5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Cody

“Again!”

Loud curses make their way up and down the court as my players re-assemble for another round of suicides. I’m right there alongside them, doing my best to speed up recovery through stubborn will power and sheer stupidity.

Suicides hurt like hell when you’re in the best of shape, never mind coming back from a cracked rib and six weeks’ worth of endurance.

Sucking in a painful breath, I spit out an equally painful reminder to the team, “If it hurts, think about how much it hurt when Silverwood beat us.”

Groans quickly replace the swearing, and with a blow of my whistle, we start running.

By the time the last player touches the final line, the rest of the team is collapsed on the ground, dosing each other off with water bottles. No one enjoys indoor practices but given the thirty centimeters of snow currently covering Taber’s lacrosse field, there isn’t much choice. Snow season came early this year so most of our fall tournaments got put on hold until the spring.

Even though we lost our undefeated title last game, it only counted as one loss under our belt, so our standing in the league was only slightly affected. The real test will be after the snow melts, when it comes down to taking home the championship banner or coming home empty handed.

“That last round was a low blow, Cap.” Huffing out a laugh, Mason shakes his head and chugs the rest of his water bottle.

Wes grins, “We must have been doing a different workout because that felt like foreplay to me.”

The remark sets off a round of wheezing laughter as I join the guys on the ground. With the exception of Nico, whose tanned skin seems impervious to blemishes, the rest of my players are rocking red faces and sweaty hairlines.

“Just making sure you’ll miss me over the break.” I steal the water bottle closest to me and take a swig. My body aches with the motion, an unsubtle reminder that my recovery isn’t as complete as I’d like it to be.

Not that binge drinking on Tuesday nights is doing me any favours.

Using the corner of my shirt, I carefully wipe the perspiration lining my forehead. Nico, who is casually lounging on the gymnasium floor like he didn’t just run for the last two hours, catches the motion, and lets out a wolf whistle.

“Now that is a view I’ll miss over the break.”

I throw him a wink and let my shirt drop. Wes snaps upright from his position on the floor and points a finger in my direction.

“See? Foreplay.”

Mason chuckles, running a freckled hand through the red mop plastered against his forehead, “You guys should have seen Cap in his first year. The freshmen girls had a thing for short defensemen and would show up like groupies for every game.”

Wes’ jaw visibly drops as disbelieving mumbles go around the room. I’m pretty sure Hunter lets a “no way” slip out but ever since our bathroom rendezvous at the party, he’s been keeping a wide berth, so it’s hard to know for sure.

I hold up my hands in surrender, “The groupies weren’t for me, they were for Mighty Mo. That was the year Taber broke the record for five consecutive championship wins.”

Silence falls among the exhausted group, a respective silence that pays tribute to the graduated all-star and the legacy he left behind.

A legacy I’ve already managed to let down.

“Well, I can’t wait to make it six wins this year.” Wes’ voice breaks through my dismal thoughts and I smile at the natural display of leadership.

“Hell yeah, I’m graduating this year, so you already know the groupies will want to see me off.” Mason flips his sweat-soaked hair and pulls a pose that would make Zoolander proud.

Chuckles ring out throughout the group as I clap my hands for everyone’s attention, “Alright, boys. That’s enough for today. Next practice is optional, so if I don’t see you, I hope everyone has a good break.”

Murmurs of acknowledgment go around as my players heave themselves off the ground and head towards the changerooms.

I wait until the last player leaves the gym before turning off the gymnasium lights and following the departing mass. Taber’s fitness facilities are all interconnected, so the march to the men’s locker room takes less than thirty seconds before the steam of showers hit me.

As one of Alberta’s smaller universities, the varsity changerooms aren’t anything to brag about, they are the same size as the school’s public changerooms, which is to say, long, narrow, and borderline claustrophobic.

I guess one thing the varsity side has that the public doesn’t is actual shower stalls instead of communal. That being said, the four sad-looking stalls are only separated by sheet-thin curtains that are mostly see-through, so I’m not sure we are doing any better in terms of public nudity.

“I heard a rumour yesterday, Cap.” Rummaging around his locker, Wes digs out the shirt he’s looking for and turns to me with a grin that immediately raises my suspicions.

“Mm?” I flick a glance at the cut rookie, whose six-pack has slowly gotten more defined over the course of the season. My players might hate the cardio elements I incorporate into our training programs, but they certainly get the results.

“Trip mentioned something about Stella going on a date Friday?” Wes pauses for dramatic effect, “At the same time and location you two always work out at?”

I step into my jeans and yank them up over my waist. Hunter is in the corner, quietly listening to the conversation and wisely choosing to keep his mouth shut.

“You heard correctly.” The bite in my tone has a freshly showered, towel-clad Nico pausing mid-step to survey the scene. He takes one glance at my tight posture and glances back at his best friend.

“Stella?”

Wes smirks, tugging a shirt over his head, “O’Brien found herself a new gym buddy.”

Nico lets out a low whistle and I feel a muscle pop in my jaw.

“Does the fresh meat know what he’s in for?” The lean Latino jerks his head in my direction, “If Cap can’t keep up with the girl, I doubt some newbie is going to last long.”

Wes nods in agreement, “If Stella gets to lead the workout, the dude’s toast. I can’t picture her taking it easy for some guy.”

“Well, unless she really likes him. Then I could see it.” Nico unhelpfully throws in a wink with the comment and I flip him off.

“It’s just one date. I’m sure Stel won’t go in with guns blazing.” The words pass my lips and suddenly the beginning of an idea begins to take form.

A wonderful, truly awful idea.

Wes catches the Grinch-like smile taking over my features and does a double take.

“Uh oh. Nico, have you ever seen that look on Cap before?”

The freshman goalie drops his towel before moving closer to analyze my expression.

“You couldn’t have held on to the towel for another minute?” I uncomfortably shift from side to side, trying to look anywhere but my rookie’s package.

Which is right in front of me.

Wes lets out a laugh, “Don’t worry, Cap. You’ll get used to it.”

I shoot him a warning look before Nico finally nods, “He looks like a man with a plan. And you’re welcome.”

My eyes twitch from the effort of not looking down.

“You’re welcome?”

Nico gives me a modest shrug before turning and grabbing his briefs from the bench. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

I’ll take a lunar eclipse over the front view any day.

“For showing you what evolution has done for mankind.”

Stella

“Wait. So, let me get this straight: you agreed to work out with a guy? Who you’ve never met before?”

I nod in response to Lou’s questions.

“But… why?”

I go to nod my head and then stop, realizing this one needs more than a yes or no answer. I open my mouth but find myself at a loss of words.

Why did I agree to work out with Hayden tomorrow morning? The answer is so simple yet feels infinitely more complicated.

Seems to be a life theme of mine.

“To get back at Cody.” I cringe at the juvenile word choice, but it’s the barren truth. And ever since Lou and I hit a rocky patch in our friendship because I refused to open up, I figure it’s best to go with the most direct route possible.

The hand stabbing the cafeteria’s poutine stalls at my confession. I can practically hear the wheels of my roommate’s brain turning overtime.

“Because he didn’t let you visit him at the hospital? I thought we were over that.” I bristle at the comment, a topic that’s still sore but one I have exhausted on too many occasions.

I’m not one who easily admits I was in the wrong, but even I can’t deny there was a rough adjustment period during Cody’s recovery. I went from furious to furiously disappointed as the injured defenseman’s hospital stay prolonged for what seemed like an indefinite amount of time. His overall lack of communication told me all there is to know on his perspective of our friendship, but it still hurt to hear about Wes’ ER visits and no mention of Cody wanting to see me.

He was suffering from severe internal injuries. But still. A text or something would have been nice.

Needless to say, that issue was raised weeks ago and no longer applies to the situation at hand. Because six weeks ago, Cody would never have hit on me at a house party. He would never have almost kissed me. And he most certainly would never have shown the slightest inclination of being jealous.

Over-protective, maybe. But not jealous.

“It’s not about the hospital visitations. He just seemed angry to know there might be someone else I’m willing to go to the gym with.”

Which is ridiculous because as we’ve gone over, Cody and I don’t even goto the gym together, we are just there at the same time.

Is anyone else starting to see the problem here?

A glint of understanding lights up Lou’s grey eyes, “Oh, so you’re trying to make him jealous.”

“No, not jealous. More like… unstable.” I flick the end of my French braid over my shoulder and give my roommate a beaming smile.

“Unstable.” Disbelief echoes in Lou’s tone, but I choose to ignore it.

“That’s right. Plus, it’s always good to mix things up once in a while.” A smirk tugs the corner of Lou’s mouth, but I choose to ignore that as well.

“You are the queen of routine, Stella. I don’t think I’ve seen you eat a dinner that doesn’t consist of grilled chicken and spinach.”

I shrug, completely oblivious to whatever she’s implying, “That’s called consistent eating. Healthy, consistent eating.” I give her container of poutine a meaningful look and get a fry thrown in my direction.

“Okay, Miss Denial. So, what’s your plan?”

“Plan?”

Lou rolls her eyes, using her fork to scoop up a cheese curd from the steaming pile of fries and gravy.

“Your game plan. For the date. Are you going to make Hayden do one of your cardio circuits?”

I hum to myself, going over the various scenarios in my mind. Almost all of them ends with Hayden never talking to me again or Stephen having to carry him out on a stretcher. Which doesn’t sound half bad, but sort of defeats the purpose.

“That would be mean spirited. I’ll just let him lead the workout.”

Lou nods thoughtfully, “Probably the safest route.”

I hold up my hand for a high five, but Lou just looks at me wearily. I settle for a gentle fist bump against her hand and give her a reassuring smile.

“It’s going to be great, Lou. Just wait and see.”

Who I was trying to convince with that statement, I couldn’t tell you.