Page 8 of Puck Drop
The sweaty hair on the back of my head raises at hearing that. I don’t need to know anything about staff or what they do after hours. If I hear one more time the termmorality clauseorfraternizing with the staff, I will lose my shit on everyone around me.
“I better not,” I tell Sebastian. “I’m tired anyway.”
“Dude,” he chuckles. “I’m not telling you to get naked with the staff. Just come and have a good time with us, loosen the fuck up a bit, yeah?”
I roll my eyes at his obvious tease of my situation. He knows about the circumstances that brought me from New York to Austin, mostly because I never made it a secret. It is what it is, I guess.
“You need to get out more, dude.” Sebastian won’t let up. “Get to know the guys more. They’re actually not that bad,” he informs me.
I look around us, noticing how they all seem to be in their little groups, and I miss the camaraderie that I had back in New York. Over there, the players didn’t care if you were a first or a third line player. They were down to hanging out with you no matter what. It was a bit of a different vibe I suppose. Then again, I do have to remind myself that I came here after the season already started. I missed on all the team bonding period leading to that.
“At the pub?” I make sure to ask Sebastian.
“Yep,” he confirms before skating off.
The next couple of hours go by in a blur. The drills we run are no less intense than what I experienced with the Sliders, but I still feel like I am fumbling my way around at times. With that said, I am pleased with my performance overall, and my coaches seem to agree.
“Good job,” Coach Mack taps me on the helmet as I make my way off the ice. “I expect to see you at the pub with the rest of the team.” He pauses briefly as he stares at me. “No excuses.”
I nod and keep on walking. “Yes, sir.”
Right before exiting toward the tunnel that takes me to the locker room, I stop to talk to a group of kids. They get excited, not necessarily because they are big fans of mine, but they areof the team, and getting attention from one of the players makes their day. We take some selfies and exchange some fist bumps, then I pass my stick to one of the smaller boys that’s a couple of rows back.
Sebastian pops to my side after I finally take my leave.
“Look at you, charming all the little kids,” he teases. “That’ll get you points with the ladies, too.”
I roll my eyes at his last remark. “That is the last thing I need right now. I am still in recovery from the last lady I was with.”
There’s this tightness in my chest every time I think of Elizabeth. I don’t know if I made a mistake by not trying to contact her more often once I moved to Austin. Maybe, despite us confessing our feelings to each other, we rushed into things.
“I heard they invited everyone to the pub tonight,” Sebastian tells me as we get to the locker room.
As luck would have it, our assigned lockers are next to each other. I remain standing so that I can take all my gear off while Sebastian sits down and starts unlacing his skates.
“They invited all the office staff, too,” he continues. “And this new girl is…”
“I don’t care about any of the office staff, Bass,” I cut him off. “I got enough problems in my life.”
He snorts at that. “I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not what I wanted to tell you at all. Besides, the girl who got you in trouble was not an office girl.”
“No,” I admit. “It was worse. I was the ultimate moron. And I haven’t even heard back from her since I left.”
“Yeah, but, listen to me,” Sebastian insists. “Tonight…”
The door to the locker room opens, and a bunch of the guys on the team bust in. Everyone is talking and laughing at the same time, making it almost impossible for me to hear my friend anymore.
The rest of our time in the locker room goes by in a blur. I get pulled into a couple of conversations, and I discover that I like talking to everyone here the more that I give them a chance. I have no idea what’s been pulling me back. I’m just gun shy at this point, I suppose.
By the time I take a shower and change into my street clothes, I am more relaxed and prepared to spend the evening with the whole bunch of them.
“I’ll just take my bag to the car,” I tell them as we head out. A few of them decide to do the same, while the rest decide to come back for their stuff once we’re done partying.
I listen in to all the side conversations going on around me, but I don’t try to participate. One in particular catches my attention, making me laugh.
“Dude, did you see the new nutritionist they hired?” One of my teammates asks. “She is smoking hot. I might need some pointers for my diet, if you know what I mean.”
“You better be careful with that,” another one warns him. “They don’t like the players to mess around with the office folk.”
