The Hockey Star and the Ice Princess (Complete)

Ch. 12 - Superstar

When Rachel dragged herself into the bar that night to work her shift, she felt like she had lead weights strapped to her feet and she was moving slower than an eighty year old. Every muscle in her body ached and she was completely and utterly exhausted. 

"Hey Rachel," Cain smiled as she slowly walked behind the bar and grabbed her black apron, tying it behind her neck. "How are you feeling?" 

"Ummmm. The best word to describe what I'm feeling right now? Dead. Completely dead. Every muscle in my body is screaming," she groaned, rubbing on her sore thighs for a few seconds and stretching. 

He laughed. "Well make sure you drink that supplement I gave you before you go to bed tonight. That'll help with muscle regeneration so you can build back what you've broken down faster." 

"Yeah I will. Thanks." 

She noticed a middle-aged couple walk in and sit at a table so she grabbed a pencil and notepad and made her way over to them. 

"Hey folks. I'm Rachel. I'll be your waitress tonight. What can I get you to drink?" 

The woman looked at her and her eyes widened. 

"Rachel Beckett!? Oh my gosh!" she squealed. "I can't believe it's really you! I'm a HUGE fan!" 

"Ummm. Thank you," she said a little hesitantly. She never did like a lot of attention so meeting really excited fans that freaked out over her was awkward. She appreciated them and was always grateful. She just felt self conscious about it.

"Can I get a selfie with you? It would seriously make my entire life!" the woman asked, excitedly. 

"Sure," Rachel said pulling up a seat next to her and posing for a couple selfies with a smile. 

"So what can I get you guys to drink?" Rachel finally asked.

"We'll both take Bud Lights in the bottle. Thank you!" the woman smiled. 

Rachel walked over to the bar and asked Cain, "Can I get two Bud Lights in a bottle?"

"Sure thing superstar," he teased with a wicked sexy smile as he set the bottles on the counter and twisted the caps off. 

"Ha ha. Very funny," she said with a laugh, rolling her eyes.

After several other people asked for selfies and autographs, Cain called her Superstar a few more times and it seemed like that was going to be his new nickname for her. At least he wasn't calling her short stack anymore, so she wasn't complaining. She actually thought it was kind of cute. She liked that he gave her a nickname. Even though she didn't have time for a boyfriend it was fun to flirt with him. 

By the time midnight rolled around Rachel had made over $300 in tips but she was so completely exhausted that she barely had enough energy to drive home. Her legs felt like noodles. She went to the kitchen and made the supplement drink Cain gave her and chugged it down before going to her room and collapsing on the bed with a huge sigh. She didn't even bother to change into pajamas or take her shoes off. She just immediately passed out. 

When her phone alarm went off the next morning it felt like she hadn't slept at all. 

"Ugh," she groaned, lifting up the phone and seeing 6:00 am. That was the shortest six hours of sleep ever! She was REALLY tempted to hit snooze and skip doing her morning yoga but her coach's words went through her head. 'No one's going to be there holding your hand and forcing you to do these things on this list. You're an adult and it's up to you to find the motivation within yourself to do what you've gotta do to win." 

She threw the covers off and slowly crawled out of bed with a groan. She stood up and stretched and there wasn't a single part of her body that didn't scream in agony. Her feet didn't even want to touch the ground and she really regretted sleeping in her shoes. When she untied her tennis shoes and slowly peeled them off her feet and pulled off her socks, she saw that her feet were bleeding and blistered. It was going to take a while to build the calluses back up again.