Page 22
Story: Taylor (Glendale Magic #3)
21
Taylor
T aylor was unlacing his skates after a good hard practice. Sweat dripped off him as Cash came and sat next to him.
“Man, you were on fucking fire out there,” he said as he pulled off his jersey.
He wasn’t wrong. Taylor had a great practice. It could be the pretty girl who hadn’t left his head since he left the cabin. He was just glad they’d been working on the penalty kill. That meant Coach Wagner hadn’t been on the ice with them, and part of him wasn’t looking forward to that. How was he going to look Coach in the eye after what he’d done with Alice the past couple of days?
Then, as if he summoned him, Coach Wagner walked into the locker room.
“Okay, boys, listen. We play Boston tomorrow. I just want to remind you we are the better team. You all had a good practice. Wes and Conner, good hustle out there. I do want to mess around with the power play tomorrow during morning skate. Nothing too intense, just moving something. So, special teams, be here tomorrow. I’ll see the rest of you guys tomorrow before the game.”
“Thanks, Coach,” all the boys said as they finished getting undressed.
“Taylor,” Coach said, walking over to him. “How did the cabin work out?”
Fuck. Did he know that he was there with his daughter? Had Alice said they’d spend time together? He didn’t want to say fine and not mention seeing her if she’d told her they’d spent time together. But then, even if he said nothing about her, it would come out eventually. Although her family thought she was on a business trip. He had no idea how much time had passed, but he just sat there, blinking at his coach, utterly tongue tied.
“Taylor?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, I’m a little distracted. Thank you for letting me use your cabin.”
“Good, if you need anything, you know where to find me,” Coach said before clapping him on the shoulder and heading out of the locker room.
“What was that about?” Cash said before gulping down water.
“My family decided Christmas at Disney sounded good,” Taylor said.
“Have they met you before?” Cash asked with his easy grin.
“Right... I’m not sure if they have considered that. My mom thought I would actually go. I ran into Coach when we were both snowed in at the airport, and he offered me his cabin.”
“Nice. You seemed pretty rested and relaxed out there today. I’m glad you got some down time.”
“Hey, Conner,” Sven called across the locker room. “I think I might miss morning skate tomorrow.”
“What the fuck? You are on the power play. You will be there,” Conner said.
Conner was their captain, and he was laser focused on the cup. Last year, they had been so close but then Wes got injured, and shit went down with Sasha, and they didn’t make it to the finals. This year, though, Conner was more determined than ever.
Taylor quickly finished taking off his gear and got in the shower, grateful not to have to answer any more questions about the cabin. Uncomfortable questions that involved the coach’s daughter he was not looking forward to answering.
He made it home to his condo and let himself in. There, on the coffee table, was a brown-paper-wrapped package. He had dropped this off to the front desk. Perks like this were one of the reasons he loved living in a condo.
He pulled the paper away and smiled. He’d gotten the sketch Alice had made for him framed. There he was, in a swirl of colors, surrounded by the creatures from Monsters of the Realm.
Being a creature of habit, he made sure he had everything ready to go for game day, but on game days, that was in full force. He had been doing everything the exact same way for years. After making sure he had all the food and all the laundry put away, he ordered dinner. He would eat, shower, go to bed, and get ready for morning skate.
For the first time, a break had actually relaxed him and left him feeling ready to conquer the world—on the ice, at least. He thought of Alice and smiled. She really was remarkable.
Table of Contents
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- Page 22 (Reading here)
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