Nikki Worrell - The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions)

“Okay. Let’s leave it there for now and see how the game goes.” Gary was a bit overwhelmed, but he knew he would still enjoy the game. Lacey was a great teacher, and he felt comfortable asking her questions.

Zoe finally walked into the suite with Sebastian, and introductions were made.

“Ready for some hockey, Sebastian?” Lacey asked him. She never heard his answer. The lights went down, and the music blared.

The arena was so loud; they couldn’t even hear the announcers introducing the players. Pre-season or not, these fans were ready for some hockey! When Lacey saw the goalies on the ice, she asked Zoe, “Is that Vlad? How the hell do you say his last name?” She’d never asked, and it was spelled Bejsiuk.

Zoe chuckled, “Not like it’s spelled. It’s Bay-schick. The ‘j’ is silent.” Zoe had always thought it was a great name.

Lacey turned to Gary. “Hockey players have cool names. We’ve got Russians, Ukrainians, Fins, Swedes, Canadians, Czechs and even some Americans. It’s fun learning how to say them. Some are easy, but a lot are not.”

After the anthem was sung, it was time for some hockey.

“Wooooooooo! Let’s go Scorpions!!” Lacey was pumped.

Zoe covered her ears and glared at her. “Come on, Lace, save some for the rest of the game.”

Lacey was a beast when she watched hockey. Everyone thought Zoe was the wild one, but put Lacey in front of a hockey game, and she put her to shame.

“Can’t help it, Zoe. It’s in my blood. Blame it on my father. When you grow up with a father who coaches hockey, you tend to live and breathe it.” Gary smiled at her and started yelling right along with her. Aidan and Zoe rolled their eyes good-naturedly at each other.

As the game progressed, it became increasingly obvious that Vlad’s head was not in the game. In the middle of the second period, with a score of Sharks five, Scorpions one, Vlad was pulled, and Booker went in. On his way off the ice, Vlad pounded his stick on the ice so hard it broke.

“Shit. I think that’s my fault,” Zoe said, biting her bottom lip.

Lacey bumped Zoe’s shoulder. “Zoe, how can that be your fault? Vlad’s just not having a good game, that’s all.”

“Seb wanted to go down to the glass and watch warm ups. We wound up near Vlad’s net, and he saw us. Let’s just say he wasn’t overjoyed to see me with Seb.”

“That’s a shame, but what are you supposed to do? Never date again? Are you going to hide from Vlad?”

“Fuck, I don’t know. I feel bad, and I’m sick of it. I don’t want to feel guilty every time I see Vlad.”

Sebastian was on his way back from the restroom so Lacey spoke fast. “So stop feeling guilty. He got pulled because he sucks tonight. It happens. He’ll figure it out and come back next game.” Lacey handed Zoe another beer. “Here, drink and be merry.”

Zoe smiled as she took the offered beer, and then she stole Lacey’s nachos, too. “You’re right. Thanks, Lace.”

It was almost time for Jody to make a statement. Coach wanted him to mix things up when they had about five minutes left to go in the second, but Jody was having a hard time getting Grayson to drop his gloves. Guess I’ll have to take a run at Volku. We’ll see if he lets me check one of their goal scorers. It had to be a clean hit, though, or he’d be taken off the ice before getting the chance to go a round with Grayson.

Volku got the puck, and Jody checked him hard into the boards. It was a clean hit – thank god – and Volku went down. That’s all it took.

Grayson came rushing over, dropping his gloves on the way. “You win douchebag, let’s go.”

“Took you long enough, Dick. You’re even more of a pussy than usual tonight.”

As they circled each other, Dick kept talking. “Saw your new chick, LaGrange. A little cheap looking, but I guess her legs spread well enough.”

Jody was going to destroy him. He threw his stick down, dropped his gloves and removed his helmet. “Take your fucking helmet off, asshole.”

Grayson obliged and got into a fighting stance. Jody quickly grabbed Grayson’s jersey and delivered half a dozen quick rabbit punches to his face.

Shaking off his elbow protector, Grayson pulled back and got in a direct hit to Jody’s left eye, drawing blood.

Jody shook his head and responded with a head punch of his own. He got in more rabbit punches, which were throwing Grayson off balance. Just when he thought Grayson was going down, he regained his balance and got Jody with an upper cut that had him seeing stars.

Fuck if I’m going to let him win this. Redoubling his effort, Jody connected with two solid punches, one to the side of Grayson’s head and one that audibly cracked his nose.

Grayson caught Jody again in the same spot that was already bleeding, which broke the skin open wider. Uh, that’s going to need stitches. With blood dripping down his face, Jody went wild. He was going to end this. Raining punches on Grayson so quickly that he had no chance to defend himself, he went down, and the crowd erupted with deafening roars.

Both of them were given a five minute major for fighting, and with less than five minutes to go in the period, they were told to go to their locker rooms instead of the penalty box. Grayson was still yapping at Jody on his way off the ice, so Jody flipped him off, just like his girl did earlier.

Lacey was a lunatic watching Jody and Grayson fight. When she saw the blood on Jody’s face, she jumped out of her seat and started yelling, “Come on Jody! Beat that fucker into the ground! Get him!” With each punch Jody landed, Lacey yelled some more, “That’s it, baby! Yeah, punch him again!”

Gary looked at Aidan and asked him if Lacey was always like that at games.

“Yeah, pretty much. She’s a firecracker. But I think dating Jody might be contributing to her over exuberance tonight.”

Even though the Scorpions scored three more goals in the third period, it was too little, too late. Losing a pre-season game wasn’t the end of the world, but it still sucked.

After saying goodbye to her group, Lacey walked out to the players parking area to meet Jody at his truck. He wasn’t there yet so she talked to the security guard until he came out.

When she saw him walking toward her, she looked him up and down and licked her lips. She wasn’t happy that he got hurt, of course, but the stitches above his eye made him look even sexier than before. They added an element of danger. He looked rough and manly, and she loved it.

“Keep looking at me like that, Lace, and I’ll be taking you right here in the back seat of my truck.” Jody was always amped up after a game, especially if he had fought. He usually either went out with the guys and shot some pool or went home and tried to relax on the deck or in front of the TV. Now that he had Lacey, though, he couldn’t think of a better way to unwind than with her beneath him, or on top of him. Never let it be said that he didn’t believe in equality.

“Nice fight there, Chief.” Lacey gently ran her fingers over his cut. “Sorry about the stitches, but Jesus, you look hot. Over the top hot.” Lacey’s breaths were coming out quicker, and Jody shoved her in the truck to avoid shoving her up against it in front of the world.

Time seemed to crawl as Jody got in the truck and started driving away. He wanted to get home as soon as humanly possible in order to get Lacey naked.