Page 42 of Her Puck Daddies

The three of us lock eyes. No one speaks. No one moves.

Then our captain, breaks the silence, his voice sharp, unwavering.

“Fuck the rules.”

His words hang in the air like a gunshot.

“This is our sex lives. No one else’s business. Whatever we decide stays between the four of us, and we move forward from there. Got it?”

I don’t know if it’s the finality in his voice, the sheer certainty, but something inside me eases.

And just like that, the dark cloud that’s been hovering over me lightens.

Chapter 15

AVA

After finishing up Steiner’s massage—his daily request lately—I nudge him awake before stepping out so he can get dressed. Jake Steiner is the kind of client who zonks out during his sessions, which makes him easy to work on as long as I don’t need him to roll over. But his steady appointments don’t give me the reassurance they should. Not when he’s only here because Levi isn’t.

And not since I’m almost certain Levi’s string of failures has something to do with me.

“Thanks, Ava,” says Steiner on a yawn.

“See you tomorrow, Jake.”

I’ve packed my schedule so full that I barely have time to dwell on my situation during the day. But after scrubbing down my table and washing my hands in preparation for the left-winger who should be on his way, I still have a few extra minutes to kill. Just enough time to overthink—useless as that is.

The only one of the players I’ve hooked up with who’s kept his schedule with me is Eric. Both Levi and Sven have dropped their sessions, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Out of the three, only the husky defenseman and I have kept things strictly professional—well, except for that first time. After that, he just walks in, follows instructions, and gets the job done.

Unlike the other two.

But Sven’s attitude and performance haven’t taken a hit from avoiding me. I’ve been dodging him, too. I never meant to lean on him like I did in New York. And I sure as hell didn’t intend to work myself into such a sorry state that he felt the need to pick me up. Particularly not the kind of pick me up that comes in the shape of his dick.

Still, the team captain’s out there every game night, kicking ass, showing no signs of fallout from steering clear of me. Levi, on the other hand… well, Levi’s not thriving. Even someone as green as me knows that when a pro athlete gets benched, it’s never a good sign.

I haven’t been making a point to watch the team’s practices, but the scuttlebutt finds me anyway. The other day, a right-winger came in grumbling about Levi. And in the hall, I overheard a coupleof voices I didn’t recognize tossing around theories on why a player as dependable as Levi is suddenly falling apart this season.

“He’s gotta be hiding an injury,” one of them said, sounding pissed off.

“How do you hide an injury with all these coaches and fucking trainers around, eh?” demanded another one. “Nope, this is something behind the scenes.”

“But like what?”

“Like drama. Maybe he’s got a sick relative, or some hooker showed up here at the arena with some squalling brat claiming he’s the father.”

Talk about one extreme to the next.

I stayed quiet, of course. I’d been just inside the restroom when they walked by, so neither of them saw me. But the fact that speculation is running rampant among people within or at least friendly to the organization? That’s a red flag. Even worse is what’s being said outside this stadium. The online hockey media has been having a field day at Levi’s expense.

Why Has the Av’s Levi Corolla Failed to Get the Job Done Again?

What Does Benching Goalie Levi Corolla Mean for the Av’s?

Colorado Avalanche: Steiner’s Hot and Corolla’s Not

I’ve caught glimpses of Sven around the stadium, but not Levi. The only time I’ve seen him is on some of the highlight reels I’ve been following on social media and the ESPN sports footage of recent games. Each look at him shows a scowl so fierce, he might as well be mistaken for an ogre.

Is pretending to be invincible around him the right thing to do? Or am I just taking the cowardly way out? Granted, he hasn’t seemed any more interested in visiting me than I’ve been in seeing him, but still... I could try to take the initiative. Then again, taking the initiative the one time he was lying on my table is exactly what got me into this mess to begin with.