The Enforcer (32 page)

“Well, hey, I’m not stopping you. Did you kiss him? I want details.”

“Yeah, he kissed me when he dropped me off after lunch. It was nice.” It
was
nice, but Zoe wanted toe curling. Maybe it was just because it was a first kiss, or that is was a daytime date, but there was just no heat.

“Nice? Oh Zoe, that doesn’t sound like a great first kiss. Maybe you were just feeling guilty, so you weren’t into it. See how tonight goes and roll with it.” Lacey knew Zoe wanted a guy around, but she shouldn’t settle if she didn’t feel it.

As soon as the boys took the ice for warm ups, the crowd started cheering. Vlad was the first to come out. Feeling nervous, but excited, he immediately went over to his crease and skated side to side to shave off some ice. Goaltenders didn’t like their crease to be too smooth.

Directly behind the goal, a fan was holding up a sign that read, “The Impaler’s gonna getcha!” Some of the fans had taken to calling Vlad ‘The Implaler’ since he shared his name with Dracula. Vlad preferred to think it was because he had a mean poke check – one of the best in the NHL.

Jody purposefully waited to take the ice until he heard the crowd booing Grayson. He knew they would-it was a sure thing. It was just something extra he wanted to do for the team by getting the fans even more riled up. Most fans loved the thought of their players getting in some scraps, and that was
one
of the reasons Jody was there.

When Jody stepped on the ice, Grayson pointed his stick right at him. The crowd booed Grayson again, but when Jody waved his stick in the air, acknowledging the fans, the crowd went wild.
Oh, we’re going to be dropping gloves tonight, Dick.

It wasn’t Jody’s habit to actively seek out an opponent to fight. He mostly saved his fists for defending the guys when it was necessary, but he’d make an exception for Grayson.
Could be a hell of a way to start the game.

The players didn’t often notice the individual fans standing at the glass when they were on the ice, but they did try to throw some pucks over the glass during warm ups. Jody looked around for a worthy kid and caught his number on a sign right at center ice. Signs were typically made for the captain or some other player the girls drooled over, not him. The sign read, “Can I take you for a test drive, 45?” His eyes widened in surprise. He looked at the sign holder. When he saw how cute she was, he gave her the sweetest smile and mouthed, “
anytime
.”

Lacey decided to have some fun with Jody. On the way to the arena, she asked Gary to stop at the drug store, where she bought a piece of poster board and a black marker. She made her sign in the parking lot at the arena.

She often went down to the glass to watch warm ups before a game. Most people weren’t in their seats yet, so it was rarely a problem to stand there.

While she waited for Jody to notice her, not entirely sure if he would, she gave Grayson dirty looks. She knew those two were going to drop gloves sometime during the game. Lacey loved to see the tough guys throw punches, but she wasn’t quite as blood thirsty now that she was dating one of the guys who could be on the receiving end of those punches. She didn’t know if she could watch someone hit her Jody.

Grayson had seen Jody and Lacey’s interaction and decided to use LaGrange’s chick as bait. Grayson was weak when it came to smack talk, and he knew it. He let it get to him too much. He’d faced LaGrange several times over his ten years of switching from team to team. They were about even in fighting wins and losses, LaGrange maybe having the upper hand. Jody wasn’t affected by smack talk. He just told Grayson to ‘shut it’ or ‘piss off’ and followed up with a haymaker. Not tonight. Tonight, Grayson was going to push Jody’s buttons.

Jody saw Dick skate over to try and flirt with Lacey. He didn’t cross the center line (which they were not supposed to do during warm ups), but he came damn close. Jody saw red, but when he looked back at Lacey, he was gratified to see her flipping Grayson off. Oh, he loved his girl! Jody shot a puck up at the glass in front of her, smiling when she jumped, and then went back to warming up.

Grayson is such a prick
, Lacey thought,
I hope Jody beats the tar out of him.

With nachos and beer in hand (extra jalapenos, thank you), Lacey was ready to teach Gary all about the excitement that was hockey. Gary was an apt student. To be totally honest, Lacey thought he was only excited because Aidan loved the game, but he was still a great listener.

“Okay. I understand what a faceoff is, and I’m pretty sure I understand forechecking and backchecking, but how is boarding different than checking?” It was a common question. Boarding was sometimes questionable, and sometimes very blatant, and of course, sometimes the ref would call a boarding penalty, and sometimes not.

“Okay Gar, boarding is basically a player checking someone against the boards,
but
the player being hit is in a dangerous position, which usually results in their head hitting the glass or boards. A boarding call can carry a major or minor penalty, depending on the aggressiveness and any resulting injury. If a boarding call is viewed as intentional, it can be reviewed by the War Room in Toronto and result in a one or multi-game suspension, depending on the hitting player’s history.”

“Okay. Let’s leave it there for now and see how the game goes.” Gary was a bit overwhelmed, but he knew he would still enjoy the game. Lacey was a great teacher, and he felt comfortable asking her questions.

Zoe finally walked into the suite with Sebastian, and introductions were made.

“Ready for some hockey, Sebastian?” Lacey asked him. She never heard his answer. The lights went down, and the music blared.

The arena was so loud; they couldn’t even hear the announcers introducing the players. Pre-season or not, these fans were ready for some hockey! When Lacey saw the goalies on the ice, she asked Zoe, “Is that Vlad? How the hell do you say his last name?” She’d never asked, and it was spelled Bejsiuk.

Zoe chuckled, “Not like it’s spelled. It’s Bay-schick. The ‘j’ is silent.” Zoe had always thought it was a great name.

Lacey turned to Gary. “Hockey players have cool names. We’ve got Russians, Ukrainians, Fins, Swedes, Canadians, Czechs and even some Americans. It’s fun learning how to say them. Some are easy, but a lot are not.”

After the anthem was sung, it was time for some hockey.

“Wooooooooo! Let’s go Scorpions!!” Lacey was pumped.

Zoe covered her ears and glared at her. “Come on, Lace, save some for the rest of the game.”

Lacey was a beast when she watched hockey. Everyone thought Zoe was the wild one, but put Lacey in front of a hockey game, and she put her to shame.

“Can’t help it, Zoe. It’s in my blood. Blame it on my father. When you grow up with a father who coaches hockey, you tend to live and breathe it.” Gary smiled at her and started yelling right along with her. Aidan and Zoe rolled their eyes good-naturedly at each other.

As the game progressed, it became increasingly obvious that Vlad’s head was not in the game. In the middle of the second period, with a score of Sharks five, Scorpions one, Vlad was pulled, and Booker went in. On his way off the ice, Vlad pounded his stick on the ice so hard it broke.

“Shit. I think that’s my fault,” Zoe said, biting her bottom lip.

Lacey bumped Zoe’s shoulder. “Zoe, how can that be your fault? Vlad’s just not having a good game, that’s all.”

“Seb wanted to go down to the glass and watch warm ups. We wound up near Vlad’s net, and he saw us. Let’s just say he wasn’t overjoyed to see me with Seb.”

“That’s a shame, but what are you supposed to do? Never date again? Are you going to hide from Vlad?”

“Fuck, I don’t know. I feel bad, and I’m sick of it. I don’t want to feel guilty every time I see Vlad.”

Sebastian was on his way back from the restroom so Lacey spoke fast. “So stop feeling guilty. He got pulled because he sucks tonight. It happens. He’ll figure it out and come back next game.” Lacey handed Zoe another beer. “Here, drink and be merry.”

Zoe smiled as she took the offered beer, and then she stole Lacey’s nachos, too. “You’re right. Thanks, Lace.”

It was almost time for Jody to make a statement. Coach wanted him to mix things up when they had about five minutes left to go in the second, but Jody was having a hard time getting Grayson to drop his gloves.
Guess I’ll have to take a run at Volku. We’ll see if he lets me check one of their goal scorers.
It had to be a clean hit, though, or he’d be taken off the ice before getting the chance to go a round with Grayson.

Volku got the puck, and Jody checked him hard into the boards. It was a clean hit – thank god – and Volku went down. That’s all it took.

Grayson came rushing over, dropping his gloves on the way. “You win douchebag, let’s go.”

“Took you long enough, Dick. You’re even more of a pussy than usual tonight.”

As they circled each other, Dick kept talking. “Saw your new chick, LaGrange. A little cheap looking, but I guess her legs spread well enough.”

Jody was going to destroy him. He threw his stick down, dropped his gloves and removed his helmet. “Take your fucking helmet off, asshole.”

Grayson obliged and got into a fighting stance. Jody quickly grabbed Grayson’s jersey and delivered half a dozen quick rabbit punches to his face.

Shaking off his elbow protector, Grayson pulled back and got in a direct hit to Jody’s left eye, drawing blood.