Chapter 51

JAX

I siton the bench and watch the second line practice.

I chew on my mouthguard like it's a fat piece of bubble gum.

My obsession with hockey is on full display, sure, but in my head, there's a battle going on.

I see the hockey play. I see the good, the mistakes, and I feel Coach Damon's annoyance when dumb things happen.

As much I want to get mad… I just keep picturing Mila.

Funny enough I keep seeing her with those scissors, ready to attack. Cutting up Holly's shirt. Threatening to cut Holly's hair. All so she could get to me.

And when she did get to me…

Mila dropping down to her knees, demanding my cock in her mouth.

The way she just-

"Jax! Wake the fuck up!"

I blink. "What?"

"Get out here," Villi roars.

"Fuck," I mutter.

I get my mouthpiece straight and jump off the bench onto the ice.

Coach Damon has the first line against the second line.

"Play it right!" Coach Damon calls out, pointing at me.

So that's what we do.

Villi, Gabriel, and myself… we control the ice end to end.

It's a good thing for us, but not for Coach Damon.

These guys we're destroying are the ones who are supposed to take over the legacy we leave behind.

I end up with the puck behind the net.

Knox protects the goal and calls out some suggestions to me.

A second line attacker - freshman kid named Miles who still has pimples on his face - comes for me.

I appreciate the aggressiveness.

"Let's go, kid," I say to him.

"Eat a cock, Jax," Miles says to me.

I make a move and leave the puck behind for a second so I can drive Miles into the boards.

He lets out a groaning yell.

I hold him against the boards.

"Come on, tough guy," I growl. "Hit me. You lost the puck already."

Miles looks at me. "Fuck yourself, asshole."

He pushes back at me.

The puck is already halfway down the ice.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Miles yells at me.

"Hit me, kid," I say.

"You have stitches in your face already, Jax."

"So what? You want the puck? You want the respect of the team? Don't just skate in and run your mouth. Do something about it."

Coach Damon blows his whistle. "Hey! You two! Quit making out behind the net!"

I pucker my lips and start to kiss the air.

"You're a fucking psycho!" Miles yells.

He throws an elbow and catches my bottom lip.

I instantly taste blood.

My eyes light up and I back off.

"There you go," I say to Miles.

"Jesus, please don't kill me, Jax," he says.

I grab his practice jersey and pull him toward me. "Listen to me, Miles. You go for the puck. No fear. You throw an elbow. No care. And even if you end up taking a beating, that's the game. Don't fucking apologize to me. Tell me I deserved it. Then hit the weight room and get bigger."

I let Miles go and he skates down the ice.

I skate toward the bench.

I find a towel and wipe my bottom lip.

There's blood. Not a lot though.

Miles keeps looking at me.

Fucking freshman needs his balls to drop a little more and not give a damn about me. Of course he thinks I'm going to find him after practice and beat him up. Believe me, I'm thinking about it. But for the respect of the game and for Coach Damon, I will leave what happens on the ice… right there on the ice. If it toughens Miles up a little, then it's worth it.

Practice ends and the locker room fills up, then empties out.

I'm sitting there, almost alone.

"I'm surprised you didn't break that kid's jaw," Villi says to me.

"Lessons," I say.

"Oh, right. You're a professor now, huh?"

"This team is in for a slump when we leave," I say.

"Not our problem," Villi says with a smile.

He grabs his bag and leaves the locker room.

He's freshly showered. Probably on his way to meet up with Vera.

Mac walks by, shirtless, a towel around his neck.

"How are you doing, man?" I ask him.

"Sick of everyone looking at me like my father just died," he says and keeps walking by.

That's a fair enough statement to make.

Gabriel and Knox appear out of nowhere.

They each grab a chair, pull it up, and sit down in front of me.

Oh, shit.

Gabriel has a grin on his face.

Knox shakes his head.

"What now?" I ask.

"Don't act like that," Gabriel says.

"You know, I had my money on the tutor," Knox says. "Willow."

"Money?" I ask. "For what…?"

"Uh-huh," Gabriel says. He stands up. "Come on, Knox. Let's get out of here. He doesn't want to talk about it."

"Talk about what?" I ask.

Knox smiles at me. "You and Willow though? Nothing? Ever?"

"Why does that matter to you?"

Knox shakes his head and walks toward the locker room door.

"Gabriel," I call out. "What the hell?"

He looks back at me. "I'm fucking Ruby. You know that. You really think Mila would keep her mouth shut?"

Gabriel throws his head back and laughs really loud as he leaves the locker room.

Wow, Mila, thanks for that…

Then again, maybe she texted Ruby and Violet to say how amazing my cock was.

I realize I'm the only one who hasn't showered.

For good reason.

Now that I'm completely alone, I find my phone.

I can text Mila, tease her and pretend to be pissed that she told her friends about us hooking up.

Or I can just get right to the point…

And ask her if she wants to take a shower with a sweaty, smelly hockey player.