Page 26 of Zero Pucks Given
“He looked determined to shoot the puck there,” the other announcer noted. “He had another teammate free on the breakaway, but never considered passing.”
“That’s the mark of a great leader,” the first announcer said. “Knowing when to pass, and knowing when to take the shot yourself. And he’s all smiles about it now!”
The camera zoomed in on Grayson as he celebrated with his teammates. Sure enough, he was flashing a perfect white smile like he was in a freaking toothpaste commercial.
I turned the TV off and grabbed my laptop. He was going to be insufferable on our date tomorrow.
13
Grayson
I had never been so excited to return to the locker room after the second period. I immediately opened my locker and checked my phone, grinning like an idiot when I saw her text.
Josie: I know you don’t have your phone on you, but I wanted to let you know I just watched you get absolutely smashed into the wall. You didn’t smile, but that hit put a smile on MY face! Thanks for that.
Me: Are you still smiling? Because I sure as hell am.
“Steele!” our head coach snapped. “Put your goddamn fucking phone away. You can send dick pics when the game is over.”
Next to me, Mason barked a laugh.
“Sorry, coach,” I replied, but my smile didn’t fade.
We tied the game in the third period, but then lost in overtime. My teammates were dejected, but I still felt like I had come out on top tonight.
I waited until I was in bed later that night to send another text.
Me: Hey, I realize you might have missed the second period. So in case you didn’t see it, here’s a YouTube link to the goal I scored.
Josie: Your prediction didn’t come true, though. You didn’t score when you stole the puck from number twelve. You scored later.
Me: That’s the kind of technicality someone makes when they know they’re wrong.
Josie: I know hockey players aren’t very bright, so I’m going to explain this slowly for you. Do you see that number at the top of the screen? That’s called a clock. It shows 17:58 when you scored. There are 20 minutes in a hockey period, which means it took you over 2 minutes to score. Twice as long as you predicted.
Me: Still nitpicking the details? Smh. Just admit I proved you wrong. I can score anytime I want.
Josie: I bet that’s what you tell all your bros after striking out at the club.
I couldn’t help but laugh. That was a good one.
But I’m glad she couldn’t see my reaction. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.
Me: You said goals are sexier than assists, so I scored a goal. On demand. I’m good at giving people what they want.
Josie: Are you sure about that? Because you guys didn’t win the game. Seems kind of selfish to brag about a meaningless personal goal when you lost.
Me: I’m just one man. There’s only so much I can do in a team sport.
Josie: Ah, so you CAN act humble, but only when you need to spread out your personal failure among your teammates. That’s some great leadership from the captain.
I let out an annoyed snarl and resisted the urge to throw my phone across the room. This woman was insufferable. And I had to spend an entire basketball game with her tomorrow night.
Feeling vindictive, I opened TikTok and checked her channel. She’d been posting a lot more lately, but her videos still weren’t very impressive. I took a screenshot of one of them and sent it to her.
Me: Speaking of humble, your most recent video got 30,000 views. Wow. I hope you don’t let all that fame go to your head.
Josie: You’re stalking my channel now? Creep.
