Page 8

eight

Reece

S itting in the locker room, I run through my pre-game ritual, I can't help but think about Maggie. Having her sit in the wives' and girlfriends' section wearing one of our jerseys would be a dream come true.

Sex, for me, has always been a way to relieve stress—nothing permanent—no connection. I'm not even sure I know the last names of half my past lovers. There was never a reason to know or care. We both got what we wanted.

But something about Maggie has me wanting more—a deeper connection. She's fun and sweet—or was until something set her off. I rack my brain, trying to figure out what it might have been, but nothing stands out. She was already mad when Owen was retrieving our used condoms, so that wasn't it.

I'm not used to women being mad at me. I'm the golden child. I come from a long line of famous hockey players. Combine that with a hotel heiress mother, and I've never wanted for anything—until now.

"Time to hit the ice." Head Coach Davis yells into the locker room as we all stand and follow him out onto the ice.

It's only a matter of time before Coach Davis replaces his father as the head coach of the Minnesota Norse, taking his two assistants, who happen to be his brothers, with him. That's the life of a hockey player—never knowing what the future holds.

Out on the ice, my thoughts calm down, letting me think clearer. If it wasn't the condoms, Maggie was mad about, was it the money? I mean, yes, she was mad about that, but we made that arraignment before we ever had sex, even though we all knew that's where we were headed.

"Do you think Aubree was able to talk Maggie into coming to the game tonight?" Zander skates up to me, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"I'm sure she did her best to convince her." It was a desperate move to include our teammates and their girlfriend, Aubree, in our plan. But we're desperate men willing to do whatever it takes to win back Maggie.

"Aubree's over there." Owen skates to us, pointing at the front row of the wives' and girlfriends' section. "But I don't see Maggie yet." It's a perfect spot for us to keep an eye out for Maggie. So close to the ice only the thin plexiglass separating her from us.

"There she is!" Zander excitedly points to Maggie as she makes her way down the arena steps to the front row.

"What the fuck is she wearing?" I squint, trying to make out the jersey she's wearing knowing it's not the Poseidon team colors.

"Oh, hell no." Owen skates toward her as we follow behind. All of us glaring at that awful burnt orange Chicago Kraken hockey jersey she's wearing.

Not surprisingly, she glares at us, but she surprises us by sticking her tongue out.

"Stop being a brat, or I'll give you something to suck on." While not the most mature thing to say, Zander has a point. She is acting like a brat. But at least she still feels something for us, even if it is hate at the moment.

"You wish!" She yells back, causing me to hide a smile, thankful she hasn't lost her spunk.

We skate away from the glass back to the team bench, where Owen motions for one of the security guards. "Tony, there's a fiery redhead in the front row of the wives' and girlfriends' section wearing a Chicago Kraken jersey." Owen picks up one of the extra team jerseys we normally sign and throw out to the crowd after we win and hands it to Tony. "Make sure she takes that hideous thing off and puts this one on." Tony nods, takes the jersey, and dashes through the crowd.

"This should be good," I say as we skate to Maggie's section.

As expected, she's angry as can be, glaring at the security guard as she whips the Kraken jersey off, giving us and the rest of the arena a view of those luscious breasts, barely concealed in an almost see-through bra.

I'm definitely going to buy her more of those so I can rip them off her.

We watch as she puts on the Poseidon jersey, covering her gorgeous body, only to have her flip us off.

"Come on. Let's go back to the bench before the game starts." Owen says with a smile, and I realize we're all smiling at Maggie's little outburst.

I've always heard that as long as there's a hint of emotion in a relationship, even if it's anger, that relationship can be fixed. But if there's no emotion at all, there's nothing worth fixing. It's a good thing our little Maggie still has feelings for us.