Page 3 of So Pucking Perfect
“Are we about done here?” I asked after an hour.
The badger next to me never broke character. He put his paws on his hips and tapped his foot, as if he was still in clown mode. Then he lifted one arm and tapped his wrist with the other, while staring at the crowd in front of us. There had to be twenty people with cameras pointing at us right then.
Great. I was being mocked by a man in a white, furry badger costume.
“Just a few more minutes.”
I let out a sigh. It was part of the job. It had been a hell of a day, though.
The badger used his paw to pat my shoulder in a “there, there” gesture. I shot him a look, one brow raised in question. I couldn’t see anything through the thick mask.
His fur was black and white. Two thick black rings circled his eyes. He wore a blue helmet with ears that stuck out the sides. The strap clipped under his chin. His jersey was the same as the players’ jerseys, only his number was fifteen.
I gestured to the shirt. “That was my college number,” I said.
He looked down at his shirt and back up at me.
He jumped up and down and clapped his paws like that was the most exciting news he’d ever heard.
That time he did get me. I couldn’t help but grin. Of course, that set him off even more. He pointed at my face, then covered his mouth with one hand, doubling over in laughter. He then pointed at the cameras so that they would see. They were snapping away. Flashes popped, blinding my eyes. All the while I kept the grin, since that was apparently making the photographers happy.
“I think we’re set here, Coach. You and Benny can hit the showers.”
Benny elbowed me, and when I looked at him, his eyebrows waggled suggestively. I didn’t even know they could move. There must be a button or control somewhere in the costume that he could move them. They looked like large, back caterpillars over his big eyes.
“Benny, we have a few more shots we need of you skating around before you’re done for the day,” the alpha with the clipboard said.
Benny nodded, then skated away from me. I watched him move. He clearly had played before. He held the stick like a player, and handled the puck like one too.
I dragged my gaze away from him. I had work to do. A lot of it if I wanted to be prepared for my team.
Chapter 2
Rowan
Oh, fuck.
Thank goodness no one could see the shaking of my hands through my costume, since I was covered head to toe in white-and-black fur. My face was cycling through a mix of emotions—fear, apprehension, desire—but on the outside, all everyone saw was the smiling face of Benny the Badger, the Port City mascot.
My handlers hadn’t noticed anything was off with me throughout the photoshoot or the practice time afterward. They’d been with me since last season, so we knew each otherwell. Kier was one of my closest friends. Jason was an “all work and no play” type and an alpha, so I wasn’t as close with him.
Eventually our practice was cut short when a few of the team members skated out to take to the ice. The team was all on site for their first meeting with the new coach.
I walked into the locker room and sat down at the empty locker that was mine. The players graciously let me use one of the extras. It wasn’t typical of a mascot to be this close to the team, but it worked well for us. I pulled at the laces of my skates, all the while trying to figure out how the fuck I was going to navigate this situation.
I’d known the team was getting a new coach. I should have paid closer attention to who that coach was, but for the last two weeks, I had been busy with exams and trying to make sure I passed all my courses. It wasn’t like I was privy to that information anyway. Evan, my closest friend on the team, wouldn’t have thought to tell me. It wasn’t like I’d shared my mortifying experience with Reid Garrison with anyone.
My hands shook. I couldn’t get my laces undone.
“Hey, Ro.” Evan Price, nudged me. “I think you might have better luck if you at least take your gloves off. Maybe even that goofy-ass head of yours.” He laughed and nudged me again until I almost toppled over. Evan was the left-winger for the team, also the captain and one of my closest friends. Currently, he was also my landlord.
“Right. Of course. I’m sorry. Don’t know where my head’s at.”
“It’s right here,” he said. And he lifted my mask off.
“Hey, give that back,” I said. I reached for it, but of course he moved too fast for me.
“Make me.”
