Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“Hey,” I say to her and then turn to walk to my secret place.
“Where are you going?” she asks. She looks around as we get farther away from the noise, and I lead her to the iron stairs that lead upstairs. “This feels like those movies when the killer is just waiting in the empty parking lot, and just when you think you’re imagining it …” She laughs. “Boom, you’re dead.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” I say when I finally get to the second floor and wait for her. “I come up here to practice,” I tell her and walk toward the corner part.
“I’m no expert, but shouldn’t you practice with people?” she says, standing there holding her purse in front of her with both hands.
“Watch,” I tell her, and I throw the ball against the wall, and it bounces back at me, and I do it over and over again. My eyes never leave the ball as I try to catch it. “The game is to never have the ball in your hand more than two seconds,” I say to her. “And to go right to left each time.”
“Do you ever miss?” she asks me, and I nod. “What happens when you miss?”
I catch the ball and turn around to look at her. “Then I start again.” I smile at her.
“Do you ever just give up?” she asks, and I turn and face the wall again. “And say fuck it.”
“The endgame is that much better if you fight for it,” I tell her, and then I catch the ball and turn around and walk to her. Standing right in front of her, I make her look up at me. “If the game is easy, it gets boring,” I tell her, and then I lift my hand to push her hair away from her eyes. “The chase is what makes the game exciting.” I lean in just a touch more, and I only hear her small gasp because it’s so quiet up here. “Getting that prize and claiming it,” I say, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “Holding the prize in your hands, there isn’t another feeling out there.”
My cheek grazes hers, and when I stand, I see that her eyes have shaded over, and I bet if I kiss her neck, I would be able to feel the beating of her heart. “I should get back,” I tell her and walk away from her. I turn over my shoulder and see her back to me. “You coming?”
She turns around, and I see that she put her game face on because she gives me the same fake smile she gave the girls when she got here. “Yes, I need to get in there.”
We walk to the door together, and I open it and wait for her to walk in. She goes one way while I go the other. Neither of us saying anything to each other, and when I walk into the room, the guys are already suiting up. I put my glove away and then start getting ready. The camera crew comes in when we are all dressed, and he goes around the room to catch everyone. I’m the first one on the ice as always, and then I see the kids by the glass. I skate to side and start my stretching by getting on my knees and going side to side. I get on one knee and kick off with the other foot, going in circles and stopping at all four points back and forth on each leg. Evan comes over and starts his stretching beside me. Getting on his knees, he kicks out his legs while I stretch my legs out from one side to the other.
“I really want to win tonight,” he says. Looking at all the kids lined up, I spot Vivienne with Chase on her hip. Her jacket is off and now I see her wearing a bright white button-down silk top, and you can see the lace details of her bra underneath. A bra I know that snaps off with just a flick of the wrist. She points out the players to the little boy. He looks at her and laughs while she leans in and kisses his neck, making him squirm and try to get away from her. I get up and skate around in a circle to the goal now, taking my position.
When we get off the ice and then go back on, I skate back and forth in the crease, making some powder, and then I move from one post to the next. I take off my mask when they sing the national anthem, and then it’s game time.
Six seconds into the game, I’ve already stopped the first puck. I wait for the referee to come over and grab the puck from my glove and the face-off takes place to the right of me. The guys win the face-off, clearing the puck and going toward the other goal, but a stupid pass in the neutral zone has the team coming back at me with a two on one. I advance and then slowly start moving back, and because I’m big, I cover a good part of the net. I see the puck go from side to side, and I also see the other guy passing our defenseman, but I know he’s too deep in the zone to make a pass, so I know the guy is going to take the shot. He does, but it’s right on me, so I have no trouble saving it.