Page 36 of Hot for the Hockey Player (The Single Moms of San Camanez: The Vino Vixens #2)
Maverick
Tuesday morning, I woke with what was quite possibly the hardest erection of my life. Normally, I was a stomach sleeper, but with my back injury, I slept better on my side or back. You could have easily had an entire three-ring circus under my big top. And it was fucking painful.
I glanced at my phone, ignored the now constant plethora of notifications of messages, and merely checked the time. It was just after seven.
I reasonable time to get up, if not a little early for someone who didn’t have to be on the ice for practice.
I took my cock into my hand and conjured images of Gabrielle and me in her kitchen, and what might have happened if Laurel hadn’t come out of her room when she did.
We probably wouldn’t have taken it any further, since her kids were both home, but … maybe just a little further?
In my imagination, we took it a hell of a lot further, until tension and heat built in my lower belly and I gave over to sweet release, letting my cum shoot across my stomach.
The pain relief nearly brought me to tears.
I wiped it up with a couple of tissues, then hopped into the shower.
I was taking the boys to metalwork tonight, but I had physiotherapy this morning, followed by a whittling tutorial with a local whittler.
He didn’t offer classes regularly, but I popped by his place, told him what I was doing on the island, and he offered for me to come by today to learn some basics.
I also had another interview with another sports podcaster. It was a very busy day, and I was excited.
I inhaled my breakfast of champions, which consisted of eggs from Maz’s chickens, some of my own delicious, homemade Burrata from the workshop at Fred’s Ched Shed, and bread from Let it Rise.
Afterward, I clicked the link for the next interview since I didn’t have PT until ten.
The interviewer was on the East Coast and it was already nearly noon there.
“Hey, Mav,” Charlotte Baumgartner greeted me with a wave. “How’s your morning so far?”
A snort built at the back of my throat. I wasn’t going to tell her about my giant tent, or perverted thoughts of Gabrielle, that was for sure. “Great. Enjoying getting to sleep in and not have to be on the ice at five in the morning.”
She laughed. “I bet. You don’t miss it?”
Shrugging, I leaned back against the couch cushions and sipped my coffee. “I do,” I confessed. “But my body needs the break. So I’m going to do as I’m told and enjoy the lack of an alarm clock that comes with it.”
“I love the way you can put a positive spin on a dire situation. That’s one of the things your fans love about you the most. Maverick Roy, always upbeat, always smiling.”
“I try …”
“So … let’s hit record and get right into it, shall we?”
“Let’s do it.”
Just like last time when I chatted with Jasmine, the robotic female voice of Zoom notified us it was now recording.
“All right, and welcome back to another episode of Offside with Char . Today we have the wonderful, the positive, the defender of women, and the puck, center for the Portland Storm, Maverick Roy. Welcome, Maverick. Thank you so much for coming on today.”
“Happy to be here, Char. Thank you for having me.”
“Absolutely. So, let’s get right to it.”
I nodded, ready to dive in. Now that I’d done an interview with Jasmine, it was far less daunting to do another one with Charlotte. I was more comfortable and ready for her questions.
“After I heard your interview with Jasmine Greengrass on Pucktastic , I knew I needed to have you on my show too. And since you were on Jasmine’s show, things in the league have gone …
well, they’ve kind of exploded. How has it been for you watching from the outside?
But also holding what some might call, an ‘anti-brotherhood opinion’ on things. ”
I cleared my throat and smiled a little grimly.
“Well, there’s definitely been some backlash.
And it seems to have polarized the team in some sense—like I knew it would.
Henderson isn’t the only predator on the Storm, or in the league.
It’s an epidemic. Money and fame, shareholders losing profits because a player gets benched for inappropriate behavior, and then causes the team to lose, should not trump the violation and trauma that countless women are dealing with.
There are a lot of fantastic players on my team who agree with me and condemn Henderson’s behavior, and they’ve all reached out to me privately.
But there are quite a few who think I should have Henderson’s back, and keep my mouth shut.
And to them I say, you’re part of the problem. ”
Her head bobbed in agreement. “As a legacy player, with a father who is a Hall of Famer, and two brothers also in the league … your brother, Rebel Roy, plays for Minnesota, and other brother, Riot Roy, plays for Florida … have they reached out to you? In support or …”
“They’ve reached out.”
“And?”
“We’re a hockey family. I had a stick in my hand since before I could walk.
I could skate better than I could walk by the time I was two.
My dad and brothers see this as career suicide.
They’re concerned about how the league is going to handle things, and what this means for me in a contract year and while I’m out for injury. ”
“But they haven’t said whether they support you, or are against you?”
I absolutely did not want to throw my dad or brothers under the bus, but … after reading an interview with my oldest brother, Rebel, last night before bed, I knew where he stood, and it made me sad. I’m sure that’s what Char was referring to.
“My mom texted me that she loves me. And Roman Woodman from my team has been very supportive, saying he has my back.”
Her lips pressed together, and those crystal-blue eyes glowed behind her thick, black-framed glasses.
I could tell this woman wasn’t an idiot.
She could read between the lines. I just wasn’t ready to call out my dad and brothers.
I held onto hope that they’d see the light and have my back.
Realize that things in the league needed to change, and if I was one of the players to ignite that flame of change, then so be it.
“Honestly, Char, it’s not just a league epidemic.
It’s a world epidemic right now. Rather than empower women, so many men seek to tear them down.
To force them into submission, and dehumanize them.
Treat them like objects, possessions, and property.
I tried listening to Germaine Pratt’s podcast, just to get an idea of what kind of rhetoric he’s spouting, and it made me want to pour cement into my ears.
The man is toxic. He’s pure trash, and anybody who listens to him needs to check themselves—hard. ”
She nodded. “Some of the players on your team listen to him?”
“I’m sure they do. They certainly act like they do. Him, or some other moron who refuses to grow.”
We chatted a bit more about what was going on in the league and with players, particularly Henderson’s upcoming trial and the growing negative attention it’s received since my interview with Jasmine dropped yesterday.
Char tried a few more times in subtle ways to get me to disclose just where my dad and brothers leaned, but I deflected.
Rebel said in his interview that he thought players needed to have each other’s backs and he was saddened by the lack of brotherhood I showed Henderson.
He thought our dad, Riot, and he had taught me better.
But that was all he said. It was enough for me though.
My big brother knew what was going on and figured it wasn’t his battle to fight.
He wasn’t going to jeopardize his forty-million-over-four-years contract by speaking out.
Unfortunately, he was of the majority.
But people could go find the article—which Char said she’d put a link to on her website—and make their own decisions about Rebel Roy.
“You know,” Char said, after she ended the recording and we just sat there getting ready to sign off, “not that I’m trying to encourage competition, but you should consider starting your own podcast.”
I scoffed and sipped my now-lukewarm coffee. “What? No.” Jasmine had said the same thing, was that just a coincidence?
“Why not? You’re well-spoken, you’ve got great insight, and a refreshing take on things in the industry.
You wouldn’t even have to focus on hockey.
You could make your focal point positive masculinity.
Be the anti-venom to the Germain Pratt poison of the world.
Be the right kind of role model and guide for the next generation.
You could have athletes on, men in business, celebrities.
But do it in a way that reaches the right audience. ”
“I wouldn’t even know how to find the right audience. Because by ‘right’ you mean those who follow Germaine Pratt and people like him. Anybody who would willingly listen to me already agrees with me. We’d want to reach those who don’t agree with me and teach them. Change their minds.”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
Laughing, I set my almost-empty mug down. “Exactly. I have no idea how I’d find those people. Aren’t they living under bridges somewhere?”
Her snort rattled her face enough that her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose.
She pushed them back up. “Let me put you in contact with Alice Wu.” She clicked a bunch of things on her computer, and a moment later an email popped up.
“There. I just sent you and Alice an email introducing you guys. Alice is a podcast marketing genius. She took me from ten listeners to ten thousand in two months. I know Jasmine has worked with her too. She will help you find the listeners you want.” Her eyes went wide. “And I know she’ll be all over this.”
While I initially dismissed Char’s suggestion, as she went on about finding the right audience and changing their minds, I didn’t find the idea of having a podcast on positive masculinity nearly as intimidating, or outlandish.