Page 20 of Zero Pucks Given
Not only that, but there was a lot of action on the affiliate links I posted with each video. People were buying the makeup from my videos. I’d made over a hundred bucks from commissions today. That may not sound like a lot, but it was a big deal to me.
“Holy shit,” I said.
“You’re going viral!” Sharon exclaimed.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Viral videos gotmillionsof views. But this was still a massive jump compared to the dozen or so views I was getting before now.
And it was all because of my date with Grayson.
Bob Trent approached my concession stand with the security guard. Both of them looked serious. It was pretty obvious what was about to happen.
“Ms. Harper, unfortunately you’ve forced our hand,” Bob began.
“Fine,” I interrupted. “I’ll do it.”
10
Grayson
“Do it!” I shouted. “Shoot!”
Mason skated next to me, maneuvering the puck back and forth with his hockey stick. Showing off. Finally he shot the puck, sending it into the upper corner of the goal.
But the goaltender easily caught it with his glove.
“Fuck,” Mason cursed.
I cut my skates hard, skidding to a stop. “We talked about this. You’re too predictable. You need to vary your shots more.”
“I know.”
“Shoot sooner, shoot from the left side, shoot for the five-hole. You always aim for the upper corners. You need to keep the goaltender on his toes, even if it means taking a shot you don’t like. Let me show you.”
I spent the next five minutes taking shots at the goalie, showing Mason how it was done. My legs burned by the end, but I thought I got my point across.
“Damn, Captain,” the goalie said, removing his mask afterward. “You’re shooting angry today. That last one almost burned a holethrough my glove.”
“I’m fine,” I replied, which wasn’t true. Two days had passed since my not-date with Josie, and I was still upset by the whole thing. I usually hated when fans worshiped me, but somehow having Josie treat me the opposite was worse. She’d stormed out of our date like she had better things to do.
And the more I thought about it, the more pissed off I got.
I knew it was stupid to feel this way. It was some reverse psychology bullshit. Like an adult telling a child they couldn’t have pizza for dinner, all I could think about now was a nice slice of pepperoni.
She was an irritation in my life. A pebble in my skate, rubbing me the wrong way with every single step.
“Your turn,” I told Mason. “Show me.”
Before he could, a voice boomed over the loudspeaker in the arena. “Grayson Steele, please report to Robert Trent’s office.”
“Ignore that,” I told Mason, pulling my mask back down. “Give me five more shots on goal.”
The message was repeated over the loudspeaker a minute later. Several teammates looked at me.
“I’m busy!” I shouted at the ceiling, my voice echoing in the cavernous space. “Mason. Let’s go.”
He only got one more shot off before the lights in the arena went off, bathing us in darkness. My teammates practicing across the ice groaned and yelled in annoyance.
The loudspeaker voice returned: “Practice is suspended until your Captain leaves the ice.”
