Chapter 28
MAC
“This is a different arena than last time,” I say as Fee pulls into a parking spot.
“Yup, it is,” Fee’s voice pitches up, and she gives me the same smile she gives people who suddenly glom onto her when they find out her sister is a Toronto Terror coach.
I make a circle motion around my face. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Why?” Her response is way too fast to be honest.
I stretch my arm across the back of the seat. “Why are you lying?”
She purses her lips and lets her head fall back against the seat rest and sighs. “Why do you have to know me so well?”
“I’m your boyfriend. It’s my job to know you.”
Her smile turns rueful. “It’s inconveniently sexy that you can read my tells. But can you hold the questions? I’ll explain shortly. I promise.”
She seems sincere, and not stressed, so I let it go. “Okay.” I reach for the door handle.
Fee grabs my arm and I turn back to her.
“Kiss please.”
I lean in and brush my lips over hers, but she curves her hand around the back of my neck to keep me close and parts her lips. I take the invitation and stroke inside, but I break before we get carried away.
Roman or Lexi usually attend Callie’s games and I don’t want to go in there overstimulated.
Roman is already terrifying as it is. Last time Fee introduced me as her friend, and now I’m her legitimate boyfriend.
It’s a significant distinction. Fee and I hop out of the car, and I lace our fingers as we approach the arena.
The doors slide open, a gust of hot air mixing with the winter cold before we’re shut inside with the scent of ice and rubberized mats.
Fee's smile widens as she guides me to rink number three. “Where are all the kids? Are we early?” It’s just coaches on the ice as we push through the doors.
“Nope. We’re right on time.”
The group skates over as we approach the gate, and I almost trip over my own feet and my tongue. “Holy shit. Quinn Romero and Connor Grace? What’s going on? What are they doing here?”
She does a full body shimmy. “Surprise!” At my furrowed brows she explains further, “You’re going to practice with them.”
I’m excited for a second, but… “I don’t have my equipment.”
“I picked it up from your place earlier. Brody got it together for me. It’s in the locker room, waiting for you.”
I don’t have time to react because Connor, Quinn, and Roman reach the gate. My palms are suddenly damp and my mouth is dry. It’s one thing to meet them off the ice, but to practice with them? This is a dream. And Fee made it happen for me.
“Hey, Mac.” Quinn extends his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.” I can’t believe I’m shaking hands with Terror players like it’s completely natural. “It’s an honor.”
“It’s great to see you again, Mac.” Connor moves in to shake my hand.
Roman lifts a hand. “Why don’t you suit up and join us on the ice?”
“Okay. Yeah. That’d be great.” I look at Fee, who is absolutely beaming.
I want to pull her into my arms and kiss her senseless, but I also don’t want to die at the hands of her brother-in-law’s hockey stick.
Her lips find my cheek and she whispers, “You can say all the things you want later. I’ll be rinkside with Lexi and Ariel.”
“It's like you know me.”
She holds her fingers apart a fraction of an inch. “Just a little. See you in a few.”
I head down the hall to the locker room.
As promised, my gear is waiting. I suit up and try not to get up in my head.
I’m about to practice with the most legendary goalie the league has seen, plus two awesome enforcers from the Terror.
The only thing that could beat the high of this is scoring a contract once I’ve graduated.
After I suit up, I return to the ice. Fee is sitting on the player bench with Lexi and Ariel.
I skate over to say hi. “It’s nice to see you again, Lexi.” I wave at Ariel, who is dressed in a frilly blue tutu, hot pink leggings and yellow sweater. She seems to be a big fan of bright colors. “How you doing, little princess?”
Ariel ducks her head against Lexi’s neck but smiles.
“I’ll join on the ice in a bit,” Lexi says.
“That sounds great. I super appreciate you being here.”
“Of course, coaching is my happy place, and I get to spend some quality time with my sister.” She side-hugs Fee.
The family resemblance is obvious when they’re next to each other, despite Lexi’s dark hair and slightly sharper features.
It must have been so hard when they lost their mother and suddenly Lexi had to step into that role.
As an only child, if something happened to my parents, I’d be on my own.
At least they have each other to rely on.
I lean over the bench to kiss Fee’s cheek, then pull my helmet on and join the guys, who have set up ice drills.
We spend the next two hours practicing. Lexi and Roman confer with each other regularly and switch out a few times so Lexi can give me pointers, too.
It’s cool to see them work together, and the way they talk through things with Quinn and Connor makes me aware of the importance of team cohesion.
They work through my problem areas, give me pointers on stick handling, and how to angle my body differently when I’m skating in the crease and passing.
Roman is incredible in net and rarely lets anything by. But I sneak a goal in the last fifteen minutes on the ice, and Quinn and Connor converge on me with back pats and praise.
“That was a kick-ass goal!” Quinn says.
“Forrest-Hammer will be pissed at himself for days for that one.” Connor winks.
“Beautiful shot, Meyers. You keep it up and you’ll be signing with a team once you graduate,” Roman calls out.
I’m in freaking heaven by the time we leave the ice. I try not to fanboy when we strip out of our gear in the locker room, but this is a bucket list dream. It’s a glimpse of what my future could look like if I keep my stats up this season.
Lexi and Fee are waiting for us in the lobby when we emerge. Ariel squirms out of Lexi’s arms and runs straight to Roman, who snatches her up and showers her with kisses.
“You guys up for dinner?” Roman asks.
“I can always eat,” Quinn says.
“Same,” Connor agrees.
“Me, three.”
Roman consults his phone. “Pancake House? Hollis, Peggy, and Callie can join us.”
“I love the Pancake House.” Fee hugs my arm. “They have the best all-day breakfasts.”
With the venue settled, we hop into our respective vehicles.
“Did you have fun out there?” Fee asks once we’re alone in the car.
“That was incredible, and I seriously want to kiss you, but I don’t want to end up in a body bag if Roman sees me trying to suck your soul out through your mouth.”
“You can suck my soul out through my clit when we get home,” she offers cheekily.
I groan and grip the steering wheel. “You can’t say shit like that, my dick can hear you and my mouth is already watering.”
Her smile grows impish and she whispers, “So’s my pussy.”
“You’re the devil.” I curve my hand around the back of her neck and pull her mouth to mine. After a few strokes of tongue, I pull back. “Best surprise ever, Ophelia.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Big huge thank you coming your way later.” I pull out of my spot and head for the diner.
“Roman thinks you have a great shot at being called up,” Fee says. “And he wouldn’t say that if he didn’t believe it.”
“I definitely feel a lot better about my on-ice performance over the past few weeks, and I have you to thank for that,” I reply. I want to talk to her about us, but not while I’m driving. That’s a conversation for when we’re alone, and my focus is completely on her.
“You put in the work, Mac, and it shows.”
“I’m lucky to have you.” I squeeze her hand.
“I feel the same way.”
A few minutes later we arrive at a hole-in-the-wall diner. It looks like something straight out of the fifties with a server named Rainbow.
Hollis Hendrix, another former Terror player, Roman’s daughter Peggy, and Fee’s sister Callie join us, as well as Connor’s wife, Dred.
“You look like you’re feeling a million times better than when I last saw you,” I say to Callie.
Callie blushes. “That was definitely a two thumbs-down day. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you on the ice today, but I was at practice.”
“Kicking ass and taking names,” Dred adds with a wink.
“Did you have another shutout practice?” Roman asks as Ariel tries to climb out of her chair and into his lap.
“Yup!”
Roman fist-bumps her across the table. “That’s my girl.”
Fee is tucked into my side, wearing a soft smile, and I hope that whatever happens after graduation, she'll still be mine.
Because I feel myself falling for her.