stick
and maneuver it with finesse. His instincts and experience helped him know what
angle to shoot from and how hard, where the puck was, where his teammates were.
Christ, if someone in the crowd got up to go for beer, he knew it.
He was determined to show them his best in this first
practice.
By the end of the practice, sweaty and on a pretty good
adrenaline high, he remained on the ice after the others had left. He skated in
a slow circle, on one foot, then the other, stickhandling the puck just for the
fun of it, and gazed up into the rafters of the cavernous arena, the banks of
lights blazing down on him, the dark rows of seats empty. He breathed in the
chilled air, the scent of the ice and sweat.
This was it. This was going to be his home from now on. For
how long, who knew. He’d thought he was a Condor for the long haul, but that
wasn’t the case. He wasn’t likely to be traded again tomorrow, but you never
knew. But whatever. This was where he was now and he had to make the best of
it.
He lined up, drew his stick back and aimed a perfect
slapshot at the goal. The crack of his stick on the frozen puck vibrated around
him and the puck shot into the net, damn near going right through it. He
smiled.
As he walked into the dressing room, he heard the song Pumped
Up Kicks being playing on the sound system. He couldn’t help but move to
the catchy beat and did a little dance over to his cubby.
Fedor laughed at him.
“You’d better run, better run, outrun my gun,” Logan sang,
grinning, and the other guys laughed too. “Turn it up, it’s a good song.”
Tyler Gladstone moved to the music too as he yanked his
practice jersey over his head and some of the other guys boogied a little too.
After he’d showered and dressed, then joked around a little
with the other guys, he found his way back to the office where Nicole sat at
her desk, sipping from a giant cup of coffee as she clicked with a mouse, her
eyes on her computer screen.
Damn.
He’d never been one to give up easily when he wanted
something, but he must be crazy. He’d just arrived in town and was ready to
jump pretty much the first girl he’d met. Maybe he should just heed what she’d
said and keep it business, while he went out and hit the hotspots in
Minneapolis and met girls who’d be more interested in him than Nicole was.
But he got the feeling she was interested. Things had
sparked between them last night, and not just because he’d been naked. He was
pretty sure she’d felt the same heated awareness, the way she’d checked him
out, the way their eyes kept meeting while they were making dinner, then
eating. So hey, that was enough to encourage him not to give up. He grinned as
he approached her desk.
She looked up and he didn’t miss the flicker in her eyes
when she saw him. Yeah, there was something there.
“Hey,” he said, leaning on her desk. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” She pushed her chair back so she wasn’t looking way
up at him. She picked up a piece of paper from her printer and handed it to
him. “Here. These are the things I’ve got lined up so far. A couple of photo
shoots. Press conference. Interviews.”
He looked it over and nodded. He was going to be busy the
next few days. He had other things to do too, like lease a car. Find a place to
live.
“Find any houses for me yet?” he asked.
She frowned. “I haven’t had much time,” she said, her voice
a little testy. “I’ve just gotten back from a week’s vacation and I have a ton
of work to do. Besides looking after you.”
Ooh. She was still pissed.
“There are all kinds of media requests for interviews with
you,” she said. “There’s a game tomorrow night and a million things to get done
to be ready for it. I’m trying to prioritize things and I think the game being
tomorrow takes precedence over your housing situation, since you do in fact
have a bed to sleep in tonight and are not homeless.”
He lifted his eyebrows, wishing she
and maneuver it with finesse. His instincts and experience helped him know what
angle to shoot from and how hard, where the puck was, where his teammates were.
Christ, if someone in the crowd got up to go for beer, he knew it.
He was determined to show them his best in this first
practice.
By the end of the practice, sweaty and on a pretty good
adrenaline high, he remained on the ice after the others had left. He skated in
a slow circle, on one foot, then the other, stickhandling the puck just for the
fun of it, and gazed up into the rafters of the cavernous arena, the banks of
lights blazing down on him, the dark rows of seats empty. He breathed in the
chilled air, the scent of the ice and sweat.
This was it. This was going to be his home from now on. For
how long, who knew. He’d thought he was a Condor for the long haul, but that
wasn’t the case. He wasn’t likely to be traded again tomorrow, but you never
knew. But whatever. This was where he was now and he had to make the best of
it.
He lined up, drew his stick back and aimed a perfect
slapshot at the goal. The crack of his stick on the frozen puck vibrated around
him and the puck shot into the net, damn near going right through it. He
smiled.
As he walked into the dressing room, he heard the song Pumped
Up Kicks being playing on the sound system. He couldn’t help but move to
the catchy beat and did a little dance over to his cubby.
Fedor laughed at him.
“You’d better run, better run, outrun my gun,” Logan sang,
grinning, and the other guys laughed too. “Turn it up, it’s a good song.”
Tyler Gladstone moved to the music too as he yanked his
practice jersey over his head and some of the other guys boogied a little too.
After he’d showered and dressed, then joked around a little
with the other guys, he found his way back to the office where Nicole sat at
her desk, sipping from a giant cup of coffee as she clicked with a mouse, her
eyes on her computer screen.
Damn.
He’d never been one to give up easily when he wanted
something, but he must be crazy. He’d just arrived in town and was ready to
jump pretty much the first girl he’d met. Maybe he should just heed what she’d
said and keep it business, while he went out and hit the hotspots in
Minneapolis and met girls who’d be more interested in him than Nicole was.
But he got the feeling she was interested. Things had
sparked between them last night, and not just because he’d been naked. He was
pretty sure she’d felt the same heated awareness, the way she’d checked him
out, the way their eyes kept meeting while they were making dinner, then
eating. So hey, that was enough to encourage him not to give up. He grinned as
he approached her desk.
She looked up and he didn’t miss the flicker in her eyes
when she saw him. Yeah, there was something there.
“Hey,” he said, leaning on her desk. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” She pushed her chair back so she wasn’t looking way
up at him. She picked up a piece of paper from her printer and handed it to
him. “Here. These are the things I’ve got lined up so far. A couple of photo
shoots. Press conference. Interviews.”
He looked it over and nodded. He was going to be busy the
next few days. He had other things to do too, like lease a car. Find a place to
live.
“Find any houses for me yet?” he asked.
She frowned. “I haven’t had much time,” she said, her voice
a little testy. “I’ve just gotten back from a week’s vacation and I have a ton
of work to do. Besides looking after you.”
Ooh. She was still pissed.
“There are all kinds of media requests for interviews with
you,” she said. “There’s a game tomorrow night and a million things to get done
to be ready for it. I’m trying to prioritize things and I think the game being
tomorrow takes precedence over your housing situation, since you do in fact
have a bed to sleep in tonight and are not homeless.”
He lifted his eyebrows, wishing she
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