Chapter 32 Paranormal Hockey #2
Hailey had to bribe Giselle to get her to come to the hockey game, and the banshee had no idea that Hailey’s secret hairdresser was actually Tomas the albino poltergeist. She couldn’t wait to see how things played out between the two of them.
In the arena, the girls sat near the glass and watched the game—Giselle with a disturbing eagerness to see fists fly, and Hailey with serious zeal, fully expecting a fire-breather or levitating goalie to appear at any moment.
But the Yetis and the Ice Picks flew up and down the ice, colliding, fighting, and bleeding within all the laws of physics, and much to her disappointment, Hailey realized it was just a regular game of hockey.
Giselle on the other hand was delighted.
Fin spent a lot of time in play, and he was pretty good.
So good, that the most gigantic of the Anchorage Glacier College players made it his mission to repeatedly chase Fin down, slam him into the glass, and punch him in the face—scuffles that Fin seemed to thoroughly enjoy.
He took several blows to the head and more than a few shots to the ribs.
At one point, no fewer than three of the Ice Picks had him pinned to the glass right in front of her, and as they beat the snot out of him, he managed to glance up and see Hailey’s look of horror.
He gave her a mischievous grin. Then he pushed himself away from the glass and landed a nose-breaker on the giant goon.
He flew out of the corner in time to get a quick little shovel pass from Sidney, his teammate, and then he fired the puck at the goalie.
It ricocheted off the goalie’s pad and bounced into the net.
The crowd went wild.
And the pace of the game only picked up. It was constant action. Hailey saw three fights (all of which involved Fin), five goals and at least one tooth get ejected—all before the third period even started.
“It’s just…regular hockey,” Hailey concluded with a frown during the final intermission.
Giselle, using no more than her disgusted expression said, “No kidding, dumbass,” and then she squinted.
“There’s something different about you,” said Giselle. “Did Asher curse you?”
“What? No,” Hailey said quickly then she frowned. “Well, I don’t know. He finally kissed me again.”
“How was it?”
“Terrifying.”
“Told you,” said Giselle, and Hailey twisted her lips to the side.
“Anyway, after he kissed me, he told me I’d be able to detect evil.” She looked up at her roommate. “I don’t feel any different, though.”
Giselle stared straight ahead, so Hailey changed the subject. “Has a guy—or a non-human or whatever—ever kissed you?”
“Do I look like something any guy would ever kiss?” she spat.
“You will once my hairdresser gets through with you.” Hailey had an epiphany. She’d been waiting for an opportunity to bring up the Christmas dance. “And if you want, he can do your hair up for Seven Trumpets…”
“Nobody is going to ask me to the ball!” she yelled, and she turned her back on Hailey.
“What about David?”
Giselle didn’t respond, which was actually a good sign, and Hailey was encouraged. Now all she had to do was convince David to invite the campus banshee to be his date at the Christmas dance. How hard could it be?
She spent the third period of the game working out her strategy as she watched her favorite bartender bleed, heal, bleed again, and then score yet another goal. He actually was phenomenal.
By the end of the game, she couldn’t wait to see Fin…neither could the twelve female “reporters” who waited for the all-clear outside the locker room door with her.
When the door swung open, Hailey let the gaggle of giggling girls file in.
Then she hesitantly peeked inside and saw a few of the visitors chatting to some of the players.
Most of the men were already showered and partially dressed.
A few wore only a towel, and one sang loudly in Russian from the shower.
As she glanced around the room, Hailey made a concerted effort to look at the guys from the neck up only.
After making unintentional eye contact with far too many bare-chested players, she finally spotted Fin next to a row of lockers.
His hair was wet, and he was only partially dressed, but since he was expecting her and since she’d already seen him naked from the waist up, she figured it was alright to proceed inside.
She sped over to him, smiling brightly and still buzzing with the excitement of the game.
As he finished giving a sound bite to a scantily-clad “member of the press,” Hailey waited patiently with her hands clasped.
Fin had shed several pounds and really toned up since the summer.
Hailey pointed at his abs, marveling so loud it echoed.
“Wow!” she exclaimed. “You’re so small!”
The whole room went silent, and everyone turned to see whose manhood had just been robbed.
“Hailey,” said Fin in his best instructor’s voice as she pulled her shoulders in, “that’s not usually something a man likes to hear.”
“I’m so sorry!” She covered her mouth with both hands.
Fin scratched his eyebrow. Then he threw his shirt on and led her outside.
“I meant your belly,” she told him in a small voice. “You were getting a little shelf over the summer, but now you have a six-pack,” she said desperately.
Fin gave her a cold stare. “A closed mouth gathers no feet, Hailey.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No…” he sighed. “You’re just my cross to bear.” He hung his arm around her neck and knuckle rubbed her head.
“Ouch!” she laughed in relief.
“Come on, knucklehead,” he said, pointing across the parking lot. “There they are.”
“Oh, Declan, here they come,” Fin’s mother cried as the two approached. She raised her hand to her mouth, and his dad straightened up, tugging the hem of his coat.
“Pádraig,” he said with a single nod. In a business-like demeanor, he gave his son a firm handshake.
“Declan,” said Fin coldly.
Shoving herself between the two, his mother opened her arms wide and squeezed Fin tight. “So good to see you,” she said.
“You too, Meara,” he answered curtly.
Hailey stood by, smiling politely until Fin escaped his mother’s clutches and stepped back.
“Guys,” he said unenthusiastically, “you remember Hailey…”
“All grown up!” Meara gushed. She crushed Hailey in a giant mom-hug.
“Oof—I’m sorry, have we met?”
They both looked sort of familiar.
Meara released her to arm’s length, saying “Oh, but it was years ago. You were just little when we were neighbors—”
“—lived right next door,” Declan interjected.
“—until the fire,” said Meara. “Of course, after Pádraig pulled you girls out of the house—”
“What?” Hailey snapped, casting a flabbergasted look at Fin, who leaned back on his heels with his hands in his pockets and very intentionally but not very convincingly became suddenly captivated by a constellation in the sky.
“You didn’t know?” Meara looked with a blank face at her son, who bit the inside of his cheek and continued gazing skyward.
“Sure, even when he’s just a lad, he’s not afraid of them—so defiant. Well, he saw Adalwolf going for you girls, and he marched right into that house, hell-bent on a rescue, but then, of course Adalwolf exploded, and…well, you know the rest.”
Fin tilted his head to the side and set his jaw.
“Nice recap, Mom, except you left out the part where you and Declan just stood there and watched.”
Hailey just stood there, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, racking her brain to remember the face of the man—or boy or whatever—that pulled her and Holly out of the fire as an O’Shea family dysfunction ensued.
“You know very well the control Adalwolf exerted on us,” his father said forcefully.
“Funny,” said Fin without a hint of amusement, “you looked more scared than hypnotized to me, but…whatever you need to tell yourself so you can sleep at night. Let’s go Hailey,” he said, grabbing her hand roughly and pulling her along.
“Are you sure it’s safe for her there, Pádraig? With…you know…” his mother called out, and Fin stopped.
“She’s far safer there with him than she is near either of you.”
“Son, we haven’t had…an incident in years,” she pleaded.
“Well, hooray and good for you,” he answered sarcastically, and his mother rushed over to him.
“Take this, son.” She pressed a small object into Fin’s hand. “It’s a gift. From Theon.”
“Shacked up with another Envoy, have we?” said Fin, his voice laced with bitterness. “No thank you.” He tried to give the object back to his mother, but she stepped back, hands up.
“Just take it, son. Theon is good. He watches over you, and he said to carry it with you—said you’ll need that. We love you…” she added as Fin walked off.
“It was nice to see you,” Hailey called over her shoulder, and his mother waved sadly.
Rolling his eyes, Fin shoved the object into his pocket. Then he turned to Hailey.
“Come on, you’ll ride the bus with the team,” he said flatly, and Hailey struggled to keep up with his angry pace.
“Am I allowed?”
“I’m the captain, and I’m inviting you,” he said unequivocally. “Besides, you need an opportunity to tell the team how extraordinarily giant I am,” he said like a German bodybuilder.
Hailey let out a nervous laugh. “I think I’ll steer clear of subtle innuendo for the rest of my life. You’re lucky to have witnessed the one moment in history that I actually fit my whole foot into my mouth—”
He cut her off by holding his hand up. “Stop talking, Hailey. You’re a train wreck.”
“What? Why?”
He never answered.
When Fin climbed aboard the bus, the Yetis absolutely erupted. His team obviously adored him. They clobbered him with high-fives as he passed.
Hailey did her best to duck and cover behind him.
“Game puck!” shouted Sidney as he lobbed an object at Fin, who snagged it out of the air.
“Thanks, guys,” Fin said. He pointed Hailey to an empty seat.
“Here.” He handed her the puck and slid in next to her. “Little souvenir.”