After a one night stand on New Year's Eve, Lia and Derrick don't expect to see one another again. After all, she's a Harvard PhD student and he's a professional hockey player for the Boston Knights - there's no way their paths should cross again.
E...
Ουπς! Αυτή η εικόνα δεν ακολουθεί τους κανόνες περιεχομένου. Για να συνεχίσεις με την δημοσίευση, παρακαλώ αφαίρεσε την ή ανέβασε διαφορετική εικόνα.
The season was over—at least for the Royals—and it was bittersweet.
I always did look forward to the time off after every season, because after working my body to its limit week in and week out during the season, having a handful of months off to recharge and simply relax always did wonders. However, this season, the vacation came earlier than I'd hoped.
Especially after the chaos these last couple of months had entailed.
I'd started the season off as a Knight, had worked my hardest to stay, and had still been traded. And while I'd thought I'd landed with an overall stronger team—the players meshed well together, the coaching staff was tough but fair, and our penalty kill was one of the highest rated in the league—I was now on the sidelines while my old team made a run for the cup.
And I was happy for my old teammates, I was, but I was also jealous. Because if things had been different, I could've been next to them on the ice, riding the playoffs out together.
Instead, I was in Los Angeles three days after our game six loss, cleaning out my locker until training camp started up again.
Having already thrown my equipment in the back of my truck, I was just grabbing the extra workout gear I'd stored at the rink and the junk that'd accumulated over the last two months.
"Hey," Ruderman said, clapping me on the back as he walked into the room. "How's it going?"
I lifted a shoulder, zipping up the duffle that I'd brought with me. "Could be better," I replied honestly. "How are you taking the loss?"
"It definitely sucks, but I also know there's nothing that we can do to change it. At least this season." He smiled encouragingly. "Next season though, man, we're going to work hard to get that cup."
"You know it," I agreed, and the two of us fist bumped.
"So, what are your plans for the off-season?" he asked, taking a seat on the bench next to my bag. "Seeing family? Sticking around? Heading back to the east coast?"
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Honestly, I haven't thought much about it. I'll probably go see my folks for a few weeks, but otherwise, I've got a place here, so it doesn't make sense to head back to Boston."
While a handful of guys had already booked their flights back to their home countries for the next couple of months, the rest were set to scatter across the states in the coming weeks. Ruderman and his wife, however, lived in the Los Angeles area full-time, and it seemed like me, him, and two or three other guys were the only ones planning to stick around.
He looked slightly shocked by my answer though, raising a brow. "You're not going to try to fix things with your girl?"
"Uh..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I'm not sure there's much I can do."
"As long as you didn't cheat, which I know you didn't, there's always something you can do," he said. "I know you've been zeroed in on the season the last couple weeks, and I totally get it, but hockey's over now. And didn't you say she texted you after the loss?"
