing,” Coach admits.
“They kept picking him away from our unit!”
Turning, I see a big blonde grumble, and I hear the coach light into him. Olsson. That’s his name.
“This is why you need me,” Sky says quietly. “My job is solely to defend our team. I’ll sink pucks as necessary, but I don’t need the glory. I want the people I play with to be safe, which means throwing down when my captain is being harassed. It’s no secret that Koen is bat shit crazy.”
“Ugh, I am not,” Koen groans. “My mental health is rock solid, fuck you very much.”
“You’re a cowboy with a stick,” Coach Weightman snorts.
“I think Viking is what his fans prefer,” Olsson says with a smirk. “Honestly, the Angels came in with an agenda. Koen was on their hit list.”
“He was,” Sky sighs. “That’s not the kind of team I want to play on.
So here we are. You can be disappointed, but we’re not going anywhere.
I take my contractual responsibilities seriously.
I suggest you all put aside your issues with Rhodes and I so we can win some hockey games.
It takes time to learn how new people will fit in with the team, and that’s what we need to focus on. ”
“I agree,” Coach says. “Take the day off, and tomorrow we’ll get back to practicing. Welcome to the team, boys. I hope Minnesota treats you well.”
Skylar and I nod in thanks before the meeting breaks up. A few people welcome us to the team, but it doesn’t escape my notice how others simply leave, including Koen. My chest hurts at the way he practically runs out of here, and I find myself rubbing my chest to self soothe.
He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. I keep reminding myself of this as I follow Edna around to get the required documentation done, and she tells Sky and I that we’ll have everything ready for pick up tomorrow.
“Thank you,” Skylar says before hustling me out of the building. I’m exhausted and flagging.
Most of all, I feel rejected. I’m also starting to get a little depressed.
“Shh, I know,” Sky murmurs under his breath as we get a ride share to our hotel.
“I hate that he doesn’t want us,” I say with a pout. “It physically hurts.”
“It does,” he sighs. “I’ll fix it. I promise.”
I stare at Skylar under my lashes as he walks into the hotel beside me and gets us our keys. He never promises things like this, which means that he has a plan.
I just hope it works.
Skylar
We spend the next week starting practice, attending home games, and searching for a permanent residence. The real estate agency is used to working with players to cut through the red tape quickly, because they know that the cash is there to pay for everything.
Instead of waiting months, the process is up to a week to complete the sale once a house is chosen.
House hunting hasn’t yielded anything yet, but I’m hopeful it will soon.
We just started, and the realtor is scouring listings before they officially go on the market for us.
She’s on it, we just have to be patient.
Rhodes and I have a nice nest egg saved up, and we’ve been investing to grow it over the last several years. A hockey career can be over in the blink of an eye, and both of us are aware of this.
“Koen uses an alpha pheromone blocking cream,” I tell Rhodes as I move through the information my investigator uncovered.
We haven’t had a chance to go through everything together since part of our duties also include charming the press about our new trade. Rhodes slipped easily into the role of charming goalie, and is proving how good he really is behind his crease.
The reality is that he’s not doing well mentally though.
He’s short tempered and upset that Koen continues to run from us after being in his space for the past week.
The omega is in the locker room before everyone else and the first to disappear after practice and games.
Sometimes that means he’s in an ice bath with headphones in, and others he’s on an exercise bike zoning out as he runs through plays in his head.
Koen could simply be focused on the job. He kind of ignores everyone on the team when he’s playing unless he needs to communicate about a play or suggesting a player adjust something they’re doing on the ice.
The suggestions are always done gently, and I’m impressed with how much the team appreciates him.
When the puck is in play, I find that the team protects Koen fiercely, showing me that the Angels game was a weird fluke.
They’re aware he seems to have no self preservation and they join him in his fights.
We’ve won two out of the last four games we’ve played, and I believe that part of that is because the team is getting used to me.
I have to work for the camaraderie that’s important for good team morale.
It’s going to mean I’ll be spending more time to win over my new teammates, but hopefully it’ll help with Koen’s skittishness too.
This is the only way we’ll be able to work better as a team on the ice. My new teammates need to trust that I have their backs. This means I need to plan a night out to get to know them better after our game on Friday night.
“How often does he use the blocking cream?” Rhodes asks, leaning back on our hotel couch.
“It appears that he uses it all the time,” I reply. “Fishman planted cameras in Koen’s apartment, and it caught him putting it on in the morning.”
“I can’t imagine being nose blind at all times,” Rhodes says, shuddering in disgust. “Wait, he was interested, though. He perfumed for us despite not knowing that we’re his. That has to mean something, right?”
“He likes us,” I reassure him. “There’s nothing in this report that suggests any kind of abuse, but—”
“Excuse me?” Rhodes stiffens at my words, but I need him to understand something.