Page 6 of SlapShot Sweetheart

“And number elevennnnn, Theo Batiste!” the announcer hollered – and obediently, Theo took off onto the ice, raising a hand and waving politely as he skated around before lining up next to Travis.

“Number three…. Gerard Thierry.”

He and Travis took their sticks, slamming them against their chest, greeting their buddy as Gerry made his entrance onto the ice. Man, the ladies loved it too. Tall guy, long blond hair, built like Thor… oh yeah, they looked right over him and Coeur. If they weren’t looking at Gerry, then the women were ogling Lafrenière doing his warmups on the ice.

“Lemme know if you need a pregnancy test over there, eh?” Theo yelled to the other team’s goalie, who was disgraceful about his stretches. Yeah, they yelled a lot of flak, things they normally wouldn’t say aloud in order to get under the other team’s skin. “Or are you pretending it’s your captain, eh? He’s got that pretty ‘air…”

“Jeez,” Travis chuckled. “The game hasn’t started, and you’ve got an ax to grind, Theo.”

“Your mother said she’d be ‘ome late – again!” he hollered, using a tried-and-true line that usually fired them up.

“Here we go with the ‘your mama’ comments…” Coeur grinned.

“Shut up, Batiste…”

“She likes it when I wear d’ mask in bed…”

“Oh boy…” Gerry chuckled, tightening the buckle at his chin openly.

“The pucks not down yet…” the other goalie snapped angrily.

“BUT YOUR MOTHER IS…” Boucher screamed out before Theo could, causing him to cackle wildly, almost in a maniacal way, giving the other defensive player a salute holding up his hockey stick.

“Why you little…”

“Je vais nettoyer la glace avec toi, idiot,”Theo screamed wildly, flinging his gloves off and leaping over the line of sticks – and the crowd went wild. They loved the fighting, the temperament, and it was a way for him to get some aggression out of his system.

Was it trash-talking? Oh absolutely…

Did he mean any of it? Not in the slightest.

It was his job to talk smack. He was exceedingly good at it – and without all the cussing that the other team was currently doing. They were cussing him, his religion, his mother, his dog (which he didn’t own), and his entire family line in French – just to make sure he understood them. Oh yeah, he certainly did and was giving it back.

“When she takes her teeth out…”

“Oh my gosh…”

“Theo! Dang, buddy…”

“I’m gonna crack your back – and thentu mere’s!”

“Would someone stop him?” Lafrenière hollered angrily in the distance.

“He’s wearing a birdcage today to protect his mouth. There’s gonna be no shutting him up…” Giroux volunteered, leaping into the fray once more.

“Dang…”

The referee was blowing the whistle, and Theo could hear the coach yelling at him, seeing the cameras zoom in as he pointed atthe other goalie, whose face was bright red and angry.Good!he thought wildly,the madder they are, the more distracted they play, and I need all the help I can get,he mused, seeing the camera circle around them once more.Yup, they’re gonna be on SportsCenter tonight, he smiled, shaking his hockey stick and yelling once more as the crowd went wild.

And they had yet to start the game.

Hours later, Theo was ambling into the locker room, beyond exhausted. The nutritionist was shoving protein shakes at them as well as boxes of food the woman had delivered, trying to make sure they remained in optimal shape and health. He accepted his, setting it on the bench beside him as he yanked off his jersey, followed by his pads.

The massive cage of protective equipment made him feel and seem huge on the ice when, in reality, Theo was one of the thinnest and most wiry players on the team. He was barely two hundred pounds dripping wet. Travis was two-twenty, Gerry was two-seventy and all muscle. Lafrenière was somewhere in-between, just like Coeur and Boucher. He was the one they were always shoving food in his hands – and plucking it out of Gerry’s.

“Oh man, I’m getting in the ice bath… my body is killing me.”

“I’ve got a hot date with Ben Gay.”

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