11. Zack

ZACK

I walkinto the practice facility feeling refreshed and ready to take on the week. We"ve got a quick one-night trip in the middle of the week, followed by our Friday night home game. It"s not a hard schedule compared to some weeks.

As I walk down the hall, one of our trainers, Whitney, is standing in the doorway to a treatment room. The man she"s talking to has his back to me, and I don"t recognize him from this angle.

"Hey, Whit," I greet her as I walk by.

"Zack, wait up a second," she calls out. "Have you met Camden yet?" I turn around and realize she"s talking to Camden Rowe. He must have made it into town over the weekend.

"Hey, man. Nice to have you join us. Was a little shocked you left San Fran."

"Nice to see you." He accepts my outstretched hand as we shake. "Wasn"t on my radar, either, but you know how the business works."

"Don"t I," I agree. I"ve had my share of trade deadline shocks in my career. I"ve been the guy being sent to a new team three times in six years. I"m glad that can no longer happen unless I"m the one to request it. "It"s good to have you here. I"m sure you"ll fit right in. We"ve got a good group of guys in the locker room."

"Looking forward to it. At the end of the day, all I want to do is play hockey."

"Amen to that. You got any kids? Girlfriend or wife?" I ask.

"None of the above," he says as his eyes flash over to Whitney.

"Let"s plan to grab a beer or dinner on the road this week," I suggest.

"I"d like that. Thanks, man." He claps me on the shoulder.

"You free in half an hour or so?" I ask Whitney.

"You need that hip stretched?" she asks. I can already see her eyes roaming my body but not in a flirty way. In a professional trainer way as she takes in my stance. I swear she can see through us when we try to hide injuries.

"That hip flexor still tight?" she asks.

"Yes," I admit. No sense in lying to her, or else she"ll torture me when she stretches me out.

"I"ll come get you when I"m ready. I have a little more to go over with Camden," she says. Whenever we get a new guy, the training staff likes to go over a bunch of things with them. From their pre-game routine to nutritional preferences. It"s their job to keep us healthy and on the ice playing. And in the unfortunate times when we"re hurt and can"t play, they get us back on the ice when it"s time.

"Sounds good. You know where to find me," I tell her as I leave the two of them and head into the locker room.

I fist-bump Easton when I walk past him. He"s already in his compression clothes, ready to start some pre-practice off-ice warm-ups. "Did you meet Camden?" he asks as I take a seat and start to strip.

"Yeah, he was talking to Whitney when I walked in."

"Nice guy. I think he"ll fit in well."

"Yep," I say as I pull on my compression shorts. I adjust the cup in the pocket, making sure it is sitting correctly to protect the important parts.

The next few hours fly by, which is usually a good sign of a productive practice. I feel good. We all gelled well together with the adjustment of our lines with a new guy being inserted. I"m sure Coach will try a few more line combinations to see what one works best, but it won't shock me if Camden ends up as a winger on our second line.

I takea seat at one of the small tables in the hotel bar. A few of my teammates have gathered around at the other tables as they all wait on drinks from the bar. We"ve had an easy travel day and arrived in St. Louis this afternoon. We had a team dinner before being given the rest of the night as a free one. Coach trusts that we won"t be out all night partying it up, especially with an important game on the line tomorrow night. We"re currently in second place in our division, but we still have a ways to go before securing our place in the playoffs. We need to keep winning to make that happen.

Camden takes a seat in the chair across from me. He"s got a beer glass in one hand as he sits down.

"Smart man," I tell him as I continue to wait for the one I ordered ten minutes ago.

"I got here before the rush and was just chatting with Graham and Kaden over at the other end of the bar."

"Gotcha," I say as the frazzled server stops at the table and sets down my beer. "Thanks," I tell her.

"Did you have anything else?" she asks.

"Nope, this was all."

"Great. Just flag me down if you need anything else," she says. They must not have thought the entire team would come here tonight, as there"s only the one server and bartender on right now. Needless to say, none of us are in a rush or worried.

"Will do. You"re doing a great job," I assure her.

"Thanks, I"m trying. It"s only my third shift, so I"m still learning the ropes." I think of Courtney and how it must have been for her when she started working as a server. People can be such assholes to servers when things aren"t coming out as quickly as they think they should be.

"My girlfriend is a part-time server, so I understand the stress," I say, hoping it will help her nerves.

"She"s lucky to have you," she says before walking away.

"It"s the opposite," I start to say, but she"s too far away to hear me in the noisy bar. The word must have gotten out that we"re here as people start to pour in, making the place that much more packed and busy.

"Want to head up to the lounge?" I ask Camden. We have a reserved lounge for the team.

"Yeah, I"m ready to get out of this place," he says as he looks around at the packed room. We both take our drinks and make our way out. I hit the button of the elevator. Once inside, I slide my room key along the sensor that allows me to select the floor the lounge is on.

"How long were you in San Francisco?" I ask as we ride up.

"Went there two seasons ago during the offseason."

"Nice place they built out there."

"Yeah, they spared no expense when they were building. Nathan, the owner, wanted the place to have all the newest and best things available to his team."

"How much of a surprise was it for you to come here?" I ask.

"A little, but my agent called me early last week and said he"d gotten word that there was a possibility. It just sucks, as I was around my family. My sister is married to Blake Watson."

"The goalie?" I ask.

"The one and only. That was a trip to get my head wrapped around." He laughs. "They met randomly one weekend during the summer in Vegas. He was there for his brother"s bachelor party weekend, and she was there for her best friend"s bachelorette party weekend. A month later, she realized she was pregnant from the one-night stand but had no clue who he was. Fast-forward a few months, she transfers to San Fran to be near me and comes to a game. They see one another after the game and the rest is history. They"re happily married and have another kid on the way. I didn"t take the news that he was the one to knock my sister up very well, but once I got over the shock, everything was smooth sailing after that."

"Damn, that"s quite the story."

"Yeah. But they"re happy, so who am I to stand in their way?"

"I"m dating my best friend"s little sister, so I get it. He was cool with it. We"re still new. She got out of a long relationship only a few months ago that wasn"t a good one, so we"re taking things slow for her sake. You ready to settle down?"

"Not really looking, but also not not looking, if that makes sense."

"Right there with you, man. That"s how it happened for Courtney and me. She moved back, we ran into one another, and it was this instant pull. I just had to be around her as much as possible. Which can be a bitch between my schedule and the fact we"re both single parents. She"s on her own, except for her brother and parents" help. I, at least, have my ex and parents around."

"How old is your kid?" he asks.

"Sawyer is ten going on twenty-five, I swear. He"s a good kid. Got an ego the size of Texas, but he"s a good kid."

"Nice. He plays, then?"

"Oh yes. He"s doing his best to get better than me." I chuckle. "If he keeps it up, the little shit will pass me by with his skills. Not that I"ll ever admit that to him." I take a swig of my beer as we shoot the shit.

"Kids, they keep you humble, that"s for sure."

"No shit."

A handful of the other guys end up joining us in the lounge. The bar was getting a little too rowdy for their liking.

It"s getting late, and I know my alarm will go off early, so I call it a night and head for my room. I pull out my cell and shoot Courtney a text, hoping I"ve caught her before she"s gone to bed for the night.

Zack

You still awake?

No bubbles pop up right away, so I slide my phone back into my pocket as I tap my room key over the sensor and the green light flashes, letting me know the lock is open. I push the door and step inside the quiet room. I stop in the bathroom, taking a piss before I wash my hands, then brush my teeth before bed. Walking into the main part of the room, I strip down to my boxers, then slide under the sheet. I grab my phone from where I"d tossed it on the bed and see Courtney replied.

Courtney

Yes, just was reading before falling asleep. How was your team dinner?

I want to see her face, so rather than replying via text, I hit the FaceTime button and call her. The call connects and I get a dimly lit view of her. "Hold on, let me turn on my lamp," she says before stretching and turning it on. The light brings her into view so much better.

"How was your day?" I ask just as she starts taking.

"How was your dinner?"

"You go first," I say.

"It was okay."

"Just okay?" I say, worried something happened.

"Erin called. Chad"s attorney replied and is demanding a hearing. He does"t want to agree to the terms we"ve offered. Erin thinks we should go to court. She found out some information on him that I wasn"t aware of that she thinks will work in our favor."

"So what are you going to do?" I ask.

"I can only trust that she knows best. I"m just worried, ya know? What happens if I lose full custody?" A tear runs down her cheek and I wish I was there to hold her and wipe them from her eyes.

"Then we fight it. But I have a good feeling that isn"t going to happen. You have all the proof showing that you"ve always been Jax's primary care giver. I"m not one to advocate for stripping a parent of their kids, but when the situation calls for it, then go for it."

"I"m just nervous, but enough about that tonight. I need to get my mind off it, so tell me how your team dinner was," she says, so I do.

"It was a good, normal time. I got to know Camden a little better. Trying to make him feel welcomed into the group."

"That"s nice of you."

"Yeah, I"ve been in his shoes before. It always takes a few weeks to really feel part of a new team, especially mid-season when everyone else has been together for the majority of the season."

"Are you ready for the game tomorrow night?" she asks.

"Yep, feeling really good. Practice has been good this week. We"re all gelling well."

"That"s good. Jax and I are going to watch until bedtime."

"I"ll do my best to score a goal for the two of you." I wink into the camera.

"Will you now?" She smiles back. "Maybe if you score a goal on the ice, I"ll let you score one off."

"Promise?" My voice is husky as I think about sinking into her body.

"How long until Friday night?" she asks.

"Too damn long," I tell her honestly. It"s only Tuesday, so we"ve got a way to go between now and our weekend together. I glance at the clock and see that it"s almost midnight. "I should let you get to sleep," I say as Courtney covers a yawn.

"Yeah, I"m having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I"ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sweet dreams, sweetheart. Text or call when you can. We"ll be headed to the rink around four, so it will be hit or miss after that until the game is over."

"Okay. Good night, Zack," she says, and we disconnect the call.

I plug my phone in, then shut off the lights and roll over, doing my best to fall asleep.