Kane’s a great acquisition. As a center, he’s instrumental in keeping stability on the second line. The team all affectionately started calling him Superman, not only because of his amazing skills on the ice, but also because he has that whole Clark Kent thing going on with his midnight-black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a jaw that looks like it’s built from granite.
Next to him is James Steele, the left-winger on the second line. He came to the team in the expansion draft last year from the Quebec Royals, and he’s one of the older players at thirty-three. The fans call him by his last name of Steele, but we just call him Jim. While he’s not technically single, he’s been separated from his wife for the last few months. I’d invited him out because if I hadn’t, he’d stagnate at home.
Beside Jim and sitting opposite me at our round table is Jett Olsson, a twenty-seven-year-old Swede who is as fast on his skates as his name implies. He’s the second line’s right-winger and quite the lady’s man. He’s been eye-fucking our waitress since she first came to take our orders, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be going home with her at the end of the night.
Finally, Baden Oulett, our backup goalie, is to my right. Weirdly, he’s perhaps the steadiest and most reliable member of our team as a whole. He plays second fiddle to one of the best goalies ever, our own Legend Bay. It means Baden has to be in prime condition at all times, ready to step on the ice at a moment’s notice and expected to play at a level equal to or greater than Legend. It’s a huge responsibility for a backup goalie—the pressure to perform is immense. While Legend took the vast majority of games this season and was never injured—knock on wood—Baden guarded the net on several occasions and was quite remarkable earning a .927 save percentage by the end of the season. It meant our team was formidable because we had a goalie who could easily carry us through should something happen to Legend, which was a commodity many teams would kill for.
These are my new buds, the singles, who I hang with while my closest friends enjoy the harmony of monogamy and true love.
I can’t help but snort, because while I’m happy for my friends, it’s not something I really aspire to attain.
I mean… one day, sure. When I’m retired from the game, and I’m ready to settle down. Until then, I get all the willing pussy I could ever want, answer to no one, and have the best friends in the world. Who could want more than that?
Looking to my left, I ask Kane, “You finally all settled in?”
The poor dude had to make a move across the country right at the start of the playoffs just two months ago. It has been non-stop practices, team meetings, travel, and games since. He’d been basically living out of boxes.
But now we’ve had a few weeks since the championship game for everyone to get settled into the off-season.
Kane nods. “Finally got everything unpacked, but I still have an entire room full of cardboard boxes I’ve got to take to the dump at some point.”
Kane lives just a block from me in another condo unit downtown, so I offer, “Let me know when you want to do it, and I’ll help. We can load it all up in the back of my truck.”
“Or bring it to my house,” Jim interjects. “We can burn that shit in the backyard while we drink beers.”
“Pretty sure there’s a perpetual burning ban in the southwest,” Baden points out. “You’d get arrested.”
Jim grins and shrugs. “Hey… what happens in the off-season, stays in the off-season.”
“Tell that to Dominik.” I give Jim a pointed look. “You’ll find yourself on the fast track to play in the Siberian league.”
While it’s true our esteemed owner is equal parts generous and giving to his team, he also demands excellence on all fronts. Having his players arrested for any reason would not sit well with him.
Of course, I suppose it all worked out for Tacker. He got arrested for drunk driving, but Dominik made him jump through some pretty tall hoops to stay with the team, one of which was mandatory counseling.
Tacker’s my best friend, head and shoulders above the rest. We played together in Dallas, and luckily, we reunited on the Vengeance. But there were hard times in between, most notably Tacker losing his fiancée in a plane crash while he was piloting. If anyone had reason to spin out of control, ending up driving drunk and crashing his truck, it was him.
Luckily, that’s behind him. He battled through it with the help of counseling and falling in love with Nora. While there’s no wedding planned for them yet, I expect it’s just a matter of time.