Page 10 of Traded

“So…” Carter rubs his neck and glances at me, his face still drawn into a deep frown. “Looks like we’re going to be sharing the Furnace with the Aces this season.”

The room goes silent. And thenerupts.

“Quiet!” Liam bellows, and I wince. He squeezes lightly in apology. “Shut the hell up and pay attention.”

“Look.” Carter exhales. “I’m as pissed about this as all of you. But we have a job to do, and that’s what we’re focusing on. So I don’t want anyone fucking with them. We arenotgonna be the problem here. Our eyes are on the playoffs, andnowhere else. Understood?”

The grumbles increase, but a few heads nod.

“Good.” Carter points. “You’ve got five minutes, and then I want all of you on the ice.”

A ruckus erupts, stragglers yanking on skates and grabbing sticks.

“What’d I miss?” I twist to see Jonas. He tosses his gel onto the bench and looks around. His hair is set carefully away from his face, not a strand out of place. “You didn’t do the thing already, right?”

I shake my head. Liam’s muttered explanation has his mouth dropping open. “Shit. Carter’s gonna lose his mind.”

“We’ve already seen Boone.” I burrow back into Liam, unashamedly hiding myself in his chest. “Upstairs.”

“And?” Liam asks. He tugs lightly on my hair.

I tilt my face to look up at him. “Went about as well as you’d expect.”

“Jesus,” Jonas mutters. “What a shitshow.”

“Alright, line up!”

I tap on Liam’s arm in a silent request for freedom. “I’m up.”

This might be the dorkiest superstition in NPHL history, but the sight of twentymassivehockey players shuffling to form a polite queue always has me biting my cheek to stave off laughter.

It might be the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. “So… May this season bring us all the good things. Good luck, good chirps, good vibes, good pucks, and may every opponentaccidentallyhit a board atleastonce.”

Cheers fill the locker room.

I start laughing when Ryker holds up his jersey hopefully, only to kiss my cheek with a smack when I brush my wrist against it. “You know this makes me feel like the team mascot, right?”

“Nah, you’re much prettier than Atlas. Don’t tell him I said that.” Ryker winks before he heads out, Ethan shoving him away and taking his place.

The center offers his jersey solemnly, and I press my finger to the very edge of his sleeve. “Katie’s still coming tonight, right?”

He rolls his eyes before shrugging it on. “As if you haven’t been coordinating outfits.”

We might have matching legwarmers in the Titans colors. I keep my face innocent. “I plead the fifth.”

And so it continues, until the locker room only has three players left. My favorite ones.

Carter steps up and presses his lips to my neck instead of waiting for me to touch his jersey like everyone else. He presses the material against the other side of my neck instead, dragging it slowly down my throat.

“Captain’s privileges,” he murmurs. “I get the scent straight from the source.”

I swat him away as Liam and Jonas follow his lead, Liam brushing my cheek with his thumb before tugging his own jerseyon. “You,Carter Reynolds, are supposed to be with Elena right now, getting your shoulder checked. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

“Meeting messed with the schedule.” Carter shrugs. “I’ll see her later.”

The knock on the door has me raising a brow. “See? Elena only works to Elena’s schedule. Now she’s hunting you down like prey.”

He blanches.