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“I fucking hate getting my fucking picture taken. Waste of fucking time and I always look like I’m lit. Where the fuck do they get these fucking idiots?”
Brody slammed his butt down on the bench and grabbed his skates out of his locker. Justin had just gotten off the bench to head down the hall to the ice but figured he’d wait for Brody. The guy had had a bad couple of days and, as his linemate, Justin figured it was in his best interest to calm him down.
He understood that most of Brody’s frustration was because he was still here in Reading and he couldn’t blame the guy. If Justin had been playing up, he wouldn’t want to be sent down. It had to suck that he hadn’t gotten called back up yet.
“You okay? I mean, I get why you’d be upset that someone hadn’t captured your true beauty but...”
Brody took a deep breath before shaking his head and giving Justin what seemed to be an apologetic look.
“I’m fine. I’ve got my shit together today. Friday was...my bad.”
Friday’s game had sucked for them. Unlike the first game they’d played together, two nights ago, their game had sucked.
“Not all your fault.” Justin shrugged. “I wasn’t up to par either.”
“Nah, you were fine, man. Maybe I just need to get laid.”
“Can’t help you with that. Although I know some of the guys are going out tonight.”
“But not you.”
Justin shrugged. “Nah, I’m going to Viv’s after the game.”
“Good for you. She’s hot. She have a sister?”
“Yeah, but she’s dating Riley Hatch.”
Brody huffed. “No shit. Well, that figures. Just my luck.”
“Let’s go see if we can change your luck on the ice, at least.”
Brody stood, shaking his head. “You’re an honest-to-god boy scout, aren’t you, Perry?”
Justin shrugged off the implied insult. It wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever been called. “You gotta work harder if you wanna make me mad, dude. Besides, I’m the one going home with the hottest girl in the arena.”
Brody rolled his eyes but his smile was a little more genuine. “Good for you.”
“Brody, you in there? Please still be in there.”
Jess Gardiner’s voice carried through the locker room from the hall and the trepidation in her voice made Brody’s eyes close in frustration.
Justin had to bite his tongue not to answer in Brody’s place. If the guy wanted to ignore her, Justin didn’t blame him. He’d heard that tone in Jess’s voice before and knew Brody probably wasn’t going to like what she had to say. Jess needed something from him.
And while Justin considered leaving the guy to fend for himself, they were linemates. Enough said.
“Yeah, I’m here.” Brody sighed. “Come on in.”
Dressed as she always was on game days in a skirt and heels that left no doubt as to why Will was considered a very lucky man, Jess strode into the locker room with an expression that made Justin wince and Brody roll his eyes.
“I am so, so sorry and I know this is a total hassle and you hate it and it sucks but we need to retake the shot. I just need you to stand against the wall and let me get one with my phone.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I need to get out on the ice. I’m not—” Brody cut himself off and Justin could tell he was taking a mental time-out. “Fine.”
Stomping over to the nearest section of bare wall, he stood there as Jess whipped out her phone and snapped a half dozen shots.
Then she gave Brody a thumbs-up and he stomped off toward the ice.
Jess stood there, shaking her head, while her thumbs tapped away on her screen.
“Don’t ever hire anyone’s nephew,” Jess muttered when she noticed Justin was still standing there. “Totally not worth it. Jesus, I need just one good shot.”
He took a second, considered his options carefully. Vivi had told him not to say anything to Jess. That she would ask Jess about a job herself. But Jess needed help.
“Uh, I may have a lead for you for your photography issues.”
Her head popped up immediately. “I will love you forever if your tip pans out.”
He smiled even as he thought better about telling her. But he’d come this far already.
“Vivi Martin. She’s with Sophie tonight. She’s amazing. But, uh, could you not tell her I mentioned her name?”
“How did I not know Vivi was a photographer?” Jess shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll stop by and talk to her after the first period. Thanks, Justin. I appreciate the heads-up. And I’ll make sure she doesn’t know you told me.”
Famous last words, he thought as he finally headed for the ice.
*****
“Derek told me you took some amazing photos of Justin. Why haven’t I seen them?”
The buzzer had sounded for the end of the first period and Vivi had finally stopped cheering as the last guy left the ice.
The Redtails were up by a goal and the team had played great. Justin had had a few chances on net but none had gone in. But he’d blocked a shot in front of Kyle that made him limp back to the bench. Of course, he’d been back out on the ice for his next shift. She had a feeling he’d have a couple more black-and-blue marks to add to his already huge collection.
Now she turned to Sophie, who looked at her with her hands on her hips, tapping a foot.
Vivi grinned at her expression and shook her head.
“Because I didn’t take them for anyone but Justin.”
“But Justin showed them to Derek so you know he won’t care if you show them to me.”
Since Justin had told her explicitly that she could use the photos in her portfolio, if she ever actually made one, she figured she could show Sophie.
Besides, she wanted someone to give her an opinion other than Justin’s obviously biased one. Justin thought everything she did was amazing. While it was good for her ego, it didn’t help her view her work critically.
At least she’d be able to tell from Sophie’s expression what she thought of the pictures. Sophie had no filter for her face. Or her mouth.
Pulling out her phone, Vivi pulled up the file with all of her pictures of Justin then handed it over to her friend.
Sophie’s mouth dropped open as she swiped through and Vivi’s widened with a smile.
“Holy shit, Viv, these are amazing.”
“Thanks. But I can’t take all the credit. Justin’s totally photogenic.”
“No, that’s not— Well, I mean, yeah, the guy does not break the camera but, Viv, these aren’t just snapshots that turned out really well. They’re amazing.”
“What’s amazing?”
Vivi turned to s Leah Wilson, sitting behind her. The Redtails’ new goalie’s girlfriend was one of those people who just exuded zen. It made total sense that she was a yoga instructor. Leah and Sophie knew each other because Sophie occasionally took classes at Leah’s studio.
Really small world.
“Vivi’s pictures are what’s amazing.” Sophie continued to scroll through the shots. “Here. Look.”
Sophie handed over Vivi’s phone to Leah then propped a hand on her hip and gave Vivi a look.
“What?” Vivi asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What are you going to do with these?” Sophie’s attitude came through loud and clear. “Because you really need to do something with these.”
“Like what?”
“Wow, Vivi.” Leah’s voice held awe. “I will pay you to take photos of Kyle like this. Seriously. I will drug him and sneak you into the bedroom if I have to. Have you considered doing promotional art? I know my boss has been wanting to get photos taken for the studio. I can give you her number if you’re interested?”
Vivi’s heart started to pound, a weird kind of panic settling in her chest. But also a little bit of excitement.
“You really think these pictures are that good? I mean, Justin can’t help but take a good photo—”
“Oh, don’t even do that.” Sophie cut her off with a waved hand. “Yes, Justin is nice to look at, but you took the photos and made them,” she made jazz hands, “art.”
Well, damn. That definitely pushed aside some of the stupid panic and let the excitement build.
Justin hadn’t mentioned the photos since Friday and she got why. She’d basically blown him off when he’d told her she should do something with her photography skills.
Now...
“Jess! Hey, Jess. Come look at these.”
Vivi turned to see the team’s marketing manager and Will’s girlfriend headed up the steps toward them. Jess was a little older than her and, though Vivi would never admit it, kind of intimidated her. Not that Jess did it deliberately. Jess just had that kind of personality. Like she had all her shit together.
Which made Vivi doubly aware that she did not.
Leah passed Vivi’s phone into Jess’s outstretched hand. Her face showed no expression as she scrolled through the images. But when she looked up at Vivi, she grinned.
“Have you ever considered a position in the marketing department of an AHL hockey team? As it turns out, we have an opening and you’d actually be doing me a favor if you took it. Starting immediately.”
Vivi’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”
Jess nodded. “As a heart attack. I had an intern up to about two hours ago when I told him he wasn’t going to work out. He was way too much trouble. Never on time, no idea what he was doing. Plus, he was a college kid and we had to work around his class schedule. I don’t want to get your expectations up because the job won’t pay much and it’d be part-time to start. But the GM has been promising me an assistant for months and now I’m going to hold him to his word.”
Vivi didn’t know what to say. There was a little voice in the back of her head saying, “Don’t be a fool, take the job.” There was another little voice trying to outshout the other voice that said, “Nothing is ever this easy. Jobs just don’t fall into your lap like this.”
“I don’t know what to say,” was what she finally forced out of her mouth.
“Don’t say anything.” Jess handed her phone back. “Think about it for a couple days. Let me know this week. But if you decide not to take me up on the job, I’ll pay you to take photos of Will.” She leaned in close so no one else could hear them. “That man’s ass is a work of art.”
Then she waved and headed back down the stairs. “Gotta check on a suite of dental hygienists.”
Leaving Vivi blinking in shock.
“What just happened?” She turned to Sophie. “Did she really just offer me a job? Out of the blue?”
Sophie’s grin widened. “I’m pretty sure that’s what just happened, yeah.”
“How does she even know I can do the job?”
“Oh please. She saw your photos. They speak for themselves.”
“Or Justin said something to her.”
A frown erased Sophie’s grin. “Would that matter?”
“I told him not to.”
“Viv, Jess wouldn’t haven’t offered you a job if she didn’t think you could do it. Seriously. She’s probably not in the habit of giving jobs to players’ girlfriends, like, ever.”
Shit. She hadn’t thought about it that way. And Sophie was right. Why would it matter?
Except that Jamie had wanted her to be something she wasn’t. Her ex had tried to make her into the perfect girlfriend for a future NFL player. Blond. Always smiling. Perfectly dressed with the right amount of cleavage on display.
She’d let him do it. And when he’d left, she’d told herself she’d never allow another man to dictate how she looked or acted or what she did. She refused to be molded into something she wasn’t.
Do you really think that’s what Justin is doing?
No, she didn’t. But then she didn’t know him that well. Even though they’d been sharing a bed and their bodies every day for the past week.
Smiling, Vivi shook her head. “No, you’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’m just being stupid.”
“So you’re going to talk to Jess about the job, right?”
“I’d be stupid not to.”
But that little voice nagged in the back of her brain for the rest of the night.
*****
The third period had been brutal.
They’d had to carry two guys off the ice, one from each team, after a blind, mid-ice collision.
Brody had nailed one of the Laval players against the boards so hard, they’d had to stop play to fix the glass. At least that guy had limped away under his own steam.
Derek and the Laval’s enforcer had gotten into it after a dirty hit on Robbie had left the younger guy on all fours shaking his head. Hopefully, the kid wouldn’t have a concussion.
Will had ice packed around his thigh from blocking one of the hardest shots in the league. Justin’s ribs ached from a not-so-accidental elbow when Laval had pulled their goalie and crashed the Redtails net to try to tie the game. And CJ’s left eye was definitely going to be swollen shut by tomorrow after taking a puck in the face.
But they’d won and were one game closer to the playoffs.
Coach had already given his post-game talk and ended with “Get a good night’s sleep. See you tomorrow afternoon at practice.”
More than a few muted groans echoed through the locker room, which made Coach grin on his way out. When he was gone, Justin released the air he’d been holding in and let his head hang as he tried to breathe through the pain in his side.
“Hey, man, you really need to have the trainer check you out, make sure you don’t have cracked ribs.” Derek tapped his leg as he headed for the showers. “I saw McKechnie get in that cheap shot.”
“I’m fine.” At least he thought he was fine, though his ribs hurt like he’d been hit by a tank. “Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t cure.”
“So you’re not going home with Vivi then.” Will had his head tilted back and his eyes closed. “Guess I’ll be on nursemaid duty.”
“Maybe we can get you a little nurse’s uniform?” Derek called out over his shoulder. “You’d look so cute.”
“Shove it, Flaherty.” Will shook his head then watched with one eye until Derek had disappeared. “But he’s right. You need to be checked out.”
Justin didn’t say anything as Will got up and followed the steady stream of guys to the locker room.
Closing his eyes, Justin let himself sit and breathe for a few seconds. At least, he tried. Damn, his side hurt.
“Don’t be idiot. You need to see the doctor.”
Cracking open his eyes, Justin sighed up at Jake, standing over him. “It’s not that bad.”
Jake’s eyebrows arched. “Then stand.”
Justin thought about it, thought about exactly how much it would hurt. And then seriously considered giving Jake the finger. Yeah, okay, he was in a lot of pain. But if he went to the team doc, there was a really good chance the guy would bench him. And Justin didn’t want to be benched.
He planted his feet and put his hands on his knees and stood. “I’m fi—”
Searing pain flashed through his body like he’d been electrocuted, stealing his breath and forcing him back down onto the bench.
“Yes. I see that. Stay down. I get Dunnie.”
Dunnie was the trainer.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
Half an hour later, the orthopedic doctor on call had declared his rib bruised, not broken or cracked, but he’d told him not to practice tomorrow and maybe Tuesday. They’d reevaluate then.
Which sucked.
“Shit.”
“Damn, it must be bad if you are swearing.” Jake stepped into the doorway then leaned against the wall. “You okay?”
Justin sighed and shook his head then contradicted himself. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just bruised.”
“Good to hear. You want me to tell Vivi you are ready to leave?”
“She’s waiting?”
“Yes.”
He felt better already. He’d told Will to tell Vivi what was going on and that he’d text her later. It made his chest tight to find out she hadn’t listened to him.
“I guess your injury does not hurt that much. Just remember what the doctor told you. No calisthenics. I believe sex falls in that category.”
Justin continued to grin, not about to respond to that. “Hey, man, thanks for staying. I appreciate the moral support.”
Jake shrugged. “I have been in your position. I know it sucks.”
True. Jake had been on the bench for months.
“But,” Jake continued, “I will miss you tomorrow at practice.”
Carefully getting off the exam table in the trainer’s office, Justin sucked in a breath at the fresh burst of pain but smiled at Jake’s statement.
“Yeah, I heard you’d be back tomorrow. Glad to hear it.”
“Yes, I am as well. Now, I am going home. And so should you.”
Yeah, he knew he should. Go home and go to bed. Alone. But he didn’t want to be alone.
Walking into the hall, he saw Vivi right away. She’d been seated on a folding chair near the entrance to the locker room, typing on her phone, but her head popped up the second he appeared.
Hopping to her feet, she closed the few feet between them, her eyes wide and her expression concerned.
“Hey. Derek said you got hurt. Are you okay? What happened? Was it that hit in the last period? That guy totally should’ve gotten a penalty for that.”
He smiled despite the pain. He’d refused to take the Percoset the doctor had wanted to give him, instead relying only on the prescription-strength Advil. When the doctor had given him a look, he’d told him his family had a history of addiction issues. The older guy had nodded and not said another word, just handed him a bottle and patted him on the shoulder.
Justin knew it wouldn’t completely mask the pain but he wasn’t willing to put himself in a position where he could be...compromised. He’d deal with it. He always did.
“I’m okay. Ribs aren’t broken, just bruised.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You look like they’re not only broken but poking through your skin. Do you have anything for the pain?”
“Yeah. The doc gave me some Advil—”
“Is that all? He didn’t give you anything stronger?”
“I don’t need anything stronger.”
She frowned, hard, little lines appearing between her forehead. “If you could see your face right now, you might think twice about that.”
He could imagine. Walking wasn’t helping and he’d begun to wonder how he was going to drive home without passing out. Derek had wanted to stay and drive him but he’d told D he was meeting Vivi and his friend had just assumed she’d take care of him.
“I’m not taking anything stronger. Just not happening.”
The tone of his voice must have told her more than his words did because, after a second, she nodded.
“Fine. But I don’t think you should drive. I’ll take you home.”
“Okay, thanks. I think—” he hissed in a breath through his teeth as his next step forward made his ribs protest, “—that would be a good idea.”
They didn’t say anything else as they headed for the exit, Vivi watching him like a hawk but not touching him, knowing it would probably hurt like hell if she did. Which it would.
But once they reached the door, he had to ask.
“How far is your car?”
Her nose wrinkled in a totally adorable way that he could still appreciate even through the pain.
“I’m parked like two blocks away. You wait here. I’ll get it and pick you up.”
“No, I’ll walk.” What he didn’t add was that he didn’t want her to walk alone at night in the dark to her car.
But she heard him loud and clear anyway.
Her eyebrows rose and the look she gave him now left no doubt about what she was thinking.
“Sit,” she pointed to the chair just outside the door where the security guard usually sat, “or try to keep up but I’m not waiting for you. And then you’re going to be in more pain and I can almost bet that Advil won’t be of any use.”
Then she turned and walked away. And he sat because she was right. If he walked to her car, he’d be in agony.
The air temperature had to be below freezing but the cold actually helped keep his mind off the pain so he sat and tried to meditate while she was gone, sucking cold, clear air into his lung and willing the pain away.
It helped. A little.
His eyes opened when her Honda Accord squeaked to a stop in front of him and she hopped out to open the passenger side door and push back the seat as far as it would go for him.
The drive back to his apartment was silent as well. Small talk required too much concentration right now and all of his focus was on controlling his pain.
She didn’t help him out of the car, didn’t touch him as she walked with him to his apartment. Luckily, the elevator opened immediately and he didn’t have to wait. Normally, he’d climb the stairs. Wouldn’t be doing that for a few days.
By the time they reached his apartment door, she was chewing on her bottom lip, obviously trying not to say what was on her mind.
But she lost the battle when he winced as he dug his keys out of his pocket.
With a huff, she took his keys out of his hands and unlocked the door.
No lights. He figured Will was sleeping at Jess’s place tonight or he was already in bed. Justin was betting on the first.
“You.” Vivi pointed at his chest. “Bed.” Then she headed for the tiny kitchen. “I’ll get some ice packs and be right there.”
Since he’d already brushed his teeth after the game because he’d bitten the inside of his mouth and there’d been blood, he followed her orders, heading directly for bed. He dropped his clothes on the floor, slid between the sheets in just his boxers, and let out a sigh of relief at being flat on his back and unmoving.
He didn’t remember closing his eyes but obviously he had because he opened them when Vivi walked into this room. She looked really worried and he smiled. It felt nice to have someone in his life who cared enough about him to be worried.
Since his ex had broken up with him, he’d felt kind of...unmoored. Yes, he had family, but they were more than seven hours away. And Justin had always been the “stable” one. The one his parents didn’t have to worry about every single second of the day. Not that they never worried about him. They did. He just didn’t want to add to their already high stress. Not when they had to worry about Bryan all the time.
He’d always taken it on himself to be...easy.
If Vivi wasn’t here, he would’ve taken care of himself.
He enjoyed the fact that he didn’t have to.
He caught the hand that wasn’t holding the ice pack. “Viv, I’m fine. I just need ice and some rest and I’ll be okay. The doc cleared me. It just hurts.”
She huffed out a sigh. “Fine. Let’s get this strapped to your side and then you’re going to sleep.”
He wanted to ask her to stay but he knew she worked tomorrow.
“Yes, Dr. Vivi. Whatever you say.”
Her lips twitched with a wry smile. “Uh-huh. Roll onto your side. Your good side.”
He did as he was told, though it made the pain zing through his entire body.
Biting back a swear word he rarely used, he gritted his teeth and let her place the ice packs then secure them with the stretch wrap she must have found in the bathroom.
She was done in seconds and he rolled onto his back again with a groan.
“Thank you, Viv.”
A few seconds passed before she said, “You’re welcome. Do you need anything else?”
Yeah, he wanted her to stay. “No, I’m good.”
“Okay, then I’m going to go.”
He had to bite his tongue. “Night. And thanks.”
Her fingers brushed against his forehead. He wanted to open his eyes but they were too heavy.
“Night, Justin.”
And then she was gone.