Page 69 of Lucky Shot
“And a good defender?” I ask since that is my current role – however ineffective.
“Is always one step ahead,” he says, swiping the puck back from me and skating away before I can do anything about it.
“Cute,” I mutter.
He circles around the goal and heads back in front of me. “Do you want to give it a try?”
I shake my head. All morning he’s been showing me different things. From slap shots to backhands, all the different penalties, he even humored me by showing me how fast he can skate from one end to the other. The answer: very fast.
“All right. What else do you need for Act One?”
The butterflies in my stomach flutter and then drop. The reminder of my book and how much work I still need to do feels overwhelming. Today we’ve been focusing on all the hockey scenes in the first ten chapters or Act One. It’s cute he remembered. I force a smile. He’s been so helpful and so concentrated on doing whatever it is that I need. Above andbeyond what I ever imagined from anyone, let alone the grump I thought he was.
“Galaxy!”
Nick and I turn as Danny skates onto the ice. He’s dressed casually like Nick in athletic pants and a T-shirt.
My eyes go to the tattoos on his forearms as he gets closer. They’re beautiful, colorful and intricate. I’m drawn to the red and white cartoon rocket, but before I can make out any of the other individual artwork pieces, Conrad appears as well, followed by Travis.
The men are all geared up with their sticks. Conrad has on his helmet and the other two carry theirs.
“What are you guys doing here?” Nick asks, moving closer to me.
“Trav said you’d be here,” Danny says. “Thought we could get in a little friendly scrimmage.”
I feel Nick’s body tense beside me. His arm brushes against mine as he says, “Sorry. I promised Ruby I’d help her with her book today.”
“It’s okay.” We’ve been at it for a few hours and I’m well aware I’m taking up a lot of his time. “I think I got what I need.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod. “Yeah. Plus, my fingers hurt from holding on to the skating aid so tightly.”
“All right.” He turns to me and lowers his voice. “I’ll give you a lift back.”
“No. Stay with your friends. I’m going to grab an Uber to MVP.”
“Craving a bad burger?”
“It’s all about the atmosphere,” I tell him, skating as coolly as one can with a colorful walker. “Thanks for the lesson, Galaxy.”
I flick my gaze to his friends. “Watch out for his deke. He really favors the right side.”
Travis busts out laughing first, the rest joining in. Nick’s mouth falls open.
“I was teaching. That wasn’t my best stuff!” he yells after me.
I smush my lips together to keep from laughing, inevitably failing. “Whatever you say, Galaxy.”
I’m floating when I walk into MVP. Not even the hostess’s heavy sigh or annoyance as she sets down the menu in front of me gets me down. When the server walks up, I shut the menu and look up. I trust Nick that the burger is the only safe option.
“Hey, darling, what can I get you to drink?” the guy asks as he pulls a pen out of his pocket and poises it over a pad of paper.
Recognition flickers as I look from his face to the nametag, which reads, “Lonnie.”
“Bobby?” Otherwise known as Curtis at the rental car place.
“MINI Cooper girl.”
