Page 155 of Icebound Hearts
“Yeah, right.”
“Come on, let’s hit the showers and get out of here. You’ve busted your ass enough for one day. Save some of that juice for another time when you’ve got more of an audience than just little old me.”
I could keep going for at least another hour, but Finn’s right. If I overdo it, it might set me back for when it really counts. Or worse, I could get injured and knock myself out of the running for the league before I’ve even had the chance to show the scouts what I can do.
“I hate it when you’re right,” I mutter, and he smirks.
“Oh, believe me, I know. But saying ‘I told you so’ never gets old.” Finn leads the way off the ice, and I follow him into the locker room to get cleaned up.
“Look, bro, I know you’re serious about getting into the NHL and everything, but don’t you think you’re getting a little single-minded?” Finn asks me over the hiss of the shower as he steps into one of the stalls next to mine.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask as I turn on the water and wait for it to warm.
“Nothing. It’s just, I don’t know, you’re really into it. It’s all you think and talk about anymore. I love the game as much as you do, but I can’t even remember the last time you and I hung out anddidn’tspend the whole time playing or thinking about hockey. I think you need to relax a little. You know, blow off some steam or something. Get laid.”
I roll my eyes at him and step into the steaming water.
That’s easy for you to say. You didn’t lose your best shot at an NHL contract to years of taking care of a sick mom.
Finn is a good guy and a great practice buddy, but that doesn’t mean he always gets it. I love my mother, and I don’t resent the fact that I had to take time away from the game to be by her side, but there’s no denying that my budding hockey career fell through the cracks because of it. My whole life hadbeen building toward getting signed out of college, but it didn’t happen.That’swhy I’m so serious about it. Finn knows that, but he doesn’t always understand it.
I shake my head dismissively at him over the shower divider, and he freezes with his hands in his soapy hair, arching a brow at me.
“Come on,” he says. “You know I’m right. Again.” When I grudgingly shrug at him, he chuckles and adds, “Told you so. But you’re in luck because I know just the thing.”
“Famous last words.”
“No, I’m serious, dude. Listen, there’s this kink club hosting a special event tonight. It’s a black and white masquerade party. But, you know, with sex. I got an invite, but I can’t go. You should take my invite and go in my place. I’ll give you the code word to get in.”
“Do you even hear yourself right now?”
“What?”
“Do I really need to spell it out? A masquerade party. At a kink club. With a secret code word. Come on, bro, this is ridiculous, even for you.”
“I’m serious though!” Finn insists as he rinses off and reaches for the towel hanging over the stall. “Here, I’ll prove it.”
I can’t wait to see this, so I watch him cross the room to rummage in his locker for something. It takes him long enough that I can finish showering before he finds it, and he meets me just as I’m stepping out of the stall.
He thrusts a little business card out at me. It’s jet black with matching black text embossed in velvet that only spells out an address. “See?”
“What bar bathroom did you find this in?”
“You think you’re so funny, don’t you? Fine. Don’t go. But don’t say I didn’t try to clue you in when you find out you missed the biggest party of your life.” I glare at him, and he sighs infrustration and presses the card into my hands. “These people arerich, bro. They do things right. The code word is ‘Satin,’ and you’d better not lose that card, or they aren’t gonna let you in. Trust me, just go.”
“I’ll think about it,” I tell him just to get him off my case, although I’m still hung up on how cliché the code word is. “But wait, why can’t you go?”
“I’m going on a date, and I don’t think the lady would be happy about going to a sex party for our first time together. Speaking of, I’ve gotta get moving or I’m gonna be late. I’ll catch you later. Let me know how the party goes!”
Without another word, Finn gets dressed, scoops his stuff up, and hurries out of the locker room. I stand there staring at the card in my hand and consider throwing it away now that he’s gone but can’t bring myself to do it. I tuck it into the outside pocket of my bag and get dressed instead, then leave the arena.
It’s always jarring walking out of the ice-cold rink into the San Diego heat, but the setting sun and gentle breeze feel good on my skin. I toss my bag in the passenger seat and start to head home, but my gaze keeps drifting to the card stuck in my bag’s pocket.
Damn it. Maybe Finn’s right—again. A little bit of a distraction from training could be good for me.
But I don’t have a mask at home, so even though I can’t believe I’m doing it and feel like I’m going to regret it, I stop at a department store on the way and pick up a generic black face mask to wear. At home, I slip into the only formal black suit I own and look up the location of this alleged kink club. It comes up on the map, so the building at least physically exists. But from the pictures of the outside, it doesn’t look like anything special. It’s just a boring, black building with all the windows blacked out.
“Can’t hurt to try, right?” I ask my reflection as I check the fit and lines of my suit. I tear open the mask I bought and give it a once-over. It’s pretty basic, but it’ll do the job, and it will cover enough of my face that no one I might know will recognize me.