Page 13

THIRTEEN

HUDSON

Puck Kings

G-Money

I fucking hate wearing suits to games. Every other league lets their players wear whatever they want, and then there’s the NHL.

Making us dress like we’re extras on the set of fucking Bridgerton.

And I still hate our chat name.

Mitchy

Good show.

Me

GREAT show.

G-Money

My Uber driver asked if I’m in finance. Gag me.

Easy E

I have a meeting with the commish next week because of my “excessive roughness” last season. Want me to pass along your opinion, G? I’ll ask if we can roll up in sweats from now on.

Mavvy

Whoa. Wait. You do?

Me

Why didn’t you tell us, Ethan?

Easy E

No big deal. I had too many penalty minutes, and they want to make sure it doesn’t become a habit.

Sully

It’s fucking hockey. If they wanted us to not be rough, we’d be in the NBA.

G-Money

Shots fucking fired.

Sully

It’s true. Look how physical their league used to be. Now a tap on the arm is reviewed for a flagrant foul? Sure as shit hope we don’t go that way too. Is a minor for high-sticking going to become a major?

Me

He has a point.

Sully

Of course I do.

Easy E

It’s fine. I’m going to tell him I’ll play nice, and all will be well.

No worries, brochachos!!!!!

G-Money

I can’t wait to take off these clothes. I feel like I’m suffocating. I normally don’t mind being choked, but from a tie? No thanks.

Mitchy

No one wants to hear that.

G-Money

That’s what you think.

Madeline

Hi, hockey guy.

Me

What’s up, KG?

Madeline

This is not time sensitive, so please feel free to ignore me. Do you have a panini maker?

Me

Uhhhhh… I’m pretty sure I don’t. But I’ve also never looked at what I have in the pantry. So maybe? Don’t get your hopes up.

Madeline

No worries!

Me

Why in the world do you need a panini maker?

Madeline

To make soup.

Me

I like your sarcasm, Galloway.

Madeline

Lucy wants a panini. I can use a burger press instead.

Me

I have a burger press?

Madeline

You have two.

Me

Huh. You learn something new every day. I just ordered a panini maker, and it’ll be there tomorrow.

Madeline

Thank you!

Hope you score lots of points in your match!

Me

Don’t throw bananas at anyone while I’m gone.

“Canada can kick fucking rocks.” Maverick takes the seat next to me on the charter plane and crosses his arms. “I’m still mad Toronto took Emmy away from us. Away from me . And for what? Justin Harper who immediately left DC that summer and went to California? Finn came back after he got traded. Emmy could’ve come back so I could play with her every day. None of it should’ve happened.”

“It was seasons ago. You married her, she plays for Baltimore now, and you see her every night.” I pop in an AirPod and close my eyes. “Remind me never to piss you off. You know how to hold a grudge.”

“Dude.” He tugs on my jacket. “ Dude .”

I take out my earphone and glance at him with one eye open. “You’re incredibly needy.”

“Probably because I was abandoned as a child and I’m making up for it as an adult. That’s what my therapist says.”

“Fuck you for making me feel like an asshole.”

“I’m just messing with you.” He flashes me his signature grin and stretches his legs out in front of him. “Eighty seats on this plane, and you keep sitting next to me. I must not bother you that much.”

“You bother me plenty. But I love you, so I overlook all of it. What’s up?”

“I have a bone to pick with you.”

“A bone?” I frown and turn to face him. I rack my brain, trying to remember if I missed a workout or team meeting this week, and I come up short. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Pretty sure your private chef moving in with you is something , man.”

“How the hell did you hear about that?”

“I know everything about everyone on this team. People think they can keep a secret, but nothing gets past me.”

“You had no clue Liam and Piper got married in Vegas,” I draw out, and he flips me off.

“Fuck you. So? Is it true?”

“Is what true?” Riley drops his stuff in the row behind us and leans over the back of our seats. “Who’s in trouble now?”

After Maverick, I’m closest with him and Liam. When you spend almost every waking second with a guy on and off the ice for months on end, he becomes a part of you. Your right-hand man who knows your game—and you—better than you do, and I won the lottery with my teammates.

“Hudson is living with a woman,” Maverick says, and Riley gasps. “I know, right? And the fucker didn’t think to tell us.”

“ What ? You have a new girlfriend?”

“Is that why you skipped book club this week?”

“Y’all are annoying with your interrogation.” I shuck off my jacket and toss it on the middle seat. I unbutton my sleeves and roll them halfway up my arms. It’s warm in here all of a sudden, and I adjust the air vent above me. “Yeah, Madeline is living with me. No, we’re not dating. I invited her and her daughter to stay in the condo because it made sense logistically.”

“Her daughter ?” It’s Maverick’s turn to gasp. “Holy shit. Huddy Boy is in loveeee .”

I reach over and knock the back of his head. When Riley laughs, I lean back and flick his forehead. “I know I have a history of serious relationships, but I’m not in love with her. I barely know her.”

“She’s a single mom?” Riley asks, and there’s less teasing in his voice now. “Dude. That must be hard.”

“I’m sure it is, but Madeline makes it look easy. Between making my meals, getting her daughter out the door for school and helping with homework, I don’t know when she has time for herself,” I say.

When I got home from weight training yesterday, I found Madeline and Lucy in the kitchen. I did my best to not disturb them because they looked busy: there were three worksheets spread out on the kitchen table. I saw erasers and mechanical pencils next to their cups of water. A stack of pink folders by a half-eaten apple.

Lucy noticed me, though. She perked up and waved. Asked if Gus and Millie could sit with her, and productivity went out the window.

I apologized to Madeline for interrupting, but she only smiled. Shrugged and said kids , like I know what it’s like to be a parent. She got up to start dinner shortly after, and I’m really trying to figure out when the hell she slows down. When she takes a second to breathe and doesn’t put other people first.

I’m starting to think she never does.

“Do you know what happened to the ex?” Maverick asks.

“Not in the picture from what she’s told me. I don’t get it. Madeline and Lucy are great. Fucking fantastic, really, and I don’t know why someone wouldn’t want that. Wouldn’t want them.”

“Some people aren’t meant to be parents.” Riley hooks his thumb over his shoulder, and I glance down the aisle. Connor, Ethan, and Grant are filming a video for some social media site, and I snort. “Look at Ethan. Dude would be the world’s worst father.”

“The day he has a kid is the day hell freezes over.” Maverick rifles through his bag. He pulls out an eye mask and sets it on his lap. “Time to get some sleep before we land and Coach makes us head immediately to the rink for practice. Fucking sadistic bastard.”

“I’m happy for you, Hud.” Riley puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “You seem like you’re in a much better mood these days. Glad you don’t have to stress about the chef position anymore.”

“Can’t believe I was worried about something so small. People in this country can’t afford to eat, and I was complaining about not having someone to make a meal for me.” I pop my headphones back in and sigh. The plane taxis out to the runway, and I close my eyes. “Talk about perspective.”

The Toronto Stingrays are a hell of a team. Even more than that, the energy in their arena is electric. They won the Stanley Cup a couple of years back, and the hometown crowd is hoping they’ll do it again this year. They’ll have to go through us first, though, and we’re on a mission to be back-to-back champs.

“Fucking love away games,” Maverick calls out as we jump onto the bench for a line change. “Especially when we’re playing well.”

And tonight, we are. We have a 2-1 lead with eight minutes left in the third, and it feels like we’ve finally found our groove as a team.

Liam gave up a goal early in the first, but he’s been unstoppable since. Maverick drained a pretty one-timer in the second, and Ethan scored off a rebound at the start of this period.

The pressure we’re applying is making the Rays scramble, and they’re turning sloppy. Frantic, almost, and I know the rest of our first line is ready to get back out there so we can put this game away.

“That goal of yours is going to be a Top Ten play for sure.” I squirt water in my mouth and wipe my neck with a towel. “You feeling good?”

“Every time I’m out there, I remember why I love this game so fucking much.” Mav grins and looks at me. “I have to show off tonight. Emmy is watching from home, and she said if I scored at least one point, she’d let me?—”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” I lean over the boards and watch Grant skate backward. He does a good job on defense, stopping a high hit with his glove before dropping the puck and taking off toward the other end of the ice. “You’re going to make my ears bleed.”

“We need to get you a point.” Maverick hits his stick against the boards when Connor misses a shot that goes wide right. “You haven’t scored yet this year.”

“We’ve played ten games. And you know I don’t care about scoring.” I fix my helmet and track the puck, waiting for Coach’s signal to switch lines. “Just want the win.”

“Selfless as always.”

Riley slings an arm over my shoulder and shakes me. “Do you think your chef is watching?”

“I don’t think she gives a crap about any of this.” I wave my glove around the packed arena. “She didn’t know who I was the first time we met—I highly doubt she’s spending her night watching us.” I clap when Liam dives on the puck and stops the Stingrays’ aggressive offensive push. “It’s not her thing.”

“Bummer, dude,” Maverick says, but I shrug.

I don’t care that she doesn’t watch hockey.

It’s refreshing to come home and not talk about practice or games. It’s nice to have a part of my life that doesn’t involve around skating or how many assists I had the night before. I like knowing she hangs around the kitchen and pretends to clean up while I eat dinner because she likes me as a person, not me as an athlete.

The clock ticks down to five minutes, and Maverick, Riley and I tumble back onto the ice. The puck gets passed to Ethan who drops it back to me. I skate across center ice and toy with the Stingrays’ player who keeps trying to go for a steal. He moves to the right so I move to the left, passing to Riley who passes it over to Maverick.

His backhand shot hits the goal and ricochets off the post. I’m there to scoop up the rebound, skating backward while my teammates get in position.

“Take it, Hud,” Maverick yells as he powers himself forward, and I eye my other options.

The obvious play would be to pass it to him or Riley—they’re the best shooters on the ice right now—but neither are lined up in a good position. With three minutes left, we’re going to get one more break before we head back in for the rest of the period.

Our second line doesn’t have the defensive intensity our first line does. If we don’t score now, there’s a good chance the Rays will try to tie it up when we head to the bench.

One more scan of the ice tells me it’s now or never, because an opponent is charging toward me. He slices his stick at my skates and I jump, taking the puck with me as I move to the right.

I pivot and pretend like I’m going to pass the puck inside the crease to Maverick. The opposing goalie tracks my movements and turns, positioning himself to brace for an up-close shot. I take advantage of his misread and pull back, knocking the puck with a slap shot to the upper right corner of the goal.

It sails straight into the net and the horn sounds. The crowd groans in disappointment. My teammates surround me and I knock their helmets with mine in celebration.

I go down the bench to give all the guys a high five then I skate to Liam and tap his helmet.

“About time you got one,” he grunts, and I laugh, heading back to the bench.

“Incredible shot, man,” Riley says, and Maverick hugs me.

“Y’all need to stop acting like I just won us the Cup,” I say.

“Not yet. But maybe in June.” Grant touches my knuckles with his glove and jumps over the boards. “Love you, Huddy!”

“Nice shot, Hayes. That’s the kind of aggression I want to see this season,” Coach says, and I beam at his praise.

“Thanks, Coach. I’ll keep working on it.”

We close out the game with a well-earned 3-1 victory. After a short interview with Piper, I drop into my chair in the visitors’ locker room and start to peel off my gear. My phone buzzes in my cubby, and I reach up to grab it.

It’s probably a message from my dad. He sends a thumbs up after every game, and he hasn’t missed a single one since he got a cell phone. I slide my finger across the screen, surprised to see a message from someone else.

Madeline

Nice game.

Me

You watched?

Madeline

Lucy turned it on, but she fell asleep after the first quarter. There was nothing else on TV, so I figured I’d keep it on and to learn.

Me

Did you learn?

Madeline

So much.

I fight back a laugh and rub my thumb over my bottom lip.

“What are you laughing at?” Maverick asks, pulling his jersey over his head. “Something Duke said?”

“Hm? Yeah,” I answer, not correcting him from thinking it’s my dad I’m talking to. “You know Duke.”

“Funny as always.” He strips off the rest of his gear and stands there in just his briefs. “Tell him I say hey.”

I nod and my fingers fly across the screen.

Me

What would you do if I told you hockey has periods, not quarters? And there are only three of them?

Madeline

That makes so much more sense.

Yay sports!

Me

I didn’t know everything when I started playing. I used to think figure skaters and hockey players used the same skates.

I found that out after I showed up to my very first practice in figure skates.

Madeline

I’m trying hard not to laugh, but I’m picturing you in a figure skating outfit.

Me

Laugh all you want. Wait till I tell you I go to figure skating classes in the off season with some of the guys. And the Pilates classes Lexi teaches downtown. It keeps us in shape. Liam also goes to ballet classes to help with his flexibility.

Madeline

Wow. There’s no such thing as toxic masculinity with you all, is there?

Me

Not at all. Just don’t look at our teeth.

Madeline

Funny.

I should head to bed. It’s late. You’ll be back tonight?

Asking so I don’t assault you again.

Me

Yeah. I’ll be at the apartment around two a.m. You still have my location, right?

Madeline

I do.

Cheez-It Arena has a nice ring to it.

That was a really nice goal you scored, by the way. I think I could get into hockey.

I’m grinning like an idiot, but I don’t care.

Madeline watched our game, and that makes me even prouder than the goal did.