Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
When I slip the jersey on and pull up the sleeves, I bounce on my skates. “I can’t wait to get this shit over with,” I tell Evan, and he grabs his gloves.
“I’m ready to go home to my wife,” he says. “I swear her stomach got so much bigger, and I’m scared she’s going to have the baby while I’m not there.” He shakes his head. “Knowing my luck, that kid is going to come early and shock us all.” I laugh.
When the door opens, we start to walk down the hallway, and I know we will come out on the other side of the ice as LA. This is where I called home for four years, coming out of the other side is weird as fuck. “Guys, don’t fuck this up for me.” I smirk at the team. “Everyone else who has been traded has lost their game once they come back, and I don’t want to fall in that category.” I laugh, and everyone just shakes their head.
The doors open, and I skate on with the team, the booing already starting. “Welcome home,” Evan says, laughing beside me. “Fuck, when I went back to Dallas, they had a shrine of me,” he jokes and pushes my shoulder. I warm up by skating around a couple of times and then shooting the puck. When we leave the ice for the Zamboni, I have my skates sharpened just a touch and then take my place on the ice as they do the national anthem.
When I skate to center ice, I’m expecting to see Kevin, but it’s Mika. “Hey, douchebag,” he says. One look at him, and I can tell he’s high. How did no one on the bench notice? Oh, wait they probably did and didn’t say anything. “Ready to get your ass handed to you?”
I laugh. “Who is going to hand it to me?” I ask him and see Evan look over at us, Chris in the front of him chirping.
“Look, it’s Larry and Curly,” Evan says. “Where is Moe?” he asks him, laughing at his own joke.
“Pretty boy has a big mouth,” Chris says, and it makes me chuckle because Evan is a pretty boy.
“Yeah, the difference is my mouth can deliver,” Evan says, and Chris does what I know he’s going to do.
“You know who else has a mouth that delivers?” Chris says, and now Evan stands straight.
“If you want to keep any of your teeth, I suggest you don’t fucking finish that sentence,” Evan says, advancing just a touch over the line, and the referee pushes them away.
“Save it for the game,” he says, and Chris just laughs.
“Pussy ass bitch,” he says, looking over at Mika. “Let’s make it rain.”
“Seriously, you fuckers still doing code words?” I shake my head and now crouch down as the puck comes out of the referee’s pocket. “Just one thing wrong with that.” I look over at Mika. “I’m the one who created the code words,” I say, and the puck drops, and I’m already away from Mika.
Evan and Chris battle for the puck, but Evan is faster than Chris and sends it to Andrew, the right winger, who gets it on his stick and then sees me waiting at the far left. He crosses over the line, and I can see Mika charging for me, but I move to the right just as he comes crashing into the board, leaving me in the center of the ice right in front of the goalie.
Andrew passes it straight to me, and I tip it right over the goalie, hitting the back of the net. I’m about to throw my hands up and celebrate when I’m hit from behind. I have a split second to look to the side and see that it’s Mika. The defenseman comes over, trying to stop him, but he shakes him off. I look over at Evan, who is pushing Chris and saying whatever when Mika pushes me again, and I snap. The sticks go flying and then the gloves come off, and Mika does the same thing. No one is going to stop this; everyone is backing up as they see us skate. I grab him by his jersey with my left hand, and I swear my knuckles are white for how hard I’m holding him. I hit him once and then twice in the head, and he ducks down. His right hand tries to swing, but his movements are a touch slower. And when he’s mid punch, I knock him from under, and my fist connects with his jaw. He falls to the ice, and I hit him one more time before the referee comes out and breaks us apart.
One of them pushes me away, and the other tries to get Mika up, but he looks confused as to how he got there. I see the trainer come on the ice, and the referee tries to get him on his feet, but he loses his legs again, and they have to hold him up. I look over at Chris, who just glares. “Pussy ass bitch can’t even make it rain,” I tell him, then the ref pushes me toward the penalty box. “He cross checked me,” I tell him, and he laughs.