Page 9 of Shootout
“Yeah,” I said warily. My teammates appeared to know who Jessie was.
“Did you win?” scoffed Wild, who’d joined the conversation late. He hated me more than anyone else on this team.
“Of course I won.” I was offended.
“What happened in the locker room?” Steele glanced from Axel to me and back to Axel.
“Geneva caught them doing the nasty on the shower floor,” Axel supplied happily.
I rose to my defense. “The Sockeyes showers were closed for cleaning, so I walked into the guest locker room to use their facilities wearing nothing but a towel. I had no idea Jessie would be in there, showering.”
“Showering?” asked Staples, who’d been eavesdropping along with several others.
“Was she naked?” asked Steele Bailey, drawing guffaws and chirps from the guys around us.
“Of course she was naked. Who takes a shower wearing clothes?” Kaden snorted with laughter. Guys began to gather around me. Wild straightened and elbowed his way to the front of the crowd. His face was a stony mask. My instincts screamedkeep your mouth shut, but this was the first time my new teammates had treated me like one of them, and I didn’t want to screw this up.
“You walked in onJessienaked in the locker room shower?” Ziggy asked a little too loudly. Every guy in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to watch.
“It was a total accident. I didn’t know she was in there.” I defended myself.
Several guys snickered and exchanged sly glances as if they were in on a joke.
“Oh, fuck, you are so screwed,” snorted Andy, a young third-line winger with loads of talent. Many others nodded in agreement while smirking. They stared at me, waiting for a response. I didn’t understand what was going on.
Wild stepped forward. Nervous laughter followed him. Then the room became oddly quiet. He stood before me, hands on hips, and glared down at me. Not wanting to give him the height advantage, I rose to my feet and met his steely gaze. What the fuck was he all riled up about?
“Did you say Jessie?” he growled.
“Yeah, she had access to our rink.”
“Jessie?” Wild repeated through gritted teeth. I chanced a look at the rest of my teammates. Most watched our interaction with interest; others appeared nervous. I was in a state of total confusion.
“Yeah, Jessie. You know her?” I spoke in my friendliest tone, even though he was hostile.
“You fucking dickhead. That was my sister. My two-time gold-medal-winning hockey player sister. You didn’t make the connection?”
No response would get me out of this, so I shut up and backed up a few steps. My legs hit the bench and could go no farther. Jessica Wilder. Yeah, I knew that name. She’d been one of the top female hockey players of the last decade or so, if not all time. I didn’t follow women’s sports, but as an athlete, there were certain things a guy knows no matter what.
“You walked in on my sister in the shower?” Wild roared as if he’d just processed what I’d said earlier.
“It…was…an accident. I didn’t know she was in there.” I stammered like a rookie being confronted by the team enforcer.
Without warning, Wild lunged at me and swung. His fist caught me in the jaw. Unprepared, I slammed back against my stall and sprawled on the floor. Wild made a move to jump on me, but our team captain, Isaac “Ice” Wolfe, Rush, and Andy wrestled him away before he did more damage.
I rose to my feet, rubbing my sore jaw.
“I’ll fucking kill you if you go near my sister again.”
I held up my hands with palms turned toward him. “I don’t want any problems. I won’t go near her.”
“You fucking better not, or I’ll wrap my skate blade around your neck.” Wild glared at me as Ice and crew dragged him across the room and sat him down.
I slumped on the bench, trying to block out the throbbing in my jaw. Steele handed me an ice pack.
“Thanks,” I said, managing a painful smile.
Everyone went back to what they’d been doing. I dressed quickly, more than ready to get out of there.
