CHAPTER 2 SCRIMMAGE #2
The game ended with one final goal from the woman in question. It was a spectacular shot from the top corner of the goal box, and the shot had left both mine and Zeke’s mouths dropped. She truly was talented. Why wasn’t she playing professionally?
Jefferson jogged over to us, a frown on his face. He aggressively grabbed his water bottle and poured the liquid into his mouth. He glanced over at Zeke and me, his frown deepening into a scowl. Competitiveness ran deep in the Carter bloodline. They both hated to lose.
“You got your ass handed to you by a chick.” Zeke poked the bear. “How does that feel?”
“Shut the fuck up, Ezekiel.”
I coughed to hide my laugh. No one called Zeke by his full name, which was how we knew how ticked off Jefferson was by the loss.
To me, it was okay to lose as long as I played my best.
If I gave it my all, it just meant the other team was better.
Sometimes that was just the way the cookie crumbled.
Jefferson and Zeke took it as a personal failure; their competitiveness knew no bounds.
“Hey, good game.” Her voice was light, a slight accent to her words. She held a hand out to Jefferson.
He looked down at it and allowed a smile onto his face. “Nah, I was trash. You, on the other hand, were truly amazing. I’m Jefferson.”
“Nice to officially meet you. I’m Aife.”
“Ava?”
She laughed. It was a delightful noise, sending a shock through my brain. What the fuck was that?
“I guess it does sound like Ava. Aife, though. A-I-F-E.”
Jeff nodded and took another chug of water. “Weird but cool. This is my older brother, Zeke, and essentially my other brother, TJ.”
Zeke and I quickly shook her hand. Zeke flashed his infamous dimpled smile at her.
Normally, that smile made women blush. Not her though, she seemed completely unfazed.
Her hazel eyes met mine. They were this beautiful shade of caramel mixed with a touch of green, and I felt my heart quicken a little.
Women didn’t do that to me. I usually had better control of my body, mind, and emotions.
Shaking my head, I broke our eye contact.
I just had to be exhausted from yesterday’s game.
Davis appeared and slung an arm over Aife. “Do you have any idea who you were just introduced to?”
Her brow furrowed. “No. Should I?”
The Carter brothers and I looked at her, eyes wide.
While hockey wasn’t the biggest sport in the United States, Zeke and I had both been in the news lately.
Zeke and I were going to be the new faces for the Warhammers and had recently had some national interviews.
Somehow, we’d 28 also become the National Hockey League spokespeople.
She may not have needed to know anything about hockey, but she should have at least seen some of the ads we were now in.
“Aife?” Davis slapped his hand to his forehead. “Do you watch TV at all anymore?”
“No, not unless it’s football or football playoffs.” Davis shook his head, clearly disappointed in his friend. “Alright. Well, didn’t Dre and I take you to a Hammers game last night?”
“What does that have to do with this conversation?”
She frowned at her friend. Her mind was clearly trying to sort out the puzzle presented before her. Her mouth popped open as some realization occurred. “Are y’all hockey players?”
Zeke feigned hurt. “I am shocked—absolutely shocked—that you don’t know me. I might as well be Wayne Gretzsky, lady.”
I rolled my eyes. Gretzsky hadn’t been a goalie, and Zeke made a bad comparison. But if she didn’t know us, I doubt she’d know any other players outside the GOAT.
“I’m new-ish to Chicago. Hockey isn’t a huge deal where I’m from. Nice to meet y’all, though.” Aife snuck out from Davis’s arm, quickly shaking all our hands again. “If y’all will excuse me, I gotta work tomorrow.”
All four of us watched her run off. Her accent was vaguely familiar to me, and I knew it would unnerve me until I figured it out.
“Where’d you meet her?” I was surprised the question left my mouth. My eyes crinkled as I tried to hide my smile.
Davis turned to me with a smile. “She’s in my PhD program, and we take a class together. Plus, she works with Dre and Nat. Also, she’s been here for like three years, and I have definitely talked about her before.”
His smile grew as he mentioned Natalie. “We bonded over soccer when she got here at the start of our program. Why you asking, TJ?”
My face reddened as all eyes turned to me. I never blushed. “Am I not allowed to be curious?”
“You don’t get curious, though,” Zeke said, “You ignore… you ignore everything and everyone. It’s like your true talent.”
“Is it because she’s hot?” Jefferson crossed his arms over his chest. “Or is it more the fact that she didn’t recognize you?”
“You know what? Fuck this. Y’all fucking irritate me sometimes.” I turned to my car as it hit me where I recognized her accent. She was a Texan, like me.
My condo greeted me as I pushed the door open.
It was my first big purchase after signing with the Hammers, but I tried not to make huge, expensive purchases.
Fame and the NHL wouldn’t last forever. At twenty-eight, I was already getting up there for pro athletes.
There was no fear around aging, but hockey was my entire life.
Life after hockey didn’t seem real; it caused a whole lot of anxiety.
The idea of coaching and not playing left a dry taste in my mouth.
I still had some years left in me, but I was a planner. There was no plan after the NHL.
The ringing of my phone brought me out of my bleak thoughts. Without looking at the caller, I answered my cell. “Hello?”
“Let’s chat, friend,” Davis said calmly. Davis knew me. Zeke was the player, I was the brooder, and Davis was the calm, smart one. He had a way of figuring out where my head was. It usually pissed me off, but I knew this call was coming. Even I knew my reaction today was abnormal for me.
“Davis…” I sighed. “Is this really necessary?”
“You don’t let things get under your skin, James.”
Fuck, I hated when he called me by anything other than TJ. “And we all saw Aife got under yours.”
“I don’t know, Davis.” I slammed my hand on my kitchen counter. “Why does this need to turn into a big deal?”
“It doesn’t need to. It really doesn’t. You just shocked us, TJ.”
“Nothing is going to happen,” I said, pulling a hand through my hair. “It’s just not, and we all know why. I think I was just shocked at her talent.”
Davis sighed. “Acceptable for now. She’s a good friend, TJ. She’s going to be around me, and she has been around me for the past three years. I have been very strict in keeping her away from you and Zeke.”
“Okay… and?” There was a coldness in my voice,
the coldness that I needed. Women were not a priority right now. My focus was this season and the upcoming ads to make the NHL more popular.
“And you’re back.” He drew out the “a’s” in and. “Fuck off.”
He laughed. “Night, man.” The other end clicked off. I sighed. Man, Aife had managed to get under my skin which concerned me.