Page 48 of Slapshot Summer
“Shit.”Josh dragged a hand over his jaw before pressing one of the buttons.“Hey, Herb.”
“What’s up, buttercup?”
“You called me.You tell me what’s up, buttercup.”
Lexi knew enough to understand Herb was his agent.She wriggled back to a fully upright position and looked away, as if it would give Josh a modicum of privacy for this conversation with his agent.Though she wasn’t looking at him, she felt tension radiating off him in waves.
“Got a call from the KHL,” Herb drawled.“They’re wondering if you’re interested in their offer or not.”
“I thought we agreed I’m not making any decisions until next week, when I’m not on vacation.”Irritation laced Josh’s tone.
“We did, son, but they’re pressing for a decision.They want you, but if you don’t want to play for them, they’ve got another choice, and they don’t want that guy to get away while they wait around for you to decide.”
Lexi could practicallyfeelthe happy bubbles that had been fizzing since this morning all pop at once and disappear into the ether like untethered helium balloons.
Josh’s jaw muscle pulsed, and he blew out an exasperated breath.“Have we heard fromanybodyelse?”
“Not a peep.”
“Fuck,” Josh mouthed.“Did you tell your KHL contact I’m on vacation?”
“I did,” came Herb’s patient voice.
“Then tell him you can’t reach me.I’m out on some fishing expedition in the middle of nowhere, and I won’t be back in communication until the end of week.”
A beat passed.“I’ll tell him.Can’t guarantee the offer will still be on the table when you return from yourfishing expedition, though.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
They hung up, and a charged silence hung in the air.Lexi wasn’t sure what, if anything, to say.“Are you okay?”she ventured lamely.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”He gave her a wan smile and squeezed her arm.
Josh had made it clear early on that he didn’t want to discuss his future while he was taking time off, so she hadn’t pushed.But now it seemed as though he needed a friend.She wanted to be that friend, should he be ready to let down his guard.
“If you play for the KHL,” she posed, “do you sign a contract for a long time?”
“They want three years.I wouldn’t hesitate if it was for a starting position with a North American team, but three years is a long time over there.”
It was a long time over here too.Wake up, Lexi.This is a fling, remember?Nothing more.
“Do you have other options?”
“You heard Herb.None.The thing is, even if I get offered abackupposition for a US or a Canadian team, I’m sitting on the bench for a huge chunk of the season.Theremightbe an AHL team that wants me, but chances are slim.They’re focused on developing the young guys.They want to get those players plenty of ice time so they can step into the NHL.At thirty-two, I’m too old to fit what they need.At least in the KHL, I’d be a starter and I’d get to play.”
She laced her hands in her lap.“Thirty-two is old?”
“Ancient in minor-league years,” he laughed bitterly.“In the Big League, we might be at our peak, but management looks at us like we’re chugging down the backside of that pinnacle.We’re the grizzled veterans, the old men.And it stings because I still have a lot left in the tank.I love this game, and I want to play as much as I can.”He let out an extended exhale.“I’m not done yet, but I do have a shelf life, and that expiration date gets closer every season.”
“It’s hard to believe that at thirty-two, you’re considered old.You certainly don’t act old.”
“You implying I’m immature?”His lips curved into a smirk.“You wouldn’t be wrong.”
“No, that wasn’t what I meant.”A blush heated her cheeks.
“What, then?”
“I was just thinking that youespeciallydon’t behave like an old man in the bedroom.That takes a lot of … athletic prowess.”No, his energy level was in the stratosphere.The man was a machine, all vigor and acrobatics and adventure.But she wasn’t complaining.Her inner Wanton Woman was flexing herself in ways Lexi had only ever heard of in Anna’s smutty books.
