Page 47 of Desperate Pucker
The first period ends with us finally on the board. As I head from the bench to the locker room with my team for intermission, fans cheer at me.
“We love you, St. George!”
“The patron saint of slap shots is back!”
“You look great out there, man!”
As I nod my thanks to the fans, I can’t help but think about Maddy and how I wouldn’t be experiencing any of this if it weren’t for her
“Ryker, how does it feel to be back on the ice?” a reporter asks during post-game press.
“Really good. I couldn’t wait to get back out there.”
I wipe the sweat off my face with the towel draped over my shoulder.
“Did you miss us while you were away?” another reporter asks. Everyone in the room chuckles.
I crack a smile. “Believe it or not, I did.”
“You moved pretty well out there for a guy your age. You juicin’?” a reporter named Bobby Baker asks. Tense silence follows as I glare at him.
This fucking guy is so annoying. He’s not part of the core press group since he doesn’t work for a news organization, but sometimes he shows up. He runs some online site and podcast, and is known for asking gotcha questions so he’ll get a viral clip for his show. Anytime he asks me a question, it always has to do with how much older I am than my teammates.
I pin him with my glare. “I use the same stuff you use. It’s obviously not working all that well.”
Quiet laughs echo in the room. He frowns like he’s disappointed that I didn’t go off on him.
“That was a heck of a slapshot you managed in the first period. Will we be seeing more of those from you?” a different reporter asks.
“I hope so.”
“You moved a lot faster on the ice than you did even before your injury. How did you manage that?”
“All credit goes to my skating coach, Madeline Macer. She’s incredible.”
I wonder if she’s watching this. Probably not. I bet she didn’t even watch the game.
But that’s not going to change how I speak about her. Yeah, we’re in a weird place right now after what happened in the elevator, but she deserves all the credit in the world for how good she is at her job.
“She’s a former figure skater, right?” that same reporter asks.
“And an Olympic medalist,” I say. “I wouldn’t have been able to play the way I did tonight if I hadn’t been training with her.”
“Sounds like she’s your secret weapon.”
“She definitely is.”
Chapter 18
Maddy
My phone buzzes with a text. I pause the movie I’m watching and reach over to grab my phone from the coffee table. Bruce, who’s napping on my lap, gives me a sleepy-eyed, annoyed look for daring to move before closing his eyes again.
I scratch under his chin and read Ingrid’s text.
Hey! Did you watch tonight’s game? Your star skating student is back in action and better than ever! He also raved about you during post-game press ;)
I pull up the Basher’s game highlights on my phone. I watch Ryker fly across the ice. Wow.
