Page 109 of Ruled Out

But right now, those days feel like a distant nightmare and have since the day Mia came back into my life.

We’re sitting in the briefing room before this morning’s practice, but rather than listen to the conversations going on around me, all I’ve been able to think about is my girl and how she’s turned my life from something I despised into an existence where I can actually look in the mirror and not hate the person standing in front of me.

“I want you to all watch the video replay of Callaghan and focus in on the following observations.” Coach breaks me from my trance, pointing to footage from a sprint drill I absolutely nailed last week. “One, weight distribution. This might sound really fucking obvious to you as pro players, but too many of you aren’t keeping your weight on your heels. Two, balance. I want to see more of you working on core exercises as part of your free time in the gym. Balance comes from the core, and I’m tired of repeating the same message.”

Coach Burrows looks across at me and quirks a brow, inviting me to add anything to what he just said.

I clear my throat and lean back in my chair, the video paused on me taking a corner. “Yeah, I’d agree with that, Coach. But speed is pretty pointless if you aren’t thinking two or three plays ahead. Obviously, we’re all great at that, but if you want to get faster, your game analysis has to get faster too.”

Right there, that was my problem in college and for the majority of my career. My head was so far up my ass; even if my body was moving at twenty miles per hour, my fucked-up brain was making all the wrong decisions.

“Couldn’t have put it better myself.” Coach rounds the table and claps me on the shoulder.

The feeling of praise is all too foreign. Since that day I had it out with Graham, Coach has never breathed a word about Mia to me. Something tells me I have my girlfriend to thank for that.

He walks across to the door and pulls it open, looking back at the guys. “This morning, I want to see attention to the basics, and I want to see them done right.”

“Planning on going homeat any point tonight?” Jensen stands at the entrance to the ice, fully dressed and showered.

I shake my head and focus back on the line of pucks in front of me, taking my first wrist shot and burying it in the top right, the exact spot I picked out.

“Damn,” Jensen responds. “I’d say you’ve got that down.”

I shrug and line up another puck, winding up and hitting exactly the same place.

“Want to get a lift with me to the party?”

I shake my head, still focused on the drill. “I’m gonna get an Uber and meet you all back there. Doesn’t start for another couple of hours, right?”

“Still don’t know why you don’t just buy a car. Also, you know being late to this birthday party is the equivalent of signing your own death warrant. Even I’m scared of my own wife right now.”

Truth is, I could afford it. But my financial priority is buying a house for me and Mia and setting my mom up when I can get her to Seattle.

“I won’t be late, just finishing up,” I reply, tipping my head over my shoulder and smiling at Jensen.

Tapping his hand on the on the board, he turns to leave. “You’re really going for Gretzky’s record, aren’t you?”

“Yep. If I make it, then we’ll lift the Stanley. No doubt.”

“All right, catch you in a bit,” Jensen says, and I hear his footsteps fade out down the hallway.

It must be another fifteen minutes when I hear a side door to the rink open and close behind me.

Expecting it to be one of the maintenance staff, I carry on my routine, having moved on to slap shots.

“That’s probably the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

I whip around to see Mia standing exactly where Jensen was. “How did you get in here?”

She taps her finger against the side of her head as I make my way over to her, pulling off my gloves and setting my stick against the side. “I have my ways.”

When I wrap my arms around her ass and lift her up, she loops her legs around my waist and I skate us to center ice, spinning us around slowly as she hovers above me, her arms thrown over my shoulders and her bag in one hand.

“Breaking and entering now. This good-girl mask of yours is slipping further, Sweetheart.”

“Jensen gave me the code,” she admits with a giggle, the sound giving me life. “I knew you’d still be practicing late, so I came to pick you up. I also knew you wouldn’t be checking your phone, and the last message from Kate read something like,If anyone is late, I cannot be held responsible for my actions.”

Gliding back to the edge of the rink, I step off the ice and carry her down the hallway to the locker room. “Better get going then.”