Page 198 of Skate the Line

Go away.

Not that he knew he interrupted my thoughts of Sunny, but he did, and now I’m irritated.

“Who do you have watching you today?”

I send a puck toward Emory.

He smirks at Lars following me around like a lost puppy.

“My daughter,” I answer curtly.

“Oh, nice. You married, then?”

A puck comes in my direction, but he steps forward to take it.

I come to a sudden halt and shoot him awho-the-fuck-do-you-think-you-arelook. “If you know my name, then you probably know I’m not married.”

He nonchalantly shrugs.

Is this another Kane-like situation? A young punk who is talented enough to be pulled up from the minors but needs some help maturing? Surely Coach didn’t think this would put us in the playoffs?

“Your life is pretty private, actually. I did some research on the best players, and you’re the only one that is a mystery.”

I squint. “Yeah, there is a reason for that. I want it to stay private.”

Glancing around, I look to see if any of my teammates are watching this interaction.

Kane is leaning against the wall in front of our bench, staring right at me with a shit-eating smile on his face.

I shift over to Malaki, who is standing entirely too close to the penalty box. When he sees me looking, he opens the door and wafts his hand in front of it.What is this?

If Lars doesn’t skate the fuck away from me, I might just end up in there.

Thankfully, he takes off skating down the line, leaving me alone.

I head toward Kane.

“Wipe that look off your face, or I’ll give him your address, and you’ll have yourself a new friend.”

Kane snorts. “You don’t know my address.”

I chuckle.

He eyes me closely.

Of course I have his address. The entire team does, because he continuously gets too wasted to drive home.

I steal the puck from him and slide it over to Malaki, who is shaking his head at Kane behind me.

I peer over my shoulder.

Kane looks guilty.

“What did you do?”

Malaki slides me the puck, and I send it to Kane with a little more force.

“Welcoming our new teammate with an innocent prank.” He shrugs. “The usual.”

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