Page 7

Chapter Seven

BODE

“M r. Adams. How are you doing?” our security guard calls out to me.

“Hey, Ronny. I’m good. How are you?”

“Just fine, just fine. Ready for the season to start.”

“You and me both.” I clap him on the shoulder as he buzzes open the door to the players’ entrance.

Taking a deep breath, the familiar scent welcomes me home. The one that’s hard to describe, but is the exact same in every arena.

That cold and sweaty smell. The hopes and dreams of hockey.

It invigorates me as I walk down the cement hall toward the locker room for our first day of offseason practice.

When I woke up this morning, I was buzzing. It’s something I always feel before the start of a new season. That promise of something new. A fresh start. It’s my favorite thing in the world.

The sound of music leads me toward the locker room, pulling a smile from me. It’s not a song I’m familiar with, but walking into the locker room, I see the guys.

Wooden lockers are lit from above. Red carpet covers the floor. The Knights logo hangs on the back wall, like a beacon welcoming me home.

This has always been the one place I felt at home. The one thing I’m good at. Before, hockey was always the one thing in life I had that I could depend on.

Now, I have more in life.

A son to think about.

“Hey, Bode.” Marcus claps me on the shoulder as I drop my bag down onto the bench seat. “How are things going?”

“You mean since the last time I texted you guys?”

“You do text a lot,” Dax says, coming up behind me.

“A lot can change in a few days,” Marcus says.

I shake my head. “Hell, even a few hours.”

Pulling a few things out, I see my jersey hanging in my locker. The number nineteen is there in big white print. The Knights logo sits just below the collar. I finger the thick fabric of my name on the back.

Somehow, starting this season feels different. I’m excited, don’t get me wrong. I’m years into this career, and for the first time, it feels like I’m playing for something bigger than myself.

I don’t want to be that guy anymore. The one that shows up to a bar looking for women. I feel so far removed from that guy, it’s not even funny.

“Gentlemen.” Coach Andrews’s voice calls everyone to attention. “Are you ready for a new season?”

Shouts and cheers ring out in the locker room.

“Good, good. I’ve got big plans for this team. We had a deep playoff run last year, and I want to continue that success. Continue moving this team forward. The Knights have put together a talented team, and I’m excited to see where we go as one.”

There’s an electricity pulsing through the group of guys in the locker room. I’m buzzing again. I’ve never been so antsy for a season to start. Before, I loved the offseason, spending my time with different women and basking in the attention.

The only attention I want now is from the one person who seems to be just fine with no attention at all.

Stevie.

It seems no matter what I do, our schedules never sync up. The woman staying in my house is a stranger to me. I might know what she does, but that’s about it.

One thing I do know is that she is stunning.

Shaking the stupor this woman continuously pulls me into, I change into my gear and grab my stick to hit the ice.

Taking a deep breath, I relish the smell of the ice. The cold seeps into me and reminds me that I’m home.

This is where I excel. Playing hockey. No matter what else is going on in my life, I can push all of that out of my head for a few hours and focus on my game.

That’s what the team deserves. I know Caleb is in good hands with Gran. I think she mentioned taking him on a walk to the park.

“We’re going to do line drills,” Coach Andrews bellows. Everyone groans. “No complaining. We’re going to build the endurance in your legs. My goal is to make it to the finals this season. I don’t want us losing because your conditioning isn’t up to the challenge.”

All the guys gather on the line by the goal. When the whistle blows, we skate to the blue line, then back. Center line and back. We do it for every line on the ice.

I fucking hate these drills. They were designed by a sadist to make us hate hockey. By the time Coach blows the whistle, dismissing us to work with our line coaches, my legs are screaming at me.

My thighs are on fire as I skate to the bench to grab a few swigs of water.

Our coach starts running us through some different drills with the new guys on the team. A few we traded for I recognize from playing, but I’m not familiar with any of the rookies.

Marcus is already chatting with them. Knowing him, he studied up on all of them since he’s our captain. It would be something he would do.

Before I know it, Coach Andrews is calling us all back to center ice.

“For this last part of practice, we’re going to be doing something a little different.”

The guys are huffing and puffing. Our chests are heaving after doing that last round of drills.

“What is it, Coach?” Marcus asks, ever the captain.

“Something fun. Three on three handball.” The assistant coaches are lining up the goals on both ends of the ice. “We’re going to be splitting into teams of three. You can’t hold on to the ball for more than three seconds or the other team gets the ball. First team to twenty-one gets out of line drills tomorrow.”

“Hell, yeah!” I shout.

“Coach, how is this helping?” Dax asks.

“It’ll help with your edgework, balance, and even spatial awareness. Knowing where the guys are on the ice for your team. With new teammates this year, we need to build that sense of camaraderie so we can gel as one.”

I nod. This is something different that we haven’t done before, but I like the sound of it.

“Adams,” Coach Andrews calls out to me, “since you’re excited, you’ll be down on that end of the ice.”

I follow his finger and wait as he divides up the team. Marcus and one of the new guys, Ryan, join me, while Noah, Dax, and one of the rookies take the other side. The assistant coach tosses a ball my direction and blows the whistle.

“Remember, you can’t hold on to it for more than three seconds.”

Tossing the ball to Ryan, I skate forward and watch as he throws it to Marcus. He heaves it in my direction before I duck under Noah. Before I can pass the ball, the whistle blows.

“Too long, Adams. Fields’s team gets the ball.” He skates in a line as he watches us play. “Imagine this is a puck. Work with your teammates. See where your competition is on the ice. Constant awareness.”

Nabbing the ball from Dax out of thin air, I’m faster this time in sailing it over Noah’s head to Marcus. With only the rookie in his way, he chucks it straight into the back of the net.

We’re jostling each other, having fun, but Noah’s team takes a quick lead and we can never quite catch up. They end up getting beat by the last team, meaning all of us still have to do line drills.

“We tried.” Marcus skates up to me. “At least we’ll all suffer together.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier, Cap.”

Coach claps his hands. “I like what I’m seeing, men. I’ll see you all tomorrow. We’ll start in the weight room before working on our lines.”

“Can we play more handball?” Jasper asks.

“Damn. Jasper having fun?” Graham chides him. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

He flips him off.

“We’ll do more of this, yes. Now hit the showers.”

I skate off the ice, not wanting to be out here any longer.

The first day of practice is always hard. No matter how much training I put in during the offseason, it pales in comparison to the work our coaches put us through. The fact that I didn’t puke like a few of the rookies did makes me feel better.

Add to that practice a baby who decides when I sleep, and I’m gassed. I’m one of the last ones in the locker room. Heading straight to my stall, I sit down, stretching my legs to let my muscles have a break.

“How do you feel?” Marcus asks.

I peek one eye open at him, leaning back against my locker.

“I feel like a Zamboni ran over me.”

Marcus claps me on the shoulder. “You’ll get used to that feeling. I eventually did.”

“Really?” I shift, pulling my jersey up and over my head.

He nods. “It felt like the girls didn’t sleep for the first year I had them. If one was asleep, the other was awake. I felt like a zombie.”

“You know,”—Jasper comes up to the two of us—“you’re not making a case for having kids.”

“It’s hard to mind when you love them,” Marcus says on a sigh.

“It really is. I’m a sucker for that little face,” I say. “Even when he’s crying, he somehow manages to look adorable.”

Jasper shudders before stalking back over to his locker. “No, thanks.”

Marcus elbows me in the side. “Listen, if you want to bring Caleb over and have dinner with us, we can give you a break. The kids would love to dote on him.”

I smile at him. “I might take you up on that.”

“Please do. Harper is starting to get baby fever, and maybe if Caleb is fussy, I can hold her off for a little while longer.”

“You don’t want more kids?” Dax asks from Marcus’s other side.

“We do, but I’d like to enjoy some time with my wife.”

Harper got pregnant right after they renewed their vows, so I can understand them wanting to wait. I lived my life never wanting to settle down. It didn’t feel like something I was ever going to do.

Now? Now it feels like I’ve settled down in a different way. I never knew that a tiny bundle of chaos could change my life the way he has.

Staring at the picture of the two of us I printed out and hung up, I smile.

Yeah, I’m okay with the different kind of chaos life has thrown at me.