Drive the Net (Delay of Game Book 1) by Hannah Henry

Author:Hannah Henry [Henry, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-28T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

JACKSON

November melted into December, and Jackson was still on a fiery streak. He felt confident in a way he hadn’t yet in the NHL. Like he could finally really keep up with the other guys on the ice.

It helped that he had Ryan on the ice with him. You couldn’t force on-ice chemistry, and while neither of them were superstars, they were contributing every night.

Jackson hadn’t gotten the courage to pounce on Ryan again, though. He’d seemed willing enough in Pittsburgh, but they had both been drinking, and he knew Ryan wasn’t into him outside of sex. He’d been making that pretty clear.

That was fine. They had on-ice chemistry, so the off-ice chemistry wasn’t a surprise. But it was just sex. Jackson told himself repeatedly that sex was all he wanted. He knew his production wasn’t actually due to sleeping with Ryan. It was unfair of him to use that as an excuse anymore. And he wasn’t looking to fall in love with anyone new. Whatever he’d been doing with Ryan might just be a bridge between Anthony and whoever he dated next.

They played Philadelphia; they played New Jersey; they played Washington. Coming home with only one win under their belt was a little discouraging, but Jackson was still streaking, even without Ryan touching his dick.

The wheels fell off when the Dallas Victory came to town. They had been hot all season so far, and they found every weak point The Northern Lights had. They had a rat on their team, Chris Colby, who was good at getting under guys’ skin, and he made it his mission to get under Jackson’s.

“Why are you on the ice, Harper? Don’t you know girls belong in the kitchen?”

It was the kind of comment that the NHL wouldn’t see as homophobic. Something they could easily explain away with rationale like “that’s how we’ve always talked in the locker rooms.” Plus, he didn’t always want league wide attention for gay stuff. He wanted people to see how good he was at hockey. He wanted to be a hockey player, not a gay hockey player.

“Stop being such a dumb bitch,” Jackson said, his energy calm. He wasn’t angling for a fight. But Colby was, and when he dropped his gloves, so did Jackson.

Jackson had never been in a fight before. He probably looked like a fucking idiot. He was unprepared, and it was over before it had really started, thank God. Before he knew it, he was on his back on the ice with half his head aching.

The crowd clapped, but in a polite way, not a rallying, excited way they did when a good fight happened. The refs pushed him to the box. He sat and then saw Ryan skating his gloves and stick back to him. He opened the penalty box door and stuck his head in while he handed off the gear.

“We’ve got your back, every one of us,” he said, so calm and solemn that he was sure Ryan heard what Colby said.

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