Author's Note:
Thank you all so much for the positive response to the first part of this new story! One quick thing before we get started with part two: Since some of you asked about timing, I'm aiming to put out each new part somewhere in the neighborhood of two weeks to a month after its predecessor. Please keep in mind that this is my goal, but as the saying goes, life happens (I work full time and have a toddler, so my life is chaos). I'm also working on a story for the annual Valentine's Day contest, so that will likely pop up at some point in between installments.
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Quite Contrary - Part 2
"Mack! Get your head outta your ass and shoot!"
Jamie growled irritably at his coach's reprimand. The team was practicing power play formations, and he'd been trying to set up scoring chances for the others on the unit rather than just sending bombs from the blue line every time he got the puck. He usually played the point when the Bruins had an extra attacker and used the position to quarterback the man advantage.
Seeking to wordlessly illustrate his objection to his coach's logic, he wound his stick back and sent the puck rocketing toward Kurt Dennison, the goaltender, as soon as Kai passed it back to him. It ricocheted off of his left pad and went careening back into the neutral zone, forcing the power play unit to regroup to avoid being offside.
"Cute, Mack," Coach Jack Hanson grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Very cute. Alright, you've made your point."
Jamie smirked to himself as his unit changed out. It wasn't every day that his coach deferred to his judgment, and he'd take it when he could get it.
Taking a seat on the bench as the secondary power play unit leapt over the boards, he checked the time on the scoreboard clock. It was almost two-thirty, when Mary had said she'd arrive, and nervous excitement bubbled up in his gut. He felt like a teenager again, anxiously scanning the crowd at one of his high school games to see if his crush had turned up to watch him play.
A sharp tweet of his coach's whistle snapped him to attention and he charged back onto the ice. Mika, who was playing on the penalty kill unit for the drill, blocked a pass and sent the puck skittering toward the boards. Jamie went after it, tussling with one of the other penalty killers to gain control. As he freed it and looked up for an open passing lane, he saw a figure sitting down in the stands and smiled when he recognized her soft blonde hair and striking grey eyes.
BAM
His breath escaped his lungs as Mika checked him hard into the boards, stealing the puck and clearing it.
"The fuck, Saari?" Jamie moaned, rubbing his shoulder as Coach Hanson signaled the end of the drill.
Mika chuckled. "If you pay more attention to the game and less to pretty girls, you will see those checks coming," the captain teased him, inclining his head in Mary's direction.
Jamie couldn't argue with that.
The rest of practice was relatively uneventful, though he was ever conscious of Mary's attention. She seemed to be enjoying herself, watching the drills intently with a keen, analytic eye like a true student of the game.
When Coach Hanson finally dismissed the team for the afternoon, Jamie skated over to the bench and motioned for Mary to come closer.
"Hey!" he greeted her with a wide grin. "You enjoy watching our practice?"
"Definitely," she replied, leaning on the railing separating the stands from the bench and tunnel leading down to the locker room. "It's fascinating to see what goes into things behind the scenes and how you all prepare for games."
"Should I be worried about you sending a scouting report up to Montreal?" he teased.
She snapped her fingers. "Aw, darn! You saw through my plot! I'm a terrible spy."
"You're a really cute spy, though," he replied.
"At least I've got something going for me, eh?" she laughed.
It wasn't long before Niko noticed Jamie lingering at the bench and skated over to investigate.
"Hi!" he greeted the visitor enthusiastically, a knowing grin firmly on his face. "You must be Mary. I'm Niko."
Mary reached over the railing to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Yammer!" Niko called over his shoulder across the rink at Kai. "Get over here! Mack brought a date to practice!"
Jamie fought the urge to bury his face in his palm as Mary laughed. "You said you were gonna behave yourself, Niko."
"Pft," the centerman scoffed. "When do I ever do that?"
Rolling his eyes at his friend, he extended a hand to Mary. "Here, let me help you down to the bench so you can lace up."
"You gonna skate a few laps?" Niko inquired.
"Mhm," Mary confirmed as she clambered over the railing with Jamie's assistance. "I'm not the best skater in the world, but I can at least go forward and in a circle without falling. Might still need Jamie to hold my hand just to be safe, though," she added, her grey eyes twinkling.
A goofy grin crept over Jamie's face.
"What're you shouting about, Niko?" Kai inquired as he skidded to a stop along the boards in front of the group.
Niko gestured wordlessly to their guest, who had taken a seat on the bench and was toeing her street shoes off.
Kai smiled. "Hi there! You must be Mack's girlfriend."
Jamie felt molten dread fill his gut as panic consumed him. He and Mary hadn't yet put a label on whatever it was they were doing, and he was terrified that she'd reject him or think they were moving too fast.
He
liked the idea of referring to her as his girlfriend, but he had no idea how she felt about the term.
Mary just smiled at Kai and didn't correct him, pausing her efforts to pull on her skates to shake his hand over the boards. "I'm Mary, nice to meet you."
"Kai. Love your shirt," he complimented her, gesturing to the black band tee she was wearing beneath an unzipped Cornell hoodie. "You listen to X Japan?"
"Mhm," she confirmed. "They're amazing. They're like if heavy metal and Kabuki actors had a baby."
Kai laughed at that. "I hadn't thought about it like that, but yeah, they kinda are. My dad's Japanese and I grew up listening to them. You picked well, Mack," he added, sending a wink Jamie's way.
Jamie remained silent, still having an internal freak-out about relationship labels.
"We'll give you a bit to get your skates on and then join you guys for a few laps, yeah?" Niko suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Mary concurred.
As Kai and Niko skated off, Jamie nervously sat down next to her on the bench. "Um... sorry... they're just... yeah..."
