Page 36 of Rise Above

tugging my jersey off. Blood soaked my chest hair. It had dried into my jersey and pants. Little flecks of blood had even found their way onto my skates. It was going to be hell to get it all out. Throwing a towel over my shoulder, I headed to the showers. I was ready for a hotel bed and then my own bed tomorrow.

“We won,” Chris, our captain, said. He placed a

hand on my shoulder. “You took a hook, and it earned us a goal. Will you be able to play next game?”

Nodding, I gave a thumbs up to my captain. A

minor tongue injury was nothing. I could still play with a fucked-up tongue. The warm water hit my skin, rinsing the blood away to the drain. The anxiety around my injury lingered, but I’d never admit that out loud. I wouldn’t admit the fear in possibly being sidelined either. Scrubbing soap and shampoo over myself, I finished my shower as quickly as possible and then threw my suit on. Finally, I turned my phone on. It lit up with a dozen notifications. Two texts caught my eye.

Davis: You okay?

86

Rise Above

Me: Yep. Thanks, man.

But there was one I was way more intrigued by. Aife: That looked like it hurt.

Aife: Are you alright? You never got back onto

the ice.

Me: They stitched up my tongue.

My phone lit up fairly quickly.

Aife: Your tongue? Holy crap, TJ. I’ve had

stitches but never there.

A smile pulled on my lips as I followed my team

out of the door and to the hotel. We’d been texting every day since I got her number, and Aife was witty. She always said things that piqued my curiosity, and I couldn’t wait for our Saturday hang out.

Me: Yeah, shit sucked.

Aife: Ew! Does it hurt?

This woman had so much compassion and empathy.

It truly stunned me. People never asked about my pain, just assumed I was fine because I was a big, bad hockey player.

Me: Like a bitch.

Me: How many stitches have you had? Aife: A lot. Night TJ.

Me: Night, Aife. See you Saturday.

87

Rise Above

My alarm blared, pulling a groan from my lips. My

eyes hurt, and my whole body hurt worse than the day before. And my tongue really fucking hurt. It was a lot less swollen, but it was still a little difficult to talk. None of that mattered though because it was Saturday. Aife had agreed to spend the entire day with me. Maybe she was as intrigued by me as I was by her. I just wanted to get to know her, and I really couldn’t explain why. It went beyond basic attraction.

Sighing, I rolled out of bed and got dressed. Nerves