Chapter 20
Jordan
If I thought there would be blowback from having Victoria in the family lounge, I would have been wrong.
Coach Petrov was busy with the press so he didn’t even make an appearance, and he’s the only one other than Jude and Vaughn who might remember Victoria.
And they seem fine with her. At least they’ve been polite.
Vaughn is our team captain so he holds some power within the organization and I inadvertently tense up when he sinks down next to me on the flight to Chicago.
“Hey.” I glance over at him trying to act casually.
He smirks, like he knows what I’m thinking.
“What?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
“When did this thing with Victoria happen?”
“Recently.” I’m nervous but I can’t let it show so I meet his gaze directly. “Is it going to be a problem, Cap?”
He shrugs. “You tell me.”
“Well, not for me but I know how everyone feels about her.”
“Truthfully, I don’t think anyone feels any way in particular about her. Juliet really liked her, and Jude and Chloe like her too, so the only issue now is how much drama is this going to bring to your life?”
I sigh, reality setting in harder than I’d like. “I don’t know. Maybe a little. I don’t think her dad is going to like me any better now than he did four years ago.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“But she’s twenty-two now, about to graduate college. She’s not a child and neither am I. I’m crazy about her and plan to let her parents know it. We’re trying to go slow this time, instead of letting love and hormones replace common sense.”
“That’s a good plan.” He pauses. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, buddy.”
“I know. And I appreciate it. But it’s not like last time. We didn’t know what we were doing four years ago.”
“And you’re ready now? It’s a big step, Jordan, and you’re still young. Twenty-three is older than nineteen but it’s still young.”
“With her, I’m absolutely ready.”
He nods. “All right then. I look forward to getting to know her.”
“That’s it?” I ask dubiously.
“I’m neither your father nor your boss. I’m just a friend looking out for you. I watched you spiral when you lost her the first time and—”
“The only time,” I interrupt. “I lost her once. I won’t lose her again. Not unless we come to a mutual understanding, that maybe we don’t feel like I think we feel.”
“Is that possible? Have you not discussed everything?”
“To a degree. We want to go slow, get to know each other again. And as you know, it’s hard to spend time together with our schedules. She’s in school and working almost full-time.”
“But you’re already bringing her to games and stuff? Introducing her to friends?”
“We have to start somewhere, and my extended family is probably safer than hers.”
“What about your parents?”
“They’re cautious but willing to give her a chance. The person I’m most worried about is Coach.”
He smiles. “He’s never been unfair.”
“No, but he gave me a stern talking-to before he brought me back from Atlanta. Reminding me that he won’t put up with drama and all that shit.”
“Right. So don’t get into any drama. You and Victoria need to be cognizant of that. Make sure you’re always on the same page and have each other’s backs.”
“That’s the plan. I just wish her father wasn’t so damn rigid. I get wanting to protect your daughter. I would too. But at some point, don’t you have to let them grow up? I mean, you’re about to have a daughter and you must be thinking ahead to that kind of thing at least a little.”
He smiles. “It’s hard to think about her dating when she’s not even here yet, but her mom and I don’t plan to smother her. I can’t speak for anyone else, but you have children to raise and nurture and then set them free. The goal isn’t to keep them glued to my side until I die.”
“That’s what I think too. In theory.”
“Look, if you’re serious about Victoria, it’s not my place to condemn it. You have to follow your heart. Just be smart about it.”
If only it was as easy in practice as it sounds in theory.
* * *
A group of guys is going out after the game and I hesitate.
Normally, I’d be the one leading the charge but now I don’t want to go sit at a bar or, worse, a strip club, to meet women.
There are single guys on the team but there are also some married ones who do it anyway.
I’m all about having a good time but I’ve never condoned cheating.
I don’t know for sure that some of the guys do, but I suspect. And that’s not for me.
On the flip side, there’s no reason I can’t go out with my friends and have some fun. I’d rather not go to a strip club, and I’ll bow out if that’s the case, but I like spending time with my teammates.
“Where are we going?” Milo asks, making a face. He’s not quite twenty-one yet so he can’t go to places with an age requirement.
“I don’t know,” I say, closing the locker and looking around. “There are some great jazz clubs but I don’t know if you can get in.”
He sighs. “I’m so over not being twenty-one.”
“Six more months, buddy.”
“Feels like six years.”
I laugh. I’ve been through it and all you can do is wait or try to sneak in, but the Knights organization frowns on that. If he gets caught, the team will fine him. Not to mention potential legal repercussions. And Milo is a rule-follower even if he complains about it.
“Why don’t we go out to get something to eat?” I suggest. “Chicago has great food.”
“I want to go to a titty bar,” someone calls out. “You lame fuckers can go eat but I’m going for something a little more interesting. Come on, JP—” My teammates sometimes call me by my initials. “—you’re really not coming?”
“I don’t want to look if I can’t touch,” I say simply. “And I’m hungry.”
Someone grunts their disapproval.
Whatever.
I don’t care what the guys think, though I hate thinking about this guy’s pregnant wife at home.
Most of us wind up going to a pizza place we love, and luckily, they stay open late. We fill the place up and start ordering, just as a group of fans wearing Chicago jerseys come in.
Ugh.
It’s one thing when this happens at home and it’s our fans.
It can get tricky when we’re on the road.
Some of us, like Vaughn and Camden Locke, our goalie, are more recognizable than others.
And these guys zero in on Cam immediately.
He’s an elite goalie in the league so his face is out there a lot.
Not to mention the ladies seem to think he’s extraordinarily good-looking.
“Oh, look who it is,” one guy calls out, smirking. “The Lauderdale Losers.”
“Easy,” Cam murmurs when Milo stiffens. “Let them talk.”
Unfortunately, we lost tonight.
“You boys sure you’re not pregnant?” someone says. “You missed a few periods.”
“Very funny,” I mutter under my breath.
“Should we take our food to go?” Milo asks me.
I shrug. “Nah. Fuck them. It’s part of the life. Just ignore them.”
“Hey, Locke—I’ve seen coupons that save more than you did tonight.”
Cam rolls his eyes. He’s heard this shit a million times.
It’s annoying but I mostly let it roll off my back. We could get into a pissing contest but that doesn’t change anything and it’s pounded into us that we shouldn’t engage.
“I’ve heard better chirps from a dead bird,” Milo calls out, keeping his head down.
“Say hi to your mom for me, kid!”
Milo’s head snaps up, a scowl on his face.
“Don’t,” I say, nudging him. “You know damn well that’s the oldest one in the book.”
He grunts and slumps down in his chair.
Maybe we should take the pizza and go.
The chirps go back and forth for a while, and it’s exhausting. Sometimes it’s fun, and most fans understand that this is a job and shouldn’t be taken too seriously off the ice. Unfortunately, this group of guys already appears to be inebriated and they just ordered six pitchers of beer.
“This is fun,” Vaughn mutters as the comments keep coming.
“How come you boys haven’t flown out of here yet?” one of the group yells. “It’s not like you’re welcome here.”
“Knock it off, Kevin,” one of the waitresses snaps.
“Just shut up and pour the beer,” he retorts.
That irks me because I hate seeing staff being abused by patrons. Jude and I exchange a look—I know he feels the same way.
“Miss, can we get the check?” Wolf asks the waitress.
She nods wearily. “Give me just a minute. Do you want takeout boxes?”
“Please.” Wolf is pretty even-tempered. He’s a big guy, well over six feet, and imposing both on and off the ice, but rarely gets mad. For him to be asking for the check, it’s obvious the tension is growing.
I start to pull money out of my wallet but Wolf shakes his head. “I’ve got it. We’ll settle up another time.”
Everyone nods.
At this point, we just want to get out of here.
“I smell smoke,” the main offender yells out. “You boys trying to think of a chirp?”
“Hardy-har-har,” Wolf yells back. “You guys are hilarious.”
“At least we have a winning team.”
“You might want to look at your team’s overall record,” Milo quips.
I think Chicago is 28-30-3 so far this season, while we’re 36-17-7.
“Hey, you should fuck off!” someone snaps, clearly irritated.
“All right, let’s just pack up and go,” Vaughn says. A few of the guys have already left but the waitress hasn’t brought our to-go boxes yet. And despite the irritating fans, I’m looking forward to the pizza I ordered.
Milo stands up to refill his soda, since the non-alcoholic drinks are in a station against the wall. I watch as one of the dickheads from the other group follows him.
I nudge Wolf and he follows my gaze.
“God dammit,” he mutters.
We can’t hear what the guy says to Milo but the kid stiffens.
The guy laughs and gives him a little shove.
Milo’s eyes narrow and he tells him to knock it off.
“Make me,” the guy says.
“Fuck.” Wolf starts getting up.
“Milo…” I call out to my friend but it’s too late.
The drunk guy pushes him again, and Milo stumbles back.
But that’s all it takes.
He regains his balance and charges the guy.
God fucking dammit.