Page 7 of Puck Drop
“Sir, the contract with the Sliders means everything to me,” Logan yells back. “It’s changed my life for the better.” He sounds desperate and out of breath. “And so has your daughter. I love Elizabeth…”
“I am done listening to any of this nonsense,” my father informs him in a cool tone. “I will see you tomorrow morning. Bring your agent, bring your lawyer, bring your mother for all I care.”
He turns around on his heels, ready to leave the room. I am left in complete shock, unsure of how to react to anything that’s happened right in front of my eyes. I am scared to look at Logan, worried that I may have ruined his life without meaning to.
“Say goodbye to yourboyfriend, Elizabeth,” my father snaps. “We’re leaving.”
The sarcastic way in which he refers to Logan rubs me the wrong way. I want to respond in kind, but I don’t want to make things worse for Logan. I know when I am about to lose or win a battle, and I decide that the current battle is not completely lost.
I pull my shoulders back and walk over to Logan, ignoring my father who is holding the door open for me. I get up on the tips of my toes, hoping to get as close to Logan’s face as I can, annoyed that he is so much taller than me.
“I will fix this, Logan,” I tell him. “Please believe me when I tell you.”
He shakes his head at me, disbelief and anger obvious in his eyes.
“This is so much worse than I ever imagined,” he tells me. “What the fuck am I going to do?”
My heart clenches in my chest at hearing the pain in his voice. He told me before that hockey meant everything to him, but I can’t even begin to comprehend the desperation he is experiencing right now.
“We’ll make it work.”
I try to get him to bend down and kiss me, but his body is tense, and he now refuses to meet my eyes. The fear from earlier, which I thought I’d pushed away, comes back with a vengeance.
“I’m not giving up on us, Logan,” I promise him. “Please don’t do it either,” I beg.
He nods but still won’t look at me. I can tell that he already checked out. I stare at him for as long as I can until I hear my father clearing his voice behind me.
“I’ve been as patient as I can be given the circumstances,” he growls at us. “But if I need to call security to get everyone removed off the premises, I will. Don’t test me,” he warns. “Either one of you.”
I jump up and kiss Logan on the cheek, then turn around and run to the door. I don’t wait for my father to catch up to me, and I don’t plan on going home with him either. Instead, I run all the way outside and to my car. I get in and start it, wondering where I could go.
I don’t understand how such a perfect day ended in the worst way possible.
THREE
Logan
Present
“Your fucking timing is off,”Oliver Trent, the goalie coach for the Austin Aces yells right after blowing the whistle. “Mantei, you’re next.” He points a threatening finger at me. “You better show me that you’re worth it.”
I nod at him and skate to take my place at the net, getting in the position. My mouth goes dry as I watch one of the first line forwards coming right at me, moving the puck back and forth as he tries to keep me guessing. Three more players are behind him, each one with a puck they’re ready to launch at me.
“Fuck, yeah,” I mumble to myself when I stop the first one with my forearm. The next two are a bit more difficult, but I get them as well. The third one wheezes right by my ear, but I bring my hand up just in time and catch it.
Oliver blows his whistle, motioning for the first line goalie to take his place at the net, which requires for me to move out of the way. Coach doesn’t say anything to me about my performance,but I guess that’s a good thing as long as he doesn’t tell me that I suck.
The last six months have been brutal. Getting traded by the New York Sliders felt like a nightmare at the time. There was a lot going on, and they made the deal a day before the deadline. That caused me a lot of stress and anguish. I got lectured by everyone I knew including a lot of my teammates. Things with Elizabeth got suspended, and I have no idea if we’ll ever pick up where we left off. Her father refused to allow me to see her before I left, and she didn’t make any effort to come see me. That pretty much told me everything that I needed to know.
And now, all this time later, I am playing for another team, but at least it wasn’t a step down since my biggest fear had been going back to the minors. I didn’t get more money, but I did get the second line goalie position, as opposed to the third line I had back in New York.
I move a little to the side when one of my teammates, Sebastian Roonie, joins me against the boards.
“Good job, man. I think you impressed Oliver, and that’s no easy task.”
I nod in thanks but don’t have much else to say. He is actually the only person here who I talk to. He and I played together while on the Sliders. He transferred to the Aces as soon as the portal opened. I have to admit that it does feel nice to have a familiar face here.
“You wanna go have a drink after we’re done here?” He now elbows me to get my attention. “I hear all the guys are going. And some of the staff…”
