Heteronym

Chapter 8

I was so fucking nervous it wasn't even funny.

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I strapped the pads onto my legs, watching the rest of the guys hype each other up for the first game of the season. The energy was infectious but there was still doubt in the back of my mind. Our practices has assured me that we couldn't be more prepared, but out of all the people that would be on the ice today, I would be the one under the most pressure.

It doesn't matter if I know I could play just as well, if not better, than the men in this league. I had to prove it to the rest of the world.

"You look like you're about to pass out, Riley," Taylor mocked while slapping my aggressively on the back, the slap echoing through the air. Beck glanced at me from across the room where he was laughing with Ed,l after hearing the loud sound come from my general vicinity, sending me a happy look before turning away again.

I glared at the Captain as he sat down on the blue bench beside me, our skate digging into the black carpeted ground. "I've got a lot more riding on this than you, Nowak."

"That might be true but the way I see it, our last goalie played his way out of the NHL so I don't think you can do much worse."

I couldn't help but snort. "If that's your form of a pep talk then it's no wonder you guys suck; your captain is dismal as fuck."

Taylor lunched the side of my arm aggressively, almost like it was payback for the bruised jaw Beck had given him earlier in the week. "How's this for a pep talk? You go out there, you throw your sexy body in front of some black disks, make the whole world want to be you or fuck you, then go home and let your cocky ass boyfriend nail you twice as hard as any of those fucks could even imagine."

My lips formed a horrified frown as I reluctantly eyed my captain. "You're laughably bad at this."

"Could you believe I wasn't captain in college? I was very offended. This is nice though. It's less about moral support," Taylor laughed

"That's probably for the better," I muttered deeply. "And for the record, I'm not pretty positive this is work place sexual harassment."

Beck looked over to us from where he was leaning against the wall and nodded it Taylor. "If she had to say it, it is."

"What? Do you have bionic ears or some shit?" Tay asked incredulously, his eyebrows pulled together in disbelief. Beck and Ed walked towards us, their gear all the way on and their sticks in their hands. The black skate guards were still on the blades to keep them razor sharp.

Sharp enough to slit a throat and kill an innocent man.

I blinked twice, shaking my head to myself at the though. This was our first game since that fateful night.

"You're talking about someone 'nailing' my girlfriend 'harder than this fucks could ever imagine'. I think that qualifies as something that stands out in conversation," the assistant captain retorted to his team leader. I was surprised Beck got the position considering he was a rookie, but he was the center starter and he had led our team to victory in college. I hated to admit it considering my stance on Beck at the time, but Bradley had made the right call surpassing our opinions when deciding on the captain. Beck had deserved it.

"I was talking about you, Idiot."

"To be fair, it's still sexual harassment."

"I'd shut up with the 'S' word unless you mean it," Niels joined the conversation with Luka. "We both know they're paranoid about that around here. Say it as a joke much louder and the press will hear you from a mile away. That, or we'll all end up in a week long sensitivity training seminar because you two can't keep your mouths shut."