Chapter 22
RAKE
BJ, true to his word as always, scored great seats for Petal and two of her friends, and when we’re finally out on the ice, I look over at her. She’s paying absolutely no attention to what’s going on, gabbing with her girlfriends. But that’s okay.
Baby steps.
It’s when the crowd goes wild that she finally looks over. I catch her eye, and the corner of her mouth crooks up. She gives me a tiny little wave, probably because she feels like she has to, and I nod back. Then the game starts, and there is nothing else in the world except hockey.
I’m killing it on the ice today, and it’s not going unnoticed by my teammates. I’ve raised the bar, and they are stepping right up, joining me in my determination. That’s one of the things I love about hockey.
How connected you are to your teammates during the game.
We’re working together like we’re all of one mind, anticipating each other’s every move. It’s what the fans come for.
That, and to see us score. Which we have not yet managed to do.
The end of the first period could not come fast enough, because I need to catch my fucking breath. When I do, Tyler hands me my water bottle. Parched, I start to gulp.
And I immediately choke, my throat burning and eyes watering. I start to cough, trying to catch my breath. I spew out whatever the hell was in my water bottle, not caring who I hit with my spray. Several of the guys groan.
Why does my fucking water taste like rotten lemons and ass?
While I’m sputtering and gasping, I glance at Tyler, who’s doubled over, laughing.
Ah. Okay. I get it now.
Asshole. He will so pay for this.
He points at the jumbotron, and there I am, larger than life, red faced, eyes watering, trying to get the taste of shit out of my mouth.
The crowd goes wild.
I’m gonna kill him.
Against my better judgement, I look over at Petal. She has a hand over her mouth trying to hide her smile, and her friends are howling.
Leave it to Tyler to bring a man back down to earth.
Here I am, feeling like the world’s biggest swinging dick, dying to impress Petal, and I make a fool of myself.
I look at the jumbotron again, and they’re replaying my reaction.
In slow motion.
The universe is definitely out to teach me something. What, I don’t know yet.
“Something wrong, Rake?” Tyler asks, eyes wide, faking innocence.
“Don’t worry, asshole,” I say. “Your time will come.”
The game wraps and we win, one to zero. It was close, and in some regards we got lucky, but nobody ever complains about a win.
Except for Coach. I know we’ll be watching the game vids later in the week and he’ll kick our asses for everything we did that was less than one hundred percent perfect.
Which is fine. That’s the man’s job. And it’s our job to do better each time.
Before I head to the locker room, I glance in Petal’s direction one last time, but she and her friends have already left. Something about that doesn’t feel good.
Goddamn. Am I wanting this woman’s approval now? What the fuck is wrong with me.
I’m turning into a giant pussy.
After a debrief and chat with the guys, I clean up and put my suit on, which feels silly because I’m only heading home.
There, I’ll do my own light post-game workout and stretch, but the owners insist we always dress, whether for home or away games.
I toss my drenched and stinky clothes in the laundry and hang my pads and stuff for the equipment manager to take care of.
“Hey, you wanna get dinner or something?” Tito and Zink call after me.
It might be nice to spend some time with the guys, get out of my own head, and hear their thoughts about today’s game.
But I say no.
I leave the locker room to head for the players’ door, and when I’m halfway down the cold hallway, I see Petal.
Damn if she isn’t adorable.
“Hey,” she says awkwardly, looking up at me.
I bend to kiss her cheek. You know, in case anyone’s watching.
I mean, isn’t that what you do with your wife?
Thankfully, she lets me, and actually leans into my kiss. I get a whiff of her scent, something spicy and rose-like. It’s unique. Like she is.
I like it.
“Did you have fun?” I ask.
She breaks into a huge grin. “It was crazy. So fast. It’s hard to keep track of the puck. And congrats on the win. So exciting.”
“Thank you. And once you understand the game better, the puck will be easier to follow. Your friends leave?”
She nods. “They had stuff to do. But I told them I’d wait for you.”
My heart rate picks up a beat.
Down, boy.
“I guess you need to work on your choice of drinks, huh?” she says.
“Funny girl,” I respond. “That was Tyler. He’s a massive practical joker. I think he did it because he knew you would be there. He wanted to embarrass me.”
“Were you embarrassed?” she asks, a twinkle in her eye.
I look at her for a moment and consider lying. Imply I don’t give a shit what she thinks about me, either as a hockey player or a person.
But I do care what she thinks.
“Yeah,” I say quietly, “I was embarrassed. I wanted to make a good impression on you.”
She says nothing, but then she doesn’t need to. A pink blush rises over her face, and she quickly looks away.
We head down the hall, when I hear some of the guys turning the corner in our direction, who don’t see us yet.
“Hanson’s new wife isn’t half bad,” one of them mouths off like an idiot. “I thought that since they met at an auction or something, maybe she’d be, you know, nothing special—”
Fury rises in me. Not so much that some of my teammates are gossiping—although that makes me profoundly unhappy—but that Petal heard them.
I’m about to tell them to shut their big traps, when Petal beats me to it.
“Hi guys, I’m Petal Parker, Rake’s new wife. Thank you for saying I’m not so bad. I went through a lot of trouble covering up the scales on my arms.”
The guys’ mouths drop open, and Petal and I leave them there.
Leave it to her to handle a difficult situation better than I ever could.