Page 19 of Penalty Box

I gave him a half-smile over my shoulder as I stepped off the ice. “Don’t tell anyone.”

And then I was gone. Out of my skates and sprinting to the exit tunnel like I was about to combust from the inside out.

6

Mason

Los Angeles was hot. Not just warm or sticky, but that dry, full-throttle furnace heat that hit you straight in the lungs the second you stepped outside. I’d peeled off my hoodie by the time we reached the player dorms, and tossed it into the corner of the room.

“That’s your side now,” Hunter muttered. It was only a two-and-a-half hour flight, but his travel mood had already set in.

He sprawled on the single bed opposite mine, socks off, one foot up. Hanging off the edge like he’d grown up here. His earbuds were in, but he kept singing the wrong lyrics to whatever song he thought he was listening to.

I tossed a water bottle at his back. “You’re butchering that song.”

“You’re just mad I’m a man of many talents, while you’re a man of one.” He pulled out one of his buds and sat up, resting back against the pillows.

“You call that talent? My drunk uncle has better karaoke nights, and he’s a hundred and four.”

Hunter cackled with laughter. “What the hell is your uncle doing drunk at a hundred and four?”

“I asked him once, and he said that’s exactly how he got there,” I replied, joining him. We were both delirious with the early morning call and heat.

He popped the cap on my water and took a giant swig before tossing it back to me. “You better keep that cell phone far from the ice, unless you want Coach to chew you a new one.”

“Just checking for roster updates.” I slid my phone onto the shared bedside table.

“Uh huh. That’s what you were doing.” He rolled onto his stomach, chin in his hands, and batted his lashes at me. “Sure it had nothing to do with a certain Zamboni Girl?”

The smooching kissing sounds he made were absurd and immature, but I laughed anyway.

“Her name’s Cass.”

That got his attention. Hunter sat bolt upright, a wicked grin on his face. “You got a name? Alright, Calder!”

I got assaulted with a series of double high-fives and then, too exhausted to make it back to his bed, he just collapsed at the foot of mine.

“I’m proud of you man,” he said. “Wait til the others hear.”

“Can we— Can we just keep this between us?” My phone buzzed, but I was careful not to whip my head around. I didn’t want to give him more ammunition to tease me with.

“You like her.” He said it like a statement, not a question. And he wasn’t wrong.

“A lot.” I didn’t bother hiding it. No point. Not with him.

“Well, this team is like a family,” he said. “We know everything about each other. Works on the ice. You’ve seen it.”

I groaned out loud, letting my head drop back against the cool wall behind me. “I just don’t want to mess it up.”

“How are you going to mess it up when we all have your back?”

But where his words were meant to be sincere, I couldn’t ignore the hint of mischief in them. He was enjoying this way too much.

“Hunter, she’s smart, funny. Keeps me on my toes.” I grabbed my skates and inspected my blades out of habit. “And she can actually hold her own on the ice.”

He gave a low whistle. “You’ve got it bad.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I came to my own defense, but with only half a heart. It was useless.