Page 54 of The Puck Stops Here
‘Good to see you too.’ She beamed at his brother. ‘I hope you’re feeling better; I was worried about you after…’
‘Yeah, I’m all good,’ his brother blustered as Blake skated by.
‘Except when you eat spice, Ice,’ he couldn’t resist saying as he gave Astrid a brief nod of acknowledgement, fearing if he paused any longer, he’d be on his ass.
‘Wait,’ V said, coming up behind Blake. ‘Did you just say the reason Ice almost got caught short against the Hawks was down to a spicy dish?’
Oh dear…
‘Yup,’ said Harry, sweeping past. ‘I heard that too.’
‘Get outta here!’ V chuckled low and slow. ‘Ice is afraid of spice!’
‘Say that again, V,’ Aiden ground out, ‘and I swear I’ll…’
* * *
Astrid didn’t know whether to laugh or beg for Coach’s forgiveness as the phrase took on a life of its own, spreading through the players and making Aiden growl…
‘Ice is afraid of spice.’
It was kinda catchy…
‘I’m so sorry, Coach,’ she said.
‘You ain’t got nothing to be sorry for; these lot on the other hand, between the catcalling and the banter…’ Coach turned to the ice. ‘Knock it off, Titans, or you’ll be doing suicides until you puke!’
A groan echoed around the arena and she laughed. ‘It’s okay, Coach. I can take it.’
‘But I can’t. It’s a question of respect. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. You’ll wanna keep that in mind while you’re with us.’
She gave a salute. ‘Gotcha.’
He pushed away from the boards and blew his whistle. ‘Right, suicides!’
‘But Coach, you said?—’
‘I didn’t say anything about puking this time!’
He sent her a wink and she grinned back. He was fun.Thiswas fun.
Setting her bag down on the bench, she chose to stand, keen to get as close to the action as possible. Watching them was hypnotic. As was the sound. The blades cutting through ice, the thwack of the puck, the background music too… Thrash metal seemed to be the tune of choice, and she could more than cope with that.
She pulled out her notepad and pencil while Coach issued orders, matching faces to names to jersey numbers, her lips twitching up every time a guy swept past and threw her a silent acknowledgement. A nod. A cheeky wink. A grin.
The only one not giving her any more attention was Blake.
Strange. Considering everythinghe’d said to her, everything he’d hinted at…
What was his problem?
Aiden did another sweep by, caught where she was looking and shook his head. ‘Don’t worry about him, he’s just rattled about this afternoon.’
She didn’t have time to respond, he was gone in a flash. The speed with which they zipped around was exhilarating – and, if she was honest, a little terrifying.
The thought of being out there herself later…
Now she sat as her knees gave a wobble and forced her attention on theentireteam, rather than a certain giant who clearly wasn’t in the mood to talk.
