Page 56 of Pipe Dreams
He could work with that.
“Beacon,” Coach said. “Something on your mind?”
“Yeah.” He must have been smiling. “I think you’re right, Coach. They’re feeling the strain. We can use it. They’re gonna fight dirty, though. Be ready for that, guys.”
“Yeah.” O’Doul nodded from across the table. “So I think we try to keep our noses clean for the first period tonight. Neither Crikey or I will throw down, even if we’re baited early. I think it’ll make ’em crazy if we hold off a bit. Let these guys simmer.”
A chuckle moved through the room, and several players nodded.
“I like it,” Coach said. “Cooler heads prevail, and all that. We’re back on our home ice after this one, too. The tide is about to turn in our favor. I can feel it. And now I want you boys rested. Go upstairs and take a nap, okay? Turn your phones off. No caffeine. We’ll see you at five thirty for yoga.” He stood up, and the meeting was adjourned.
He headed outdoors instead of upstairs. Most guys would order room service and then try to sleep. But he was too keyed up, so he went out to the poolside tiki bar and ordered a grilled chicken sandwich. He ate it watching sports highlights on TV—including video of himself making a couple of saves.
“What do you think?” the kid tending bar asked, topping up Mike’s ice water glass.
“Coulda gone worse,” he said.
The kid grinned. “I’m rooting for you guys.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Grew up in Jersey.”
“Well, thanks.” Though it was probably a ruse meant to improve his tip.
“Don’t mention it.”
When he was done, Mike left the kid a generous tip, no matter who the kid was rooting for. He still wasn’t sleepy, but the rows of aqua-blue lounge chairs beckoned to him. Carrying his water glass with him, he bypassed all the ones facing the pool in favor of a row in the distance. That spot looked more private, so he headed over, hoping to find it relatively empty.
It was, except for one stunning woman in a bikini and sunglasses, a laptop open on her belly. His heart tripped over its own feet.
Lauren.
Wordlessly, Mike kicked off his shoes and sat down on the deck chair. Then he shucked off his shirt and lay back, closing his eyes. “Nice office you got here,” he said.
“I know, right?” Her eyes remained focused on the screen. “Some business trips are easier than others. Sometimes you get a deck chair, and sometimes you’re in the Middle East, wearing a potato sack and covering your hair.”
“Seriously?”
“Sure. In Riyadh our hotel had a women’s only floor, which was pretty trippy.”
“Where else have you been with Nate?” He stretched out as the sun began to warm his chest, and he hoped she’d keep talking. Sunshine and Lauren’s voice—two things he didn’t have enough of.
“Shanghai. Tokyo. Singapore. Taiwan. Turns out conference rooms look the same everywhere.”
“That’s all you see?”
“No—we always have at least a day of sightseeing. Nate’s fun. I’ve been to the Great Wall of China. Another time hebooked us a sushi-eating tour of Tokyo. I’ve never been so full in my life.”
He chuckled, his eyes closed against the sun’s rays. He hoped Lauren had had a lot of fun on Nate’s dime, and a big, exciting life these past two years. He ached just to hear how much he’d missed.
I haven’t trusted anyone since, she’d said the other night. It killed him to know he’d done that to her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be upstairs resting?” she asked.
“I’m resting. Look at me rest.” He held perfectly still. But then he opened one eye to see if she was looking.
Nope.
