Chapter Eight

“STRIP HOCKEY!” Max’s voice echoed all throughout the arena. My ears immediately perked up and I sat up from my previous horizontal position. I was pretty sure that Max had said that purposely to catch my ear and it worked. I looked over quick enough to see him looking at me. Our eyes locked for a moment, then he looked away swiftly.

‘This could be fun,’ I thought to myself as I hopped over the wall and skated over to the boys.

“How does this work?” I whispered in Kris’ ear as I leaned on his shoulder.

“Um…well…you take a shot and if you miss, you take off something and if you make it, you put something back on,” he explained to me. “Normally we just take off our pads and jerseys….but…um…for you?? I don’t know. Maybe the sweatshirt and skates…I’m not sure.” His stammering was so cute I could hardly stop myself from pinching his cheek.

“Thanks Kris,” I said smiling at him. He returned the smile and began to skate away. “Um, I’m gonna need a stick.” He laughed nervously clearly upset at himself that he had forgotten about that.

“Take mine,” he said handing his stick to me.

“Aw, you’re too sweet,” I said before hugging him and skating over to Geno.

“You play?” Geno asked almost incredulously.

“Absolutely,” I said looking up to him and challenging him with my eyes.

“Well, good luck,” he said, a smile playing on his mouth.

“I don’t need luck,” I returned as I hopped in line behind him. Max was not playing, but standing off to the side giving a play by play of each person shooting. He was leaning against his stick with his helmet off and he looked like he was having so much fun. One by one each player went and then returned to the back of the line. Finally it was Geno’s turn and of course he made the shot. He smiled as he skated past me and I got ready to go. I had never ever shot a puck before and was pretty sure that I looked ridiculous. My result was even worse. The puck missed the net by a mile and I could hear Max snickering to my left.

“That’s a tough break,” he said with mock sympathy.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” I said taking off my Northface and placing it on the bench.

We continued this way for several rounds and at the end of the game, I was the clear loser. On my last shot, I was standing up there barefoot, with only my jeans and bra on. I was shivering so badly that the charm on my belly button ring made the loudest clatter ever. I stepped up to take a shot and missed. Not a surprise.

“And with that, we crown the winner and the loser,” Max bellowed in a “game show host” sort of voice. “Our winner for today is none other than our very own captain, Mr. Sidney Crosby!!” The team clapped for him as he did a little victory skate. “And sadly, our loser would have to be Riley Malone.” To my surprise, there was more applause for me than there was for Sid. I guess being half naked in front of a bunch of hockey players would merit that kind of response. “How about a victory…walk?” Max asked. I sighed and began a small walk around one half of the rink. More whistles and applause. I looked over to find Kris almost salivating and I saw Ryan glaring fiercely at the ground. After I finished, I walked over to the bench to retrieve my clothing.

“You did good,” Geno said skating up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I felt his hands graze my bare stomach and it made me jump with excitement.

“Yeah right,” I said as I stood there happy to be warmed by him.

“Well, you look good,” he said, spinning me around and bringing me into a hug.

“I’m so cold,” I spoke into his chest as my teeth began to chatter on cue.

“I know,” he replied, “get dressed.” He lifted me up and placed me onto the bench. I sat down and replaced each article of clothing, saving my skates for last. “Ready to go?” he asked me as I picked up the skates.

“Yup,” I answered, not wanting to tie them up again. I grabbed his hand and let him lead me to the entryway.

“Where are you going?” Ryan’s voice bounced off the empty seats of the arena. I heard them echo back harshly.

“Geno said he was done and we’re leaving,” I replied with my back still to him. We inched closer to the exit.

“Do you think he really cares about you?” Ryan continued. The edge in his voice picking up.

“What?” I asked, this time turning around to look at him. He skated over so that he was right in front of us.

“There’s no way he cares anything about you. He doesn’t,” Ryan looked over at Geno who was trying hard to process what Ryan was saying. He could tell from the circumstances that whatever Ryan was saying was upsetting me.

“I care,” he said, choosing the words carefully as if trying to think about their meaning. At this Ryan rolled his eyes.

“Riley, let’s be realistic. Do you think you’re any different? Geno has a different girl every night. It’s all part of the job description. You’re just another one. A common whore,” Ryan finished. He looked at me with a face that expressed almost triumph. I inhaled sharply to stop myself from crying. This effort was useless. I felt the hot tears drip down my face. I looked down to see them fall onto the ice. Mortifyingly embarrassed, I looked up at Geno who stared at me in confusion. I looked back down and all I heard was my breath in the awkward silence.

“You’re such a dick,” I heard Jordan speak first. Then after that I heard and felt a multitude of things. Someone skated over to me and made an attempt to put their arm around me, but I brushed it off. My blurry vision didn’t allow me to make out their face. I turned to go and I heard the sound of fist to face contact. I didn’t stick around to see who was the assaulter, although I was pretty sure I could guess who the assaultee was. I darted from the rink, making my way, blindly, down the hallway and eventually to the parking lot. Once I was outside, the air hit my face and it felt good. However, I didn’t slow down until I got to my car. I unlocked it and slid into the driver’s seat. I made a pathetic attempt to put the key in the ignition, but failed. Frustrated, I dropped the keys into the center console, rested my head on the steering wheel and cried. I continued on that way until I heard a knock on my window.