Chapter Three
MAVERICK
Igot dropped off at the arena and went into the locker room.
First one there, as always.
I sat and took deep breaths as I began to put on my pads and gear up for practice.
I always did that.
Sitting alone, earbuds in, music on, thinking about ice hockey.
My entire life and world revolved around it… always had. And it always would.
My goal was to be the best goalie in the league.
I was pretty damn close to it.
There was no better feeling than coming out of the net when an opposing player had a breakaway. Taking that second or two to look into their eyes and sense their fear. Knowing that a breakaway was a one-on-one chance to show off their skills.
Except they were going against me.
I knew all the moves and I knew where to be to block any shot.
Sometimes if I felt ballsy, I’d go after the player and poke the puck away from them.
That’s all I thought about.
Picturing shot after shot coming at me.
How to keep my five-hole closed up. How to protect the posts. How to keep the top shelf - left and right - protected.
And how to have the intense awareness of where the puck was at all times.
When everyone crashed the net, it was easy to lose sight.
That’s why a lot of coaches told players to just shoot the puck.
Sometimes the dirtiest shot ended up as a goal because you never knew where the puck would end up going.
The locker room door opened and in came Remi, leading the team.
I took my earbuds out.
“I thought I could, you know, cut the letter of her first name, you know?” Lay asked Riff.
“No, I don’t know,” Riff said. “I’ve never tried to slice up my pubes to impress a woman before.”
“Do I want to know about this?” I called out.
“Yeah, you do,” Lay said. “Let me show you what I tried to do here.”
Lay pulled his shirt up and pushed the front of his jeans down.
Reid lunged at Lay, tackling him from the side, taking him down to the floor.
“Keep your dick in your pants!” Reid shouted.