Page 93 of Hockey Bois
“Have I ever mentioned I hate you?” Nick groaned as he walked by.
“Love you, too!” Jenna said while making a kissyface. “Score some goals for us!”
“Please give Gail my number!” Terry called.
Nick made a beeline for Gail, stopping in front of where she’d decided to stretch by the bench.
“I would like to point out that Terry and Jenna are my cousins,” he said. “Anything they say is circumstantial at best. I am at least five percent better than they portray me. Maybe even up to twenty percent.” Gail opened her mouth to say something. “Also, Terry is in love with you and even though I’m not sure I support that, he wants me to give you his number.”
She shut her mouth again and looked over at the stands. “What does he know about me?” she asked.
“That you’re small and angry and mean.” He paused in consideration, then added, “He’s also probably figured out that you play hockey.”
Gail looked over at the stands and gave Terry an appraising look. “Yeah, all right. I can give him a try.”
“Then remind me to give you his number after the game.” Nick waited patiently, hoping Gail would give him a hint of what she and Jenna had talked about. “So…”
“So you should get your other cousin out on the ice. Could use another firecracker out here. Can tell she doesn’t take shit, and I’m tired of being the only girl.”
“She sprained her wrist ice skating in the third grade, so she very adamantly willnotskate ever again. She also doesn’t ‘sport.’” He made sure to do little air quotes around the way his cousin said the word, and he thought he did a fair imitation of her disdain for exercise.
“Too bad.”
Silence. Nick really,reallywanted to ask if they’d talked about Brady, but he also couldn’t bear to bring it up. He looked at Gail with large, pleading eyes that she pointedly ignored.
“Go warm up,” she said. There was only a hint of wicked delight at Nick’s expense.
“You’re killing me,” he whined. “You are actively killing me. You will be investigated upon my death.”
“You’re so dramatic.” Gail rolled her eyes and leaned forward. It was an unnecessary gesture considering no one else was at the bench yet. “All I did was answer your cousin’s questions. I have no clue what the fuck is going on between you and our resident Pittsburgh boy, but I do know Jensie is on average a stand-up guy. Both on and off the ice. So that’s what I said.”
Nick heaved a loud sigh. “So if there’s a problem, are you sayingI’m—?”
“No.” She held up a hand to cut him off. “Gonna shut that down right now. I’m here to help with the hockey. I don’t do the other stuff. It’s messy and just… no. Not saying I don’t want things to work out, but I am no love guru. Y’all have already managed to throw each other out of your grooves, and I don’t want to be dragged down into that.”
“Uh, excuse me. I got ahat trick.”
“Afteryou got back into your groove. After being out of it. For like a month. You want relationship advice, you stick to your cousin. She seems to have her head on straight. You want hockey advice, I’m your gal. And right now, this gal says get your ass out on the ice and warm up so you don’t disappoint your adoring fans.”
Right.
Nick had a mediocre game. He started out weak, probably because he could hear Jenna cheering him on. He settled into a rhythm after a few shifts, the familiar sounds of puck and skates and sticks on ice soothing him. There was the added benefit that Jenna stopped randomly screaming words of praise and instead focused on specific good moves he made.
He didn’t score, but there were definite times when he made solid plays, and he was only out for one goal from the other team. Nothing memorable for or against him, so he was satisfied.
Player of the game? Definitely Gail. She was always solid on the backcheck, a traditional stay-at-home defenseman who only pushed up if she felt she had a really good opportunity and trusted that her winger would cover her if she’d miscalculated. Tonight, though, she was onfire. She made risky plays and rang the posttwice. She skated circles around the best players on the other team. There were even a few times when they went one-on-one against her, and she stayed with them. No, staying with them completely undersold what she did. Shetauntedthem. She forced them to the outside while calling out, “Come on, big boy!” or “That all you got, tough guy?” or “Where the fuck they pick you up, Mites on Ice?” It was hilarious and surprisingly effective, completely throwing off her opponents.
And then there was the epic hip check to the one guy who almost got around her. He went spiraling to the ground and lost his stick and one of his gloves in the process of trying to right himself.
“What the fuck, ref!” the guy screamed as play continued on around him. “Where’s the call on that?”
“She’s half your size!” the ref said.
“She still can’t check!” he sputtered. “It’s a no-contact league!”
“Incidental contact.”
Nickneededto find footage to send to Brady.
