Read Online Delayed Penalty: A Pilots Hockey Novel by Sophia Henry - Free Book Online Page A

called him out in the locker room in front of his team. It was in Russian, but I think he got the point.”
    “The bunnies say he’s a total dick afterward.”
    “Oh! So this is really about you trying to hook up with Varenkov’s leftovers? No wonder you’re mad,” I joked, massaging his shoulder in an attempt to ease the tension between us.
    “Just looking out for you.” He shrugged off my hand. And my comment.
    “Thanks, Drewseph. I appreciate your concern,” I said, hoping my sincerity was apparent.
    A few silent minutes later, Drew whipped his Explorer into a parking spot at Kerby Field.
    Instead of following Drew toward the group of guys warming up near one of the soccer goals, I scouted out an empty patch of grass on the sideline near the white chalk line and sat down. The dry, brittle blades prickled my calves when I tugged off my warm-up pants. Though the ground was hard and frozen, the grass’s earthy scent was so ingrained in me, the memory of the smell alone brought me close to tears.
    Being cut from Central State’s soccer team hadn’t been a hit only on my college finances. It majorly bruised my entire sense of self. Soccer, the one thing I excelled at and never gave up on, had been taken away from me.
    Coach Tamber’s words still echoed in my head: There’s no easy way to put this, Berezin, but we’re gonna have to cut you. We’ve got some talented upcoming freshman, and we need to make room. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to walk on next year. I just can’t hold your spot.

    Or my scholarship. Or my pride. Or how I’d defined myself for the last fourteen years. See ya, Soccer Girl.
    I should have realized my dismissal was imminent, having sat the bench for both of my two seasons on the team. Most players sat as freshmen, but when sophomore year came and went and I still hadn’t been subbed in, I saw the writing on the wall. Still, I hung on to that last optimistic thread of the severed rope I’d been grasping, hoping I’d get my chance. Was I the most talented player? No. But I worked my ass off and practiced harder than anyone on the team.
    Shaking my head to dismiss the thoughts, I checked out the crowded field. Guys I’d known for years scattered across the grass. A few went to high school with Drew and me, but the majority were guys that Drew had played with on travel hockey teams. As the only girl who’d ever been invited to play, you’d think I’d have dates for the rest of the year. But no. None of the guys had ever expressed interest in me. Granted, I’d been shy in high school, but still, not one of them found me even remotely attractive?
    No wonder I went boy crazy when I got to Central State.
    A few feet away from me, a guy jumped up and down tapping the top of his ball in an alternating pattern, left foot then right foot. It was someone I hadn’t seen at the field before but recognized immediately.
    Aleksandr, in all of his soccer-shorts-wearing, Mohawk-pulled-back-in-a-ponytail, ridiculously muscled glory. His thighs and calves alone were a testament to how much time he spent working out off the ice. As my gaze traveled upward, my mind flashed an image of his half-naked body. I blinked a few times as if that would erase the memory of the magnificent work of art under his shirt.

    Without thinking, I ran up behind him and stole the ball he was tapping on.
    “Hey!” Aleksandr called, looking up with narrowed eyebrows as I darted away. His annoyance faded, and he smiled. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
    “I play with these guys all the time.” I waved to a guy I’d gone to high school with then spun around and passed the ball back to Aleksandr. “Who invited you?”
    “Your twin.”
    “Excuse me?” I didn’t have any siblings.
    “Landon’s brother, Jason. He looks just like you.” He nodded to the circle of guys juggling balls. The one next to Landon Taylor had dirty-blond hair very similar to my color, but I couldn’t get a good enough