Chapter 6
Dell
I was expecting the guy leaning past the doorframe of my office to be a player needing worked on, but it was Todd Landis.
“Hey, doc,” I said, looking up from the counter I was wiping down. “Do you need to see one of the guys?”
He stepped in with a smile. “Actually, I came to see you.”
A runner, Todd was very trim. Trimmer than I liked. He was always clean shaven and never had a hair out of place. It was a contrast from the sweaty, profane men I spent my days with.
But ours was a working relationship, and it was good. I knew I could call him day or night with any medical issues with the guys, big or small. He was a hockey fan who truly enjoyed working for the team.
I smiled and turned his way. “What can I do for you?”
“I need to ask a favor. Are you going to the fundraiser tomorrow night?”
“No, that’s just something the guys dress up and do. Unless someone gets crazy and sprains a finger shaking hands, I won’t be needed.”
This was my second year with the team, but I remembered the annual gala from last year. Sports fans and others who liked socializing more than me paid big money to hob knob with the players from our team and the local minor league baseball team for the night.
“I’ve got two tickets,” Landis said, leaning against my exam table. “I was taking one of my nurses, Jenny. Her husband is deployed overseas and she’s handling the kids and the home front. Figured she’d enjoy a night out. But now she’s got the stomach flu. Is there any way you’d be able to fill in for her?”
“Me?” I gaped at him in surprise.
“Yeah, it’s short notice.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish expression. “You’ve probably got plans.”
On a Saturday night when we didn’t have a game? No. Not unless Sadie, some ice cream and our DVR counted.
“I guess I could,” I said, shrugging.
His face lit up. “Really? Great. Thanks, Dell.” He approached me and brought it in for a hug. I squeezed him back awkwardly.
“Dell?” a puzzled voice said from the doorway. “Can you rub my shoulder?”
It was Scroggins, probably wondering why the team doctor and I were hugging.
“Sure, come in,” I said. Lance McCoy, another player, was right behind him.
“I need you to look at my ankle,” he said. “You’re late today.”
“I know,” I said with a sigh. “Traffic was a mess.”
The truth was I hadn’t wanted to run into Luke. My anger over him flirting with me and then spending the night with someone else was still simmering. I couldn’t risk a fiery comment that would betray my feelings for him in front of anyone from the team.
“I’m not busy,” Landis said to McCoy. “I can look at your ankle.”
I shot him a grateful glance. I needed the help, and as long as he was in the training room with me, Luke probably wouldn’t try to come in and talk to me. I knew from his expression when I’d been short with him that he was wondering what was up.
Scrogs pulled his shirt off and I set to work on his shoulder. This was exactly what I needed – to lose myself in pre-game preparations. And for once, I had help. This day had started lousy, but it was looking up already.
***
Luke
I turned my face from side to side in the mirror for a final appraisal. Dark gold stubble coated my cheeks, and I wondered if I should’ve shaved for this shindig.
Fuck it. I already had my tux on, and it wasn’t like I had a long grizzly beard or anything.
Someone from the front office of my Chicago team had delivered my tux and shoes from home, saving me from a nasty rental. On my off days, I was a shorts and old t-shirt guy, but when I dressed up, I liked fine, well-tailored clothes. It was the one and only thing I was a snob about.
V gaped at me when I walked into the living room.
“Jesus, man, I’m straight and I kind of want to fuck you right now,” he said. “You’re all GQ and shit.”
I shook my head with aggravation and approached him. “What the hell is with the blue vest? It looks like cheap wallpaper.”
He shrugged. “My date wanted me to match her dress.”
“You gonna give her a corsage and fuck her in the back seat of your car after?”
“I didn’t get a corsage, and … yeah, sure.”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “At least tell me you’ve got clean socks and drawers on, bro.”
He nodded. “The rental place gave me socks, they should be clean.”
I shuddered at the thought of wearing socks a bunch of other guys had worn, washed or not.
“Hey, Alana wants to know if you’ll meet up with us and one of her friends after for a drink,” V said.