8. Sawyer

CHAPTER 8

SAWYER

It's the week of Thanksgiving and the fact that I've gone almost an entire month without talking to Leah is about to drive me crazy. Sure, we went years without speaking to one another, but being back in the same city as her is making it a hell of a lot harder to pretend I'm still fine with that arrangement.

I finally got a response from her via text, and because I can't shake my uncontrollable need to flirt with her, it was a one and done reply.

We have a game in Minnesota tonight then we fly back home tomorrow for the holidays and I'm holding out hope that I'll finally be able to get her to hear me out.

"Pink tape, Clark? Really?" Matty snickers as we sit in the locker room taping our sticks before the game. "I'm just as committed to my pre-game rituals as the next guy, but that's a pretty bold statement you're making, very Legally Blonde of you."

Not the first time I've heard that one.

"Some things just stick man. I like my pink tape. But you don't have to act like a Vivian about it." His mouth drops open when I hit him with my stick.

"Oh my god, you actually know the other chick's name?" He barks out a laugh, making me roll my eyes. "I didn't take you for the rom-com type, Clark."

"What can I say? There's a lot you guys don't know about me." I rip the tape with my teeth and secure it around the blade, lifting a brow at Matty. "Like that I have a sister who made me sit through both of those movies about thirty times each . But I'm not the one who started the name calling, am I?" I raise an accusing brow at him.

"Alright, slow down. It's my girl's comfort movie. It's just fresh on my mind." Javi, Devon, and I all share a look and laugh when Matty starts getting overly defensive of his Legally Blonde knowledge.

"We're all secure men here, Matty. It's okay." I give him an encouraging nod and clap his shoulder before leaving the room.

Being on the ice has been my escape for as long as I can remember. The feeling I get when I'm gliding across the ice, the way it feels when a play is executed flawlessly, knowing that you've won a game when the final horns go off, it's a rush unlike any other. Winning against the team I just traded from is just an added bonus.

"Good game, Clark. You're still a bitch for trading though." Carson, one of my old teammates, slaps my back with his stick and holds out his fist.

"You can say you miss me, Carson. I won't tell the missus." I wink at him, and we bump fists before he skates off, shaking his head and mumbling something I can't quite hear over the excitement on the ice.

"Clark! You're coming out with us tonight. No excuses!" Rooney yells directly in my ear, throwing his arm over my shoulder as we walk back to the locker room.

As much as I want to say no, go back to the hotel, crash before our flight home tomorrow and leave the guys to celebrate without me—I've only been out with them once since joining the team, so I feel an obligation to at least try to get to know them better.

Before I know it we're at the same pub I used to frequent when I played here. Though we only came in after winning games, I keep watching the door to see if any of my old teammates walk through it.

"You waiting for someone, Clark?" Javier slides onto the barstool next to me, bumping my shoulder with his when he sits down.

"Not necessarily." He raises a brow at my vague answer. "Some of the guys used to come here after games—wins, mostly—but I just keep wondering if some of them will show tonight." It's strange, not knowing how to feel being back in the state I've lived in since college, playing against the guys I called teammates for so long. I thought I would miss being here, or at least the normalcy of the life I'd built for myself here. Regardless, I don't regret the decisions that were made that brought me back home to Nashville.

"Was it weird? Playing against them tonight?" I run my hands over the label on my beer bottle, surprised when I realize that it wasn't.

"Not really. I wasn't sure how I'd feel during tonight's game to be honest. But I guess my focus stays on the game and the team I'm on, not the team that I left. " I shrug it off, hoping my statement came across the way I meant it and not like I'm a flake that doesn't care about loyalty to his teammates.

"So why did you trade? If you don't mind my asking." We turn around on our stools to face the bar when the bartender places Javi's loaded fries on the counter.

"I liked the Badgers jerseys better." His eyes cut to mine with a French fry an inch away from his open mouth and I bark out a laugh. "I'm kidding! Obviously. Just uh…personal reasons. When I weighed my pros and cons, the pros landed me back in Nashville," I assure him as he finally takes a bite of his food.

"Respect," he says over a mouth full of food.

The rest of the evening Matty, Javi, and I talk and get to know each other a little better while some of the other guys get a little more drunk and leave early with some girls that I'm almost certain followed us here from the rink.

Matty and Javi are both fully committed to their girls—Javi being married and Matty in the process of asking his girl to marry him, apparently. They're just the kind of no-nonsense guys I find myself gravitating towards more often than not.

"How did you and your wife meet Javi?" We moved to a table shortly after Matty joined the conversation to keep from having to look around Javi every time the other was talking. Matty leans back and folds his hands behind his head as he settles in for the story.

"I was good friends with Maria's brother. She was dating some other dude for a while but when she was single again, she asked me to go to lunch one day and the rest is history. Thankfully it all worked out because I was running the risk of getting my ass kicked by her brother otherwise."

"A risk you were more than willing to take," Matty chimes in.

"Yup. I'd take it a million more times too if it meant I ended up with Maria. She's the kind of woman that's worth risking it all for, ya know?"

Yeah, I know the type. I'm just too dumb to have taken the chance with her when I had it.

"Speaking of— I'm heading back to the room for a phone date, fellas." Javi waves the waitress over and we all pay our bills before heading back to the hotel.

It was nice getting to spend time with some of the guys tonight after the game, and I hate that I've put off doing so for this long.

Tot

Are you bringing anything for Thanksgiving dinner?

Me

Was I SUPPOSED to be bringing anything for dinner tomorrow?

Tot

No…

Me

Then why would I mess up the system and bring something? I'd hate to run the risk of having too many cans of cranberry sauce. laughing emoji

Tot

You ever wonder why Mom never taught us how to cook when we were younger?

Me

Besides the fact that I lived at the rink and you cried like she was asking you to shave your head every time she asked for help in the kitchen? No idea, Tot. That Marilyn sure is a mystery.

Tot

You're insufferable. eye roll emoji

Me

And yet you still invite me to your house for holidays because you love me.

Tot

eye roll emoji See you tomorrow Moose.

Me

Your face is going to get stuck like that. See you tomorrow Tot. silly emoji

Tot

And you're worried about MY face…