Page 8 of Hockey Bois
“Like… at winning?” Nick rubbed the back of his neck. “Not so much. We’re at five hundred so far. But I don’t think any team is doing significantly better.”
Terry nodded along sagely, but Jenna asked, “What does five hundred mean?”
“Oh.” He’d never been good at number conversations, and he tried to think how to frame this. Hecouldgo into all the statistics involved but figured they wanted the more succinct version. “It means we’ve won half our games. If you’re above five hundred, you’ve won more. Below, and you’ve won less.”
“So you’re basically winning as much as a coin flip?” Jenna teased.
“I mean, you’re notwrong—”
“And the people?” she continued. “They any good?”
“…at hockey? Or at people-ing?”
“People-ing isn’t a word,” Terry said suspiciously. “…right?”
Jenna waved him off. “All of the above?”
Nick took a moment to consider. “They’re pretty nice. And crazy, some of them. Oh, and one of the guys is like… both unfairly hot and unfairly good at skating.”
“Hot and straight or hot and…other?” she asked pointedly.
Nick tried not to blush and was thankful that the lights in the theater were dim enough that she probably couldn’t see anyway. She’d assume the blush was there anyway.
“Ehhh,” he said casually and knew Jenna wouldn’t buy it for a second. He’d indulged in an errant thought now and then trying to answer that very question. “No idea, but don’t think he’s interested either way.”
“Boo,” Jenna said. The lights went down even more as the projector whirred to life, and the older couple in front of them immediately shushed them. “Oh my fucking God, they didnot.”
“They were totally waiting for that exact second to shush us,” Nick confirmed, a little relieved that the conversation had turned away from him, hockey, and Brady.
“They’re previews,” Jenna whisper-yelled. “Get over yourselves!”
Terry sighed. “Can we not get kicked out of another theater?”
“Yes, please,” Nick said. “I’ll even go get us more popcorn.”
“…I accept your offering and will in fact hush until the end credits.”
“Atta girl.”
*
Nick did not, as his cousins had recommended, skip his Saturday morning run.
Hedid, however, go to the rink by his house, gear in tow, and buy a pass for the early stick-and-puck session.
“Got the rink mostly to yourself,” the guy at the register said. He passed over the neon wristband that they both knew Nick wasn’t actually going to put on. “Only eight of you today.”
That was a relief. Practicing at clinics or classes, whereeveryonecame to work on their skills, wasn’t as intimidating as a stick-and-puck, where people came for the ice time more than any specific purpose. Fewer people meant fewer eyes judging him for just wanting to skate back and forth with the puck for an hour.
When he stepped out onto the ice, all he heard was a bunch of teenagers laughing and pucks hitting the far glass. The most embarrassing part was how they were dressed. Nick had suited up in his full game gear complete with team jersey. It’d never occurred to him to wear anything less; now he felt overdressed.
These kids maybe had one full set of gear between them. Sure, they all had gloves and skates, but only half of them had helmets and most were in jeans or snow pants. A few wore Caps jerseys, though there were clearly no pads underneath; the choice was more about the player they wore than the protective gear it held in place.
Guess I’m sticking to this half of the ice…
He turned his attention to the empty ice under the scoreboard, tested out his skates with a quick loop around the circles, and nearly tripped over himself when he caught a glimpse of familiar orange and blue.
He’d only seen the group of kids when he hit the ice, but therewasanother adult in full gear to match his own. The Jagr Bombs jersey was welcoming enough; the large JENSEN 68 on the back was somehow way better. Granted, there were players on the team who’d been friendlier toward Nick since he joined, but Brady had them all beat when it came to actual talent. If he’d had to pick someone to practice with and learn from, it’d be Brady, and he hoped Brady would be open to working together now.
