Logan

 

For the last two weeks, I practiced like I had never practiced before. The first three days, I was on the ice for fourteen hours, only taking breaks to eat and refuel. In the mornings after the arena opened, I headed to the gym, where I strength trained and then headed back to the arena when it closed. I was exhausted, but I could feel myself growing stronger than before. I still missed Brooke like hell, but it was in my best interest to try and forget about her. But she was impossible to forget. Tomorrow, I would start practice with the team. Was I ready? I wasn’t sure.

As I was walking down the street, my phone beeped with a text message from Owen.

“Bro, Louie’s tonight at seven. We haven’t seen you in two weeks and we need our bro time. I know you have team practice tomorrow, so we won’t keep you out late. What do you say?”

I hadn’t done anything but train, gym, eat, and sleep for the past two weeks, so meeting my brothers at Louie’s sounded like a good plan.

“I’ll be there. I could use the down time.”

“Awesome. See you later.”

Walking into Louie’s Bar, I hugged my brothers and took a seat at the table.

“Damn, man, it’s good to see you.” Owen smiled.

“You look great, Logan,” Brandon spoke.

“Thanks. It’s good to see you guys. Sorry about the past couple of weeks, but I could only breathe hockey.”

“We know and we’re proud of you.” Brandon smiled.

We sat there and kicked back some beers, talked, and laughed. For the first time since Brooke left, I felt semi-human again.

“I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” I spoke as I stood up from my chair.

When I was done, I walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the bar for another round of drinks. This would be my last one for the night. As I approached the bar, a pretty girl smiled at me. I’d say she was about twenty-five with long blonde curly hair, brown eyes that were outlined in black liner, and tits that were popping out of the tight shirt she was wearing.

“Hey, aren’t you Logan Jackson from the New York Rangers?” she asked with a smile.

“Yes. I am.”

“I’m Corona. Nice to meet you.” She extended her hand.

“Corona? Like the beer?” I smiled as I shook her hand.

“Yep. My parents are beer lovers.” She laughed.

As I waited for the bartender to come down and take my order, I talked a little with Corona.

“I heard about your accident and I’m sorry. But from what I can see, you’re doing just fine.”

“Yeah. The leg is better. I start practice with the team tomorrow.”

She edged a little closer to me and ran her finger down my chest.

“So. How about some fun before your practice tomorrow?”

“What did you have in mind?” I arched my brow.

“I think you know.” She smirked. “I’m up for anything you want to do or have done to you.”

Fuck. I was horny and I was single. One night with her would make me forget all about Brooke and that was exactly what I needed.

“Sure. Let me just go tell my brothers I’m leaving and we can go back to my place. But tomorrow morning, you’re gone. Understand?”

“I understand.” She licked her lips.

Getting up from the stool, I walked over to the table.

“Who’s that chick you were talking to?” Brandon asked.

“Her name is Corona and we’re going to head back to my place for a little action. See you bros later.” I smiled.

“The hell you are!” Owen quickly stood up from his chair.

“Excuse me?”

“You aren’t sleeping with her! Got it?” he spoke.

“Dude, what the fuck is your problem?”

“It’s just you can’t. You’re not over Brooke yet.”

“Owen, it doesn’t matter. Brooke is gone and I’m single. I can fuck whomever I want. Damn, what is wrong with you?”

“What Owen is trying to say is that you don’t need any distractions right now. You have your first practice with the team in the morning and you need a clear head,” Brandon spoke.

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I meant.”

“And what better way to clear my head than to get laid?” I smirked.

“Don’t do this, bro. Please?” Owen asked.

“Are we going?” Corona asked as she walked over to the table.

“No. You aren’t going anywhere with him. Now scram!” Owen shouted.

“OWEN!” I shouted back. “What the hell!”

“If you leave with her, I swear to God, Logan, I’ll punch you.”

“Wow. Sorry, but I don’t want any part of this,” Corona spoke as she left the bar.

I threw my hands up in the air. “Thanks a lot, dickwad. What the hell happened to you?”

“We’re just looking out for your best interest, Logan,” Brandon said.

“And my best interest just walked out the door. You know what? Fuck you both.”

I threw some cash on the table, left the bar, and headed back to my apartment. I had no idea what had gotten into them, but they pissed me the hell off. What did Brandon mean when he said they were looking out for my best interest? Assholes. I stripped out of my clothes and climbed into bed. Closing my eyes, thoughts of Brooke crept into my mind. My first game was in a few days and I would have given anything for her to be there to watch me.