Chapter 16

I woke up Tuesday morning still spooned with Vicky and reached over to shut off the alarm. I was still tired but dragged my ass off to the washroom and had a long shower to try and wake up. I don't know when I finally fell asleep but it was after two in the morning for sure. I finally got out, got dressed and grabbed my books and left for the arena.

I wasn't in a good mood when I got there so I kept to myself, got dressed quickly and went out to stretch before the warm-up skate. I took out some of my frustrations out on our back-up goalie Bob as I shot a few pucks at full power at him. He stopped a few of them and a few went in. John skated up and just looking at him made me mad and I really stepped into one but missed a little high and it shattered the Plexiglas behind the goal. Shit.

"Wow Mike, take it easy man, it's just practice dude" John said as everyone looked at me or at the shattered panel.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax and said "Sorry, I had a bad night."

"Hey it's ok; just try not to hurt our goalie too much, even if he is the backup" John joked and gave my shoulder at pat.

I skated over to Bob and apologized for shooting too hard but he said "Anytime Mike, I need the practice with shots like yours."

I saw Rolf back behind the boards and spoke up "Sorry Rolf, I got a little carried away again. Need any help?"

"No Mike, I've got to get used to this for game time anyway. I expect you to do this pretty often around here" he said dryly.

I laughed and skated to the other end where we all gathered around Fred.

"Well it looks like a good time to talk for a few minutes while Rolf cleans up Mike's mess again" started Fred which got the team laughing. "It's too bad we don't have games in the morning when he's grumpy!"

That got a good laugh from everyone and then we got serious.

"Ok, we have six more practices before we leave Friday morning for the long trip. Its 13 hours driving time from here to New Hampshire University so with a couple of stops we won't get there until late Friday. We leave at seven am sharp, get here at six thirty. You don't have to wear a suit on the bus Friday but you need one to wear from the hotel to the arena. We will head out home right from the arena and drive through the night while hopefully you can sleep. You need a couple changes of clothes and the usual toiletries as well as all the homework that needs completing over the weekend. There will be a couple of tutors on the bus if you need help with anything. All the rookies will get a handout at the end of practice on what to bring, and how to act. Does anyone have any questions?"

Fred continued and said "Ok, we will have the same line-up as on Saturday except for the addition of Ian Pratasky in case Albert can't go. We will be bringing another 3 forwards and 2 defencemen in case anyone gets hurt or sick. That list goes up Thursday morning so those that didn't play had better show us something or you stay behind. Alright, let's work the half rink power play while they finish at that end."

The rest of the practice was uneventful, with John and I continuing to learn the penalty kill as the second unit but also getting some time on the power play. Fred and Frank gave some extra time to the fourth liners and the guys not in the line-up so they could get some more practice. They got into the game more at the end and John and I only got a few shifts. Frank came over and told us not to worry; they were evaluating the other guys and giving us a bit of rest today.

The coaches let the starters go a bit early and continued with the subs. It was nice not to have to rush but I didn't eat so I grabbed a quick bite before leaving for my programming class. I sat down beside Stephanie just as the professor came in.

"Hi Stephanie, how are you?" I asked quietly.

"Ok I guess, and you Mike?" she said.

"A bit tired but ok" I replied before the professor asked for any assignments that were done.

Stephanie and I handed in both of ours but a few people looked confused and angry.

"I know that I said they weren't due until Thursday but I thought I would see who was on the ball already this semester and who is already falling behind" he said. "Now here is the new assignment and it's due next Tuesday. I suggest everyone get cracking early as it's only going to get worse people."

He started the lecture and breezed through the next two chapters like it was kindergarten math rather than University programming. It was time to crank up the studying already. I hoped to get the programming assignment done before I left for New Hampshire, maybe even for next class.

Stephanie and I walked out together and we talked about the course. We agreed to meet at the arena cafeteria at two thirty and we would finish the Logic assignment and start on this assignment together. I walked back to the rink and got changed into my workout clothes and did a legs and shoulders set after checking in with Chris. He made sure I stretched properly and was doing the exercises properly before leaving me on my own.

I took a shower and went to the cafeteria for lunch. I was surprised when I saw Vicky waiting for me outside of the cafeteria.

"Hi Vicky, I didn't expect you for lunch" I said.

"I was worried Michael, you didn't leave a note and I know you weren't happy so I wanted to come and see you Sweetie" she said as she looked up at me with a concerned look on her face.

Yeah, I didn't sleep well at all Vicky, first I kept going over everything we talked about and then when I did fall asleep after two am, I kept dreaming of you and Becky with other guys or with John" I told her. "I had a bad morning and then I took it out on some pucks and broke another panel behind the goal."

"Michael, I told you not to worry, we would iron out the girl stuff tonight and there won't be any other men but you as long as we are together Sweetie" she said soothingly as she rubbed my shoulders. "We wouldn't be with any guys if you weren't around so put your mind at ease on that point ok?"

"Ok Honey, I'm new at this stuff and I'm finding I have a bit of a jealous streak when it comes to you two. I know you won't cheat on me but I find I'm feeling very protective and a bit possessive when it comes to you two. I don't mean to sound sexist or make you scared, because I would never harm a hair on either of your bodies, but the thought of you two with another man makes my blood boil" I said seriously.

"I don't mind you being protective Michael and I'm not worried about you hurting us but you have to know that both Becky and I do talk to other guys in our normal day to day school activities. You are going to have to trust us that we would never cheat on you or even lead on other guys that they have a shot with us. You can't get angry at a guy if I am standing their talking to him" she rebuked me.

"No, I don't mind that, and maybe I overstated it a bit. I'm secure enough that you talking to a guy is ok with me. I was talking about the real physical stuff and what could happen if other girls brought their guys into the picture. I kept imagining you with girls and I liked it, a lot; but then guys would get involved and turned my nice dreams into nightmares" I told her.

"Ok, I think we can work this out tonight ok? Good. Now let's have a quick bite before I have to go back for Biology and you get to work-out again Sweetie" she instructed as she pulled me into the cafeteria.

I followed and watched her in her skirt and tight top as she grabbed food for both of us and put it on the tray I was carrying.

"Ok, where's your card Michael?" she demanded as she dragged me to the cashier.

I got out my wallet and handed it to her and she handed it over to the cashier and then dragged me over to a table and started handing out the food.

"Hey Vicky, you're looking very gorgeous today. I love your outfit. Did you wear that special today?" I asked.

She blushed and replied "I told you I was worried about you. I know how much you like me in skirts so I dressed in one to remind you of one of the things you like about me. I'm glad you love it Sweetie and I can't wait till after practice when you can do more than just look at me in it lover"

"And if it didn't work?" I asked with a smile.

"We wouldn't be eating right now Michael, I would have dragged you somewhere and reminded you about other things you like about me" she said seriously. "I told you I'm not losing you Michael, especially over a girl."

"Damn Vicky, now you tell me. We could have had a quickie with you dressed like that?" I moaned and shook my head.

"She smiled wickedly and said, "Are you sure you have to tutor Stephanie after this Michael?"

"Yes damn-it. We just got another programming assignment and its due Tuesday so I have to try and get it done before I leave Friday. We are going to finish our Logic assignment due tomorrow and then work on the program. We'll be here so if you want to join us you're welcome" I said.

"I don't think I have to chaperone you two yet, but I will be there tomorrow with Jessica so she doesn't get too carried away with Stephanie or you" she replied. "See, I trust you with pretty girls Michael. I know you won't cheat on us. I don't necessarily trust the girls, some of them will really try anything to get you, and I know you're only human. If I left you alone with Jessica in your apartment, she would be naked and have you on your back so quick you wouldn't know what hit you."

"Hey, I could hold her off for at least a minute for you to come save me" I smiled.

"Humph, that girl would already be having an orgasm riding Big Mike in just one minute Sweetie" she said dryly. "Alright, enough about all of that for now. Let's eat before I have to go. I don't want to have to run in this skirt all the way to the other campus!"

"Only if I get to watch" I replied before biting into my sandwich.

"The problem is everyone else looking Sweetie, and I know how much you would like that, my Canadian berserker" she teased.

I just growled and kept eating as she chuckled. I remembered something I had meant to ask her yesterday but forgot to.

"Hey, how did your appointment go with Dr. Peterson yesterday? We didn't talk about it last night" I asked.

"Actually it went pretty good" Vicky said with a smile. "She must really like you because she didn't get upset or worried after I told her about our activities with Becky on the weekend. I think you impressed her both in your session and when you helped out Susan on Friday. She thinks you are good for both Becky and I and only wants to see me every couple of weeks unless I have an episode or any issues."

"That great to hear Honey" I said. "And you didn't have any issues last night when we did that again so hopefully we can put it behind us."

She smiled and we went back to eating. She quickly finished and got up.

"Honey, thanks for coming to see me, I feel so much better now Vicky" I said. "And thanks for dressing so nicely for me"

"I love seeing you whenever I can and I love dressing sexily just for you. I'll see you either after your work-out but probably after practice Sweetie" she said with a big smile.

I kissed her and then watched as she walked out with her hips swishing her skirt around. She looked back and grinned before leaving as I grinned back. I caught a couple guys looking at her and dropped the grin quickly as I looked at them. I gathered up my stuff and threw the garbage away and went to find Frank for our hockey work-out. I found him in the office and he suggested full gear as he found a few guys that needed help.

I went in and got changed and saw a bunch of the team were there, mostly the subs and rookies. I got into my equipment and got on the ice to warm up. Frank had us gather around and went over some of the things he had planned for us. It was mostly a chance for extra ice time without most of the starters hogging the puck or the ice. Frank would be having this time every Tuesday and Thursday from one to two thirty. I would have to switch workouts with the weights to just mornings on those two days.

Another coach, Sam Gardner, came and helped out with the forwards while Frank worked with the defence for a bit. Frank used me as his guinea pig, showing the six others some of the moves he had shown me in the last couple of weeks. I didn't know these guys at all except Ian who was taking Albert's spot. Some were good skaters but didn't have a shot, some could shoot but couldn't skate well and some could do both but couldn't defend. All in all they all had some talent but needed work in other areas, just like me.

After about half an hour of practicing some of the simple techniques, Frank had Sam bring the forwards back and we ran two on two drills to practice what was shown. I was used to show the techniques at game speed as the forwards tried to go around or cut in on me. I found it easier than normal but realized the forwards were learning too so I didn't try and crush them against the boards or anything. We all took turns with Ian pairing up with me usually as we took on the forwards, now three on two. This got more interesting as we were always scrambling not to leave someone wide open for the easy score.

Finally, we had a full five on five scrimmage. I enjoyed being the lead defenceman and carrying up the puck to set up the offensive play while Ian followed behind. I had to direct traffic and pass off to Ian as their forwards came to cover me. It was good experience for me as I knew eventually I might have to do it in a game.

Frank called it a practice and asked Ian and me to wait while the others left.

"So Ian, how was it out there today? Did it help?" Frank asked.

"It sure did Frank. I liked going over all the techniques and then using them in practice. As rookies and subs, we never get enough time for that stuff. And I really enjoyed the game and pairing up with Mike. It's going to really help me if I have to go on Saturday. Thanks for getting us the extra time Frank" he said happily.

"Good, glad to hear it Ian. We'll continue this like I said every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:00 to 2:30 until we have to limit our practice time. Ok, go take a shower Ian. Good work out there" Frank complimented him.

Frank waited until Ian left and said "Thanks for helping out Mike; I'm sure it was pretty boring for you to go over that stuff."

"No problem Frank, I don't mind" I replied. "I like the extra ice time and I like to help out with the guys, not that I'm that far removed from where they are."

"Well, you are but I'm glad you don't rub it in or have a big head about it with your teammates" he said.

"Not a chance. I wasn't even on the team two weeks ago, and some of these guys have been playing organized hockey all their lives. I just had a good teacher at home. I did really like carrying the puck more and doing a bit of directing the play in the offensive end" I told him.

"I saw that and was impressed how quickly you picked it up when you had to" he agreed. "That bodes well for the future when John leaves or if you have to be paired with someone else. So what did you think about Ian?"

"He's not bad, he can skate well and can hold his own against fast forwards but he needs to work on his shot and he will get run over against bigger forwards" I critiqued. "He has to learn how to get rid of a puck quickly or let it go and hit the forward or he will get knocked out of the game quicker than Albert did."

"I agree with everything you brought up" Frank said. "Is he good enough to survive Saturday if he's paired with Steve Mason?"

"Right now I'd say no, but we don't have a choice. We need to work him hard and keep him paired with Steve the whole week so Steve will know what to do if Ian messes up. Ian needs immediate experience with retrieving pucks, getting run and what to do in each situation so he's comfortable when it comes up in a game. We don't have to depend on his offence, just have to make sure he can survive the hits and finish the game" I replied with my opinion.

"Sounds good Mike, we'll continue to do that the rest of the week. I know you will help him out as much as you can. We might have to juggle our defensive pairs if we get in penalty trouble so get used to working with him too ok?" he informed me.

"Sure, I'll do everything I can to help him out. It will help to have another extra practice on Thursday with him" I replied.

"Good, see you at four then Mike" he said as we left the ice.

I went in and got changed and then I went over to Ian and said "Good work out there Ian. If you want, I can get here early tomorrow and Thursday and we can go over some more things together if you want?"

"Sure Mike thanks. How early do you want to meet?" he asked.

"I'll ask Frank later but I'm thinking six thirty if that's ok with you? I can pick you up if you live far away or take a bus" I replied.

"That's sounds ok time wise. I live in the dorms so it's no problem. Thanks Mike, I appreciate it"

"No problem, I could use all the practice I can get" I said and left to see if Stephanie was in the cafeteria. I saw her sitting alone and walked over to her and asked if she wanted a snack or drink.

"Sure, Mike, a diet coke and some chips would be good, here, let me get you some money" she said, offering me a five.

"Don't worry about it, I've got it covered. I'll be back in a few minutes" I replied and went into the cafeteria to grab a few things.

I paid and went back to the table and we opened our logic books and helped her understand the rest of the third chapter and the fourth. She did a few questions for the assignment by herself and I checked them for her and they matched mine.

"Ok, I can finish the rest myself later and check them to your answers if I can get a copy of your finished assignment" she said. "How about we go over the programming assignment for a bit before you have to get to practice?"

"Sounds good" I agreed.

I pulled out my laptop and remotely accessed the data file for the next assignment while she read the assignment over.

"Ok, so it needs to access the data file and read the numbers and one, do a sort from biggest to smallest, and two, get the average, mean and sum like last week" she summarized.

"So, we need to use last week's program as a sub-routine in the new program and also write a sort program that stores the numbers in a different file in descending order but allows us to access the original data file again for the sub-routine to use" I said. "That doesn't sound too hard eh Steph?"

She looked at me and shook her head and said "Did you look all that stuff up today already?"

"No, I didn't even read the assignment until now Steph" I replied. "I've read ahead but that stuff is old hat from high school programming."

"Well shit, I guess my school didn't teach jack to us then" she bitched. "I'm glad you're willing to help me Mike. I'm going to owe you big time for all of this aren't I"

"Hey, I'm not like that Steph, I'm glad to help out. Just stay on Vicky's good side so she doesn't get angry with me or you ok?" I suggested.

"I sure will. So how did you meet her? She is so beautiful and so is Jessica!" she asked.

"Vicky lives in the same basement as I do, in the other apartment. We just started talking and having dinner together and things progressed. And yes, they are both quite stunning, but I have to lean on Vicky's side for who is most gorgeous" I replied with a smile. "Ok, back to work."

We worked on the programs separately and I looked hers over from time to time over her shoulder. She was wearing jeans and a loose blouse that let me see her nicely shaped firm breasts encased in a lacy bra. I didn't gawk or anything but appreciated the view when I could do so discretely. I pointed out a few mistakes in her code and went back to mine. I had the sub-routine instructions copied over to access my program from the first assignment and then quickly wrote a sort program from memory. I had it open another data file to store the sorted data but could have used an array to temporally store the numbers before printing them out instead. I figured I could hand in both ways if I didn't have time to check with the teacher or TA.

I looked at the clock and saw I had about fifteen minutes before I had to leave so I went over and looked over what Steph had done. She was on the right track for the sorting program so I let her know the options for storing or printing. She could attend the lab on Friday and email me what the TA said, since it wasn't due until Tuesday. I thanked her for doing that and then showed her in the textbook about sub-routines and how to access them. She incorporated some more code as I watched, glancing at her discretely.

"Ok, I have to go soon. Are you ok for today Steph?"

"Yep, thanks Mike. I'll see you tomorrow morning. I'm going to stay here for a bit and get more done" she said.

"Vicky said she would be here early. When you're done, maybe you can watch practice for a bit with her and you can have dinner with us" I suggested.

"Maybe I will Mike. If not, I'll see you tomorrow" she said.

I went to get changed, and then stretched before joining the warm-up skate. Ian and John joined me as we shot on Bob, this time without breaking the back panel. We shot until Fred and Frank came out and had us gather around again.

Fred spoke up "We're going to work a lot this afternoon on our defensive game in our own zone today. We'll rotate the starting six D on defence while the D not starting will act as offensive D. We'll do the same thing with the forwards. We will concentrate on a couple of things; one, how to handle dump-ins and two, dealing with large powerful forwards. Our D needs experience with this and the forwards need to help out if the D gets caught out of position or make a mistake.

We are going to start with our normal pairs and then switch them around as if we have an injury or someone is in the penalty box. Everyone needs to be able to play with everyone else. Are there any questions?"

There weren't any so Fred and Frank organized the guys for a bit that were playing the opposition while I talked to Ian while John and Steve listened.

"Ian, the biggest thing when a team dumps it in is to quickly judge if you have enough time to get to the puck and either pass it to your defence partner or clear it up the boards. If you think you do then go for it and then avoid the hit that will be coming. If you don't thinks so or you're not sure then let their guy get it and hit him instead. This practice is about getting you, and me, some experience at game speed to make that judgement. Steve and Frank will help you the first few times on the decision and then it will be up to you. Make the wrong decision and it could cost you a big hit against you which could put you out of the game and the puck in our net, so err on the side of caution. I'm positive that they will be making sure that you have forward help as much as they can."

John took over and said "They will target you and Mike as rookies and will dump to your side rather than Steve's or mine. Once you get the hang of things it will actually benefit us because if you can get a pass to us, we can start the counter attack because that's our job anyway. Like Mike says, err on the side of caution and protect yourself. We need you to play some good minutes or everything suffers if the rest of us are tired. Listen to your partner and the goalie and follow instructions."