Chapter 11
Brody
The Hellions, the award-winning team of HHU, had a purpose-built, top-of-the-line stadium on campus, thanks to Beckett Anderson and his father, Soren.
“Feels different being on the other side,” Cal muttered.
We walked along the hall and down to the team locker room.
“Yeah, like we’re entering enemy territory.” I’d only ever been here as someone determined to beat the Hellions. Now, I was one. It was going to take some getting used to.
I shared a glance with Cal before we pushed open the doors to the locker room. I could hear the others in there, changing and laughing, talking shit… I put my shoulders back and gave my brother an easy grin.
“Here we go. Into the belly of the beast.”
I winked at him and pushed inside.
We walked in, and conversation died. Most of the players were half changed, except for Cayden, who was fully dressed, sitting on the bench, elbows braced on his knees.
“Fuck, this is really happening,” Marcus announced loudly, breaking the tension.
“Well, don’t give us too warm a welcome, it’s embarrassing, lads. Be cool.”
I set my bag down near a couple of empty lockers with Sinclair written on a Post-it above.
Cal followed along behind me, sitting heavily on the bench.
“I’m sure we can all get along,” Asher announced calmly. “We’ve already managed to get used to one rich asshole; I guess two more won’t hurt.”
“Funny, Martino.” Beckett tossed a balled-up pair of socks at his friend.
They turned away from us and started getting dressed. Slowly, the tension eased and the rest of the team continued to get ready. The example the Ice Gods set, the rest of the team followed.
I stripped and pulled on my base layers, padding, and jersey.
“If you stare any harder, I’m going to start to think you have a crush on me,” I called to Cayden, who watched me without flinching.
“Is it true that Selena is living with you?” he asked.
I paused, taken off guard by that question.
I faced him, his expression utterly unreadable.
I didn’t know much about Cayden. He was a mystery.
Maybe here at HHU there’d be more information, but in hockey circles nationally, he was only known for his relentless style of playing.
He’d been an absolute nobody before he’d started at HHU, and the coach here, Coach Williams, had pushed him hard.
“Living with me?” I repeated. “I wasn’t aware that was common knowledge.”
“We look after our own around here. Lily told me. She’s… concerned.”
Cayden stood. He was tall, but so was I. We were pretty evenly matched. He grabbed his stick out of his locker.
“I don’t like my girl being concerned about anything. She doesn’t have time to worry about other people’s business.”
“I’m glad you called it other people’s business before I had to remind you of it.”
Cayden slammed his locker shut and glared at me, leaning on his stick. “What’s the deal?”
“Again, not that it’s your business, but her mother married my father. Did she neglect to tell your girlfriend that?”
“She did, but I don’t see why she has to live with you. Get her a solo living situation on campus. You’ve got the money for it.”
I stared at Cayden, perplexed.
“Let’s be clear: I don’t give a fuck where that menace lives. It’s got nothing to do with me. But my father doesn’t want her embarrassing the family, and keeping her under our roof is the best way to make sure of that.”
Cayden stared at little longer. “She was a menace pretty much her entire high school career, I’m not going to sugarcoat that, but people change. You’ll find a fuckload of people on campus who don’t like that girl. But Lily does, so watch yourself around her.”
Then he walked out of the changing room, leaving me with more questions than ever.
The cold hit like a slap. Clean and perfect. This was where things made sense.
No politics. No family bullshit. No heathens to distract me from what mattered. The game. Ice hockey was where I came to work my frustrations out and enjoy something for once in my life.
I stepped onto the rink and pushed off, skates biting into the ice, body settling into something automatic and familiar.
We ran drills first. They were fast, aggressive, and left no room for hesitation. Coach Williams was a demanding leader, and to get his attention, you had to be better than everyone else.
Beckett came at me hard during a possession drill, shoulder-checking me with enough force to test whether I’d hold my ground.
I did. Barely shifting. He gave a small nod and skated past.
It was his way of showing approval, and it was noted.
Asher tried to strip the puck off me twice and failed both times.
“Fuck off,” he muttered as I slipped past him again.
“Work harder,” I shot back.
“Arrogant prick.”
“Eyes up!” Coach barked.
Asher peeled away with a grin. “Later.”
I almost smiled in return. Fuck, I’d missed playing. It had been a long, long summer.
We shifted into a scrimmage. Full pace. Full contact.
I took the puck at center ice, cutting left, then right, drawing one defender before slipping between two of them.
The noise of the rink blurred into something distant.
All I could hear was the scrape of blades and the thud of sticks on the ice.
A player came in fast from my blind side. I saw him at the last second and adjusted, letting him overshoot before pulling the puck back under control.
Clean and efficient, just the way I liked it.
Cayden intercepted a pass seconds later, skating alongside me.
We didn’t speak. He flicked the puck forward, giving me an in. I took it and shot.
The net snapped back, with the puck sinking in the back left corner.
Coach blew his whistle, signifying the end of practice. It was disappointing. I was just hitting the zone.
“Not bad,” Beckett called from behind me.
“High praise,” I said.
“Don’t get used to it.”
Cal skated in front of me. I headed for the bench and stepped off the ice.
I needed a shower. My muscles were screaming.
My own training had nothing on a hardcore practice.
I’d need to recover properly. Unfortunately, I was expecting to have a very pissed-off neighbor when I got home.
To let my new stepsister know I was serious about cleaning up her act, I’d taken the liberty of “tidying up” some of her things.
I could hardly wait.