Page 33 of Damsel in Defense
I just wish I knew his.?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MASON
The puck slips right by my stick, not even grazing the tape.
Again.
“Come on, Warren,” Coach Taylor barks from behind the glass.“You got more holes in you than cheese this morning.Get it together.”
A couple of the guys chuckle, but I just shake my head and skate over to the boards, needing a water break and a mental rest.Shit, I’m totally off my game today.
Every time I blink, I see her.
Every time my phone vibrates, I think of her.
Hell, every time I take a deep breath in, I swear I can smell her coconut-and-coffee shower oil.It’s driving me crazy.
It also doesn’t help that during the off-hours of training camp, all I do is relive moments over the last month that I’ve spent with her.
The most vivid in my mind is the image of Victoria, wearing my jersey like it was made for her, cuddled up close to me as we watched a serial killer documentary the last night I was at home.
For the first time in my life, hockey is my second thought.
Victoria is the first and last thing I think about each day.Not my footwork, or what I could have done better, or what I need to drill the next day—her.
And let me tell you, distance does not make the heart grow fonder.It makes my willpower and focus dwindle to nothing.
I’m a mess.I thought I was made of stronger stuff than this.
Max skates up beside me, reaching for his water bottle.Panting, he asks, “You good?”
“Yeah.Just tired,” I lie, dragging a towel over my face.
“Bullshit,” he says with a low voice, making sure our swearing-intolerant coach doesn’t hear.“I’ve seen you at a 5:00 a.m.practice after getting off an international flight jet-lagged, and you still played better than what you’re doing today.Tired, my ass.What’s really happening?”He nudges my shoulder.“You want to talk about it, or should I start placing bets on how long before you sneak off to FaceTime her?”
I don’t say anything.I don’t have to.
Max whistles low.“Wow.So it must be love.”
I glance over.“It’s not love,” I protest a bit too briskly.Max eyes me, tilting his head with a smug smile on his stupid face.“It’s not.It’s too soon.”I look back over the rink, not wanting to see my friend’s reaction anymore.
“But it is.”
It hangs there between us.
I don’t answer.Staying true to my word, I hadn’t told anybody about the pact I made with Victoria.As much as I want to confide in Max my feelings, I can’t without giving away the whole story.
“It’s complicated” is all I get out.
“Look, man, I’m not the best person to be giving advice, but take it from someone who almost lost the love of his life because he thought pretending was the best path to the ending I wanted.Stop pretending you’re chill, and start showing her you’re crazy.”He puts his glove back on and knocks my helmet.“You like her, and I could tell when I met her that she likes you too.So do whatever you need to do to keep that woman by your side.”
Max begins to skate away but twists back to me a second later.“Don’t fuck it up.”
“Dawson!Jar!”Coach Taylor yells from the other side of the rink.
“How the hell did he hear that?”Max cries, tapping his stick on the ice.
