Page 37 of Zero Pucks Given
The contract had been completed. They weren’t going to make me go on another date with Grayson.
It was finally,officially, over.
18
Grayson
The day after my date with Josie, our team began a ten-day road trip to play a bunch of other teams in our conference. The first game was against the Dallas Stars, but even though they were just a four-hour drive away, we took the team’s private jet.
It was a luxury I had come to appreciate, especially compared to using a bus in college to visit all our opponents.
The road trip kept my mind off things. I scored two goals in our victory against the Stars, and then we hopped over to Nashville for a game against the Predators. We had a day off between games, which we used to rest and practice.
But when practice was over, and I was sitting in my hotel room that night, it was Josie who occupied my mind.
I’d been watching a lot of her TikTok videos lately. They helped me relax, especially before bed. She had a calm way of speaking to the camera, which was strangely soothing along with her gentle motions as she applied makeup in front of the camera.
I knew the two of us butted heads. We’d barely been able to stand each other at the Spurs game, to say nothing of thefirstdate at Carlo’s.
But there was something about her. A feeling I couldn’t shake.
I thought about texting her. I even opened our previous chat and re-read all the texts between us. I didn’t know what I would say.
Especially after Bob sent me an email confirming that our Spurs date was good enough.
It was over. I didn’t have to see Josie ever again.
But for some reason, that only darkened my mood.
The game against the Nashville Predators was fiery from the start, with two fights in the first period alone. We played sloppy after that, losing the puck on easy passes and giving up two goals.
“Clean it up out there!” I shouted at my teammates between periods. “I don’t know why we’re playing with our heads up our asses, but that’s what it feels like out there.”
“If anyone’s head is up their ass, it’s yours, captain,” one of our defensemen countered. “It was your sloppy pass to Mason that led to the second goal.”
I rounded on the man. “That’s why I saidweare playing with our heads up our asses. Me included. Tighten it up in the third period, or we might as well go home now and forfeit the rest of the road trip.”
Being the captain of a hockey team was a lot like being a parent. There were times to be gentle, and times to be firm. This was one of the latter times.
We played with more fire in the third period, but still lost the game by two goals. The mood was gloomy on the flight to St. Louis, especially since we didn’t get checked into the team hotel until two in the morning.
“We need a double practice,” I told our coach outside my room. “Our normal practice in the afternoon, but then I want to spend an hour with everyone focusing on line changes. We gave up a goal yesterday because Quentin and Pettitte were slow to get onto the ice.”
“If you think so, I’ll schedule it,” he replied.
Mason was sitting on his bed inside the hotel room, glaring at me. “What’s your problem?” I asked.
“Myproblem? Grayson, you’re the one acting like you have something lodged all the way up your ass.”
“We gave up three goals in the first period. That’s what’s pissing me off.”
I went into the bathroom and began brushing my teeth.
“If I can offer some constructive criticism?” Mason called from the room.
“No,” I replied with a mouthful of toothpaste.
He kept talking anyway. “It wasn’t today’s game that pissed you off. You’ve been in a mood since the road trip started. Even when you scored two goals in our win against the Stars.”
