Chapter 29

TWENTY-NINE

Anders

The first game of the season is at home against the Las Vegas Sidewinders, which is where Coach Petrov finished his career as a player. It’s also the team his son Anton plays for, so there’s always a lot of excitement when they come to town, especially on opening night. Coach usually spends some part of the afternoon with Anton, and several of my teammates played for the Sidewinders as well, so it’s a different vibe than with any other opponent.

Personally, I don’t have any connection to the team, and this just means I have more time to focus and get in the zone. Despite the familiarity and personal relationships, we still plan to win, and that’s all I care about.

Except today I’m distracted. Something that’s never happened before a season opener. Normally, I’m one hundred percent centered, gearing up my brain and body for the upcoming game. Instead, I’m in the locker room texting Claudia.

CLAUDIA: How long until you have to lock up your phone? I don’t know how it all works.

ANDERS: I have a while yet. It’s only five. We’ve had our pre-game meal and now most of the guys are either involved in some kind of pre-game ritual, clowning around in the hallway, or chilling out here in the dressing room.

CLAUDIA: What kind of pre-game rituals?

ANDERS: Well, Zakk Cloutier likes to douse himself in an ice bath.

I shudder.

He’s fucking nuts.

My balls shrivel a little just thinking about it.

I’ve done it after a particularly hard game, when my body needs to heal, but before every game? Fuck that.

CLAUDIA: That sounds…intense.

ANDERS: He’s an intense guy.

CLAUDIA: Do you have pre-game rituals?

ANDERS: Usually a little meditation and stretching. I do a lot of stretching in general.

CLAUDIA: Am I keeping you from something? You can go.

ANDERS: Nah. I’d rather talk to you.

CLAUDIA: I have a meeting in fifteen minutes anyway, so then you can go do your thing.

ANDERS: Only ten days until I can kiss you.

CLADIA: I’ve been counting the minutes.

ANDERS: How many is it?

CLAUDIA: This morning it was 14,408.

ANDERS: Damn, I thought you were kidding.

CLAUDIA: One thing you should know about me—I never joke about math.

God, she’s cute.

ANDERS: Noted.

CLAUDIA: By the way—my parents are beyond excited about the game.

ANDERS: I’m glad. And I can get more tickets if you want to bring more friends or family.

CLAUDIA: Nah, just my parents. I haven’t had time to see most of my friends since I got back, so not many people know my boyfriend plays in the NHL.

ANDERS: Am I your dirty little secret?

CLAUDIA: Yes. Absolutely. My VERY dirty little secret.

ANDERS: LOL I plan to be as dirty as possible when I see you.

CLAUDIA: And I’m so looking forward to it. Anyway, I have to pee before my meeting. I’m heading to a bar after work to watch the game because it’s blacked out here.

ANDERS: That’s bullshit.

CLAUDIA: Agreed. My dad is trying to figure out what app we can pay for to get the games, but until then, I’m happy to eat wings while watching the game.

ANDERS: That’s a nice visual.

CLAUDIA: I miss you.

ANDERS: I miss you too. Talk later.

CLAUDIA: Play good—and don’t get hurt.

ANDERS: One more thing—you know I occasionally fight, right?

CLAUDIA: Oh…I never thought about that. Johan isn’t much of a fighter, though he mixes it up once in a while. Are you a goon?

A goon?

I chuckle.

Not hardly.

But I’ve been known to throw a punch now and again.

ANDERS: We don’t really use that term anymore, but if we did, the answer would be no. I’ll drop the gloves if I have to, though, so I just want you to be prepared. I don’t know if that’s the kind of thing that might freak you out.

CLAUDIA: Don’t be silly. I know it’s part of the game. I might cover my eyes the whole time, but it’s fine. You do you and don’t worry about me.

ANDERS: Talk soon, sweetheart.

I close the texting app just as Johan comes in. He drops down beside me and arches a brow.

“How’s Claudia?”

“She’s good. Loving her new job and excited to watch us play tonight. She has to go to a sports bar because the game is blacked out in her area.”

He scowls. “This is something the league needs to fix. I understand it’s a business, but if we want to grow the popularity of the sport, all teams should be accessible to everyone. Not just the local teams.”

“Yeah, well, I think that’s above our pay grade.”

“Probably.” He pauses. “So, things are still going well between you?”

“Yeah, really good.” I nod. “Approximately 14,000 minutes until we see each other again.” I keep a straight face to get his reaction.

I expect laughter but instead he just meets my gaze. “So she’s the one.”

I can’t deny it.

And the funny is, I don’t want to.

“Well, yeah. I knew it the minute I saw her sitting under that tree at the beach.”

“I knew as soon as I met Sloane as well.”

“I want to make excuses and explain that we know it’s too soon, but…why? I’m crazy about her. I think we’re too old to play games.”

“Agreed. It happened very quickly, so you need to be careful to take the time to continue to get to know each other. Otherwise, problems will pop up that you are not expecting.”

He has a valid point.

“Absolutely. We talk a lot, on and off all day, and I’m going to meet her parents when we get to Philly weekend after this one.”

“That’s great. I’m happy for both of you. Claudia is lovely, I have always liked her.”

“But not romantically?” I ask curiously. “You’ve known her for a lot longer than you’ve known Sloane—there was never any interest?”

“She and Hana were kids… not literally, because they were technically adults, but I met Claudia when she was eighteen, and barely beginning to find herself as a woman. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, she’s a bit insecure and not very worldly, so she was far too young for me emotionally back then. Now I look at her as a sister. But that’s not to say I don’t think she’s beautiful or that you’re doing something inappropriate.”

“That makes sense.” I pause. “I like that’s she not worldly, that she hasn’t been around the block a dozen times. And I’m not talking about sex. I don’t care about that. What I’m talking about is her emotional bandwidth. It’s nice that she hasn’t had a million negative life experiences that make her less likely to trust. The one she did have was enough.”

He grunts. “I would have done anything to beat the shit out of Seth Crandall.”

I gape at him. “You know about him?”

He frowns. “I just told you—she’s like a little sister to me. Of course, I met her first boyfriend. I don’t know the details about what happened between them, but I know about her surgery, so I can put two and two together.”

Thank fuck.

If he already knows the basics, I don’t have to betray her trust, which means I can talk to him about more than just the basics.

“It took a little bit to get her to trust me in the bedroom.” I make a face. “He made her really insecure about her body in general, and then the medical part of it compounded everything.”

“She’s okay now? You know, sexually.” He looks pained asking the question, but I know it’s coming from a place of concern.

“Yeah. The surgery took care of all that. We just had to get past the first time, you know?”

“Like she was a virgin again.” He squints a little. “I’m not trying to get in your business—or hers—but you know what a big responsibility this is, yes?”

I scowl. “Of course I know. What do you take me for?”

“Losing your virginity to someone at seventeen is completely different than in your mid-twenties. This meant something. For a lot of reasons.”

“I just told you I’m in love with her—what more do I need to say?” I didn’t realize I’d raised my voice until I caught a curious look from Aiden, who was at his locker.

“Actually, you never said that,” Johan says with a smile. “But it’s good to know.”

Shit.

Was I truly in love with her?

I’d known I was falling, but the words slip out so much easier than expected.

It’s a little unnerving because we’ve only known each other a few weeks, and most of that time has been long distance.

This is either going to be incredibly good or incredibly bad.

And the only thing left for me to do is figure out when— or if —I should tell her.