The Christmas You Crash (Going Rogue #2)

Chapter 36

thirty-six

RYDER

“Rookie! You’re here.” Logan Byrne slaps me on the back as I enter the weight room. “Does that mean you got good news from the doc today?”

A few of our teammates gather around. They’re all good guys, and they’ve been checking up on me while I’ve been out with my injury. Everyone is eager for me to get back on the ice. It’s been amazing, actually. They’re starting to feel like family. I’d forgotten what it was like to have other people worried about you, and I don’t hate it. Not at all.

Flexing my injured hand, I grin. “They have me doing some physical therapy, but they said I should be cleared in a week and a half.”

It’s a bit earlier than they’d recommend in a perfect world, but there’s so much on the line right now. I pushed them into clearing me sooner with the promise that I’d keep my damned gloves on when I’m skating. And I will. I have no desire to risk further injury. But I also don’t want to risk my place on this team. From the first week playing with them, I knew I wanted to be a Rogue long term. Now, with Lexi in the mix, that has become more important than ever.

Logan grins and claps me on the back again. “That’s great news. Have you told Lexi yet?”

Shit. As soon as her name leaves his mouth, I scan the room for Coach. Logan notices my tense expression and grimaces.

“Sorry, man. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him. “But we should probably give her a code name or something. I hate keeping secrets, but I want to be able to talk about her.”

Sebastian Navarro nods. “That’s a good idea. What should we call her? Do you have a nickname for her or something?”

Chuckling, I shake my head. “She’d be pissed if you guys started calling her by the nickname I gave her.”

“Oh?” Navarro chuckles. “Now you have to tell us what it is.”

“Yeah,” Griffin Wright pipes up. “Spill the beans, Handsome.”

Handsome. It’s the stupid name the guys gave me the first time I showed up in a game-day suit and the female fans went crazy online. It’s ridiculous, but once more than one guy latches on to a nickname, it sticks. Plus, it’s close enough to my last name that it doesn’t bother me much.

Running my good hand through my hair, I blow out a breath. “You guys have to swear not to call her by this. She’ll have my balls if you do.”

Griffin starts to say something stupid, but Maddox cuts him off. “No one will call her it.”

The rest of the guys nod, so I tell them. “I call her OTG.”

Confusion pinches their faces. Navarro cocks his head to the side and asks, “OTG?”

“Yeah,” I say, grinning now. She’s going to be so pissed if she finds out I told them this. Oh well, there’s no getting out of it now. “Stands for Oscar the Grouch. Sometimes I just call her Oscar.”

My explanation is met with a beat of silence before the room erupts into laughter.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Logan continues to laugh through his words. “You call her Oscar the Grouch, and she still sleeps with you?”

“Um, yeah. But you guys see why you can’t call her that, right? She needs a different code name if we’re talking about her here.”

“Yeah, man,” Griffin slaps his thigh as he howls with laughter. “Damned right, we’ll need a different code name. Shit, you’re lucky she hasn’t ditched your ass. Most women would have your head for something like that.”

I shrug. “Lexi’s cool.” Realizing I said her name again, I scan the room for Coach or the assistant coaches. It’s just players in here right now, thank god. “I’ve never met a woman like her.”

“Oh, you’re fucked,” Logan says. He looks amused. And like he can’t quite understand why anyone would get into the situation I’m in, let alone a relationship so serious, you do something crazy, like ask your girlfriend to move in the way Maddox has.

One day, he’ll understand. And when that day comes, we’re all going to give him hell for it.

“Whatever, man. I’ll happily be fucked any day by that woman.” My double entendre is met with a few chuckles.

“Ooh, I’ve got an idea,” Griffin says, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Sexy Lexi.”

“Dude.” Navarro shakes his head. “That literally has her actual name in it.”

“Right.” Griffin frowns. His eyes unfocus as he tries to come up with another option.

“Blondie?” Logan offers.

“Nah.” It’s too generic for her. Too boring.

“Wait!” Griffin claps. “I’ve got the perfect idea. HCB. Like OTG, but this one stands for Hot Cross Buns.”

There’s a beat of silence as everyone gapes at him.

I clear my throat. “Hot Cross Buns?”

“Yeah, man. Because of her last name. It’s like that rhyme. Get it?”

“Are you sure it’s not because you think she has a nice ass?” Logan asks.

Griffin looks offended. “Dude, I don’t look at my friends’ women’s asses.” His lips twitch. “Just thought it was funny.”

“HCB?” Maddox grins. “That good with you, Hanson?”

I shrug. “I guess it’s better than Sexy Lexi.”

“All right. HCB, it is.” Maddox turns to the rest of our teammates. “Got that, guys? I don’t want to hear anyone slipping up. We don’t want to screw this up for Handsome, here.”

A chorus of agreements fill the weight room and I grin at my teammates. I’m lucky to be surrounded by guys who have each other’s backs. Most of them go back to racking their weights and working out, but Byrne, Navarro, Wright, and Graves hang around. Logan repeats his earlier question.

“So, have you told her yet?”

“Not yet. I came straight here.” And I may be putting it off. I need to figure out how to tell her. Or, more importantly, how to reassure her that things between us won’t change when I’m back on the road. After the tidbits I’ve learned about her childhood—no matter how little, at this point—I’m worried it could be an issue. It just means I’ll have to be intentional about our time apart. Lots of phone calls and FaceTime. Lots of romantic gestures. She’s going to need reassurance that I’m always thinking about her.

“It’ll be fine,” Navarro says, accurately reading my worries. “You two seem good together.”

“Who’s good together?” Coach asks as he strides into the weight room. My stomach twists, but I must not show my discomfort on my face, because Coach flashes a pleased smile. “Heard the good news, son. A week and a half, and you’ll be back on the ice where you belong.”

“Oh, hey, Coach. Yeah, I’m excited to be back.” I exchange a look with Maddox.

“Now, who’s good together? You got a girl, Hanson?” Coach waggles his eyebrows in a way he surely wouldn’t if he knew my girl was his daughter.

“Uh, yeah. It’s new,” I say. I’d rather be purposefully vague than outright lie.

Coach nods. “Women are great, as long as they’re not a distraction from what matters. Your game’s not going to suffer, is it? I’d hate to see you lose your fire over a good lay.”

Jesus Christ . What the fuck?

I’m bristling from his crass and, frankly, disgusting words. Even if it wasn’t his daughter I was dating, what the hell kind of thinking is that? Are women really just a distraction and a good lay to him? How the hell can he say stuff like that when he was married and has a grown daughter? The rest of my teammates look equally appalled. Even Byrne, who’s never had a real relationship in his life. But as far as I can tell, that’s because his issues are with relationships themselves, not women in general. He may never sleep with the same woman twice, but he treats them with respect. He and Wright may have joked about sex or made the occasional lewd comment, but somehow, this feels different.

I’m pissed on Lexi’s behalf.

Clearing my throat, I try to control my anger. “I’ll always play my best, Coach. Regardless of my relationship status.”

He must take that as me agreeing with his sexist sentiment, because he nods. “Good man. That’s what I like to hear. We’ve had enough distractions this past season with this one.” He hooks his finger in Maddox’s direction. Our captain scowls.

Distractions or not, after getting past a preseason slump, Maddox has been on fire so far this year. Everyone has off games. Even the single guys. To blame poor performances on spouses and partners is bullshit. We all agree on that. Coach doesn’t seem to have the same qualms.

Maybe he’s not the good man I thought he was.

“Right.” Coach claps his hands. “Enough talk about women. We’re here to work, so let’s get to work! Hanson, take it easy on that hand. Only legs for you.” He surveys the room, barks out a command to quit dicking around, and strides out of the weight room.

“How is your girl so cool when she was raised by someone with views like that?” Griffin muses.

“Honestly? I’m wondering that myself.” I’m practically buzzing with angry energy.

“Well, I guess we all know why his wife left him,” Sebastian mutters under his breath. “It can’t have been fun being married to a guy like that.”

Or being raised by one.

Damn. Now I’m really determined to show Lexi how amazing she is and how much I want her. It’ll be hard once I’m back on the road, but I’ll work my ass off to show her that not everyone is like her dad. And that, while he may be blind to what an extraordinary woman she is, I’m not.

“Bring your girl around anytime,” Maddox says, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Isla loved her, and we all think she’s cool.”

“Mira loved her too,” Griffin pipes up. “I know she’s looking for more girlfriends now that she’s back in Minnesota. You’d think rooming with me would be enough socializing for her, but she says she needs other women in her life. Whatever.”

Emotion creates a lump in my throat, and I swallow thickly before I can reply. “Thanks, guys. We’d love to hang out more. Her best friend is all the way in Chicago, so I’m sure she’d enjoy making a few female friends.”

Maddox nods. “We’ll plan something else soon. In the meantime, ask HCB if she’d be willing for you to give me her number. I can pass it along to Isla and my sister. They’ll make sure she’s included.”

“Thanks, man.” My voice is gruff. They’re accepting Lexi, and I appreciate the hell out of them for it. But they’re also accepting me. They’re making sure we both have people in our corners. “I’ll definitely ask her.”

“Good,” Maddox replies. His expression shifts from protective mode to captain mode in an instant. “Now, go do some leg presses or something. We can’t have you out of shape for your first game back.”

I grin, giving him a salute.

Nope, we can’t have that. I’ve got a lot to do to prepare for my triumphant return to the ice with the Rogues. For now, I’ll focus on my strength training. Tonight, I’ll start the more important prep work.

I can’t wait.