Page 44 of Shootout
“You’re okay.”
“Thanks.” Axel had been hard to read since I’d joined the team. He really hadn’t said much to me, even though he was one of the instigators of pranks and trouble in the locker room. Like most of my teammates, he wasn’t openly hostile, but he wasn’t friendly either.
“You’re a fucking damn good winger.”
“I’m lucky enough that I have the talent and the drive. And I’ve been in the league a few years.”
“Not as long as I have.”
I wasn’t sure how to take his comment, whether it was sour grapes or simply stating a fact.
“Can I give you some advice?” Axel stopped in front of me, forcing me to put on the brakes or slam into him.
“Dating a teammate’s sister is a dangerous thing to do, and it rarely ends well.”
“You sound like the voice of experience.”
“Our equipment manager, Geneva, she’s my wife, and her brother was our backup goalie until two years ago when he retired.”
“Sounds like it ended well for you.”
“We were an exception, and there were quite a few rocky times beforehand where it was touch and go. I’m just saying that you might be bucking the odds since I can’t recall a pro team that has two guys happily dating teammates’ sisters. One is unusual enough.”
“I like to challenge the odds.”
“That or you’re a glutton for punishment. Wild already has good reason to hate you.”
“I didn’t make the decision to suspend him for three games.” I defended my position.
“Regardless, you were the catalyst for it all. Plus, Smooth was a popular guy on this team, and you took him out.”
“That was a legal hit. The league never called me out for that hit.”
“Hey, don’t get your boxers in a bunch, I’m just telling you how guys feel.”
“Like I don’t know?”
He shrugged. “They’re grudgingly accepting you because of Wild, who’s been forced to play nice because of your relationship with his sister.”
That’s exactly the result I was hoping to get out of this fake relationship, and things were working as planned. I had to stick with the plan until these guys accepted me on my own merits and would tolerate a breakup. I didn’t see that happening anytime soon. They were harder to thaw than ice on a pond in Northern Alberta in the dead of winter.
We played some one-on-one hockey, and I ended up coming out on top. Of course I did. I was a more experienced player. Axel was only twenty-three, but he had potential.
Married at twenty-three. I shuddered at the thought. I couldn’t see myself married at thirty-three or forty-three or any other time.
“I’m going to call it a night.” Axel handed me a clean towel and wiped his face off with another.
“Me too.”
We showered and dressed and headed to the parking garage. As we split up toward our separate cars, Axel turned and fired off a parting shot. “By the way, next time, try the locker showers or a closet. A Zamboni can’t be all that comfortable.”
He left me standing there with my mouth open, and his laughter rang throughout the empty cavern of the garage.
ChapterSixteen
CONFLICTED
~~Jessie~~
