Chapter 3

Thursday I was cranky. I didn't sleep much and I was horny and frustrated. Jacking off in the shower didn't help much. I went to the arena to let some aggression out. I got there early and stood waiting while the ice was cleaned. I stretched until it was ready and then skated for a bit. A few people came on the ice but the guys that usually were there did not show up. The driver put the divider up at centre ice and put the net out with a thick plywood goalie cut-out tied in to give people something to shoot around. I brought a few pucks and dropped them and started shooting from the blueline. Nobody joined me so I had the one side to myself. I warmed up slowly and shot more to pick the open spots then for power for awhile. After going in and having to grab the pucks from the back of the net a few times, I started shooting for power. I cranked a few and hit the goalie cut-out with a loud bang a couple of times and missed high off the glass a couple more. I was thinking about Vicky and not paying too much attention to my surroundings or my shots. I got to what she said about the asshole did and I got mad again while shooting. The first shot hit the goalie stick at the top and broke it off. The next hit the goalie stick at the bottom along the ice and broke it. The third broke off the glove and the fourth hit the goalie in the mask and broke the head right off. The last one missed the net high and shattered the Plexiglas behind the net. That woke me up from the rage I felt and the tunnel vision receded. I looked around and there were a bunch of people looking at me in shock. Oh shit.

I grabbed up my pucks and the pieces of wood from the cut-out and by that time the Zamboni driver was on the other side of the boards looking at me.

"Sorry, I kind of zoned out there for a bit and forgot where I was at. I'll pay for the damages and help you clean it up ok?" I said nervously.

"Don't worry about it kid, I was just a bit shocked. That hasn't happened in the ten years that I have been working here. The last time I heard it happened it was a shot from I guy that went on to play for the Bruins" he said.

"Well let me clean up the ice for you at least" I offered. "Hand me a shovel will you?"

He grabbed one and passed it through and I handed him the broken wood from the cut-out.

"You broke Simon too? Remind me never to get in front of you when you shoot. That was one inch new plywood!"

"Sorry about that. Back home we had to make a metal one when we kept breaking it a couple of years ago. We usually make three or four a year of those as well."

I went around and shovelled the shards of Plexiglas that were on the ice and handed the full shovel back to him. I untied the remains of Simon and passed that through as well.

"Do you have a spare section to put in? I can help you put it in if you do." I said.

"Yes we do, but they are back in the garage. It will take me about 15 minutes to get it" he replied.

"Ok, I'll change and meet you back here in a few minutes"

He went one way and I left the ice, walking through a small crowd of people waiting to get on. I didn't say anything to them but they all watched me silently as I passed. That's what happens when I let my anger get the best of me I thought. I quickly changed and met the driver at the back of the rink. We opened the gates and put two ladders on either side of the opening and then went and got the Plexiglas panel. We slid it in place and I held it while he put the metal retainers back on to hold it in. He thanked me for my help and then he had to clean the ice so I left him to it after apologizing again.

I left the rink and went home to have a shower. I took out the chicken to thaw and then had some lunch. I checked my emails but didn't get any from the lawyer or real estate agent so I called them to check up on them. The lawyer let me know that the estate was all set to pass on to me except for the issue with the accident at the Mill and the sale of the house. I asked if the estate could forward some money to me for expenses without having to have it all finalized and he said he would get back to me on that tomorrow. The real estate agent had a couple of people go through the house but no offers yet.

I went to another orientation at the Computer Science Department and met some of the professors and fellow students. It was good to get to know the Profs outside of the classroom and you could see they were normal people.

I went back to the apartment and coated the thawed out chicken pieces with a store bought coating and put them in the oven. I peeled some potatoes and set them ready to boil. After a half hour, I flipped the chicken and put them back in. I turned on the potatoes to boil and got some frozen veggies ready to cook in the microwave.

I made some simple gravy with a store bought powder mix and mashed the potatoes when they were ready. The microwave was turned on and the chicken came out of the oven crispy and brown. I put them on a plate and drained the vegetables and put everything on the table. I just had time to change and then I heard a knock on the door. I opened up to see a vision, Vicky had on a tight tank top which showed her midriff and a white mini skirt showing her long legs off nicely.

"Holy shit Vicky, you look so hot in that outfit!" I gasped.

"Thank you Mike, That was a well thought out gentlemanly comment from a mature adult" she said with a straight face.

I looked at her face and got my emotions a bit under control. "I'm sorry about that Vicky, but I think you came over here with that outfit to get a reaction and I'm really trying to act like a gentleman, but that outfit on that body makes it hard to do that."

She grinned and squeezed by me tightly and I'm sure she felt my reaction below my belt. She sat down at the table and hid her legs and bare mid-riff under the table.

I quickly tried to hide the bulge by turning to get drinks from the fridge and then let the table hide it.

"This looks so good Mike" she said, as I uncovered everything. You certainly know your way around a kitchen" she complimented me.

I thanked her and served her some food and grabbed some for me and we dug in. We ate with little chit chat about her day and we finished pretty quickly. We got up and cleared away the food and did the dishes. We finished up and it got awkward.

"Let's sit Mike and have our talk" she suggested as she sat down at the table.

"Ok" I gulped and sat as well.

"So, you really like my outfit?" she asked.

"Yes, you look like a model at a fashion show" I gushed.

"Do you think I wear something like this out and about all the time?" she inquired.

"God I hope not, you would start a riot. You would be beating men and boys off with a bat" I replied.

She smiled and continued "But I wore this here to see you. Do you know why?"

"Umm, you feel safe enough with me to wear that around me" I said hesitantly.

"Well I do feel safe that you wouldn't attack me, but that's not the reason" she said.

"I don't know, maybe you want me to realize that you're pretty confident with yourself and your body after all that went on last year?"

"Good try but not what I was going for" she said.

"Is it your way to show me you want to be more than friends?" I said grasping at straws.

"No the kisses last night were that sign" she retorted.

"I give up. Why?" I asked.

"I wore this for you, not anyone else, ever. That means you are special. That means you are worthy. That means you are not out of my league. That means you are the only one in the league with me. That means you do not have to be shy or timid or nervous or jealous. After tomorrow's date we will be officially boyfriend and girlfriend and you will act like my boyfriend. You will be confident that you and only you are the focus of my attention and I will be confident and proud of you as a friend, as a boyfriend and that you will do your best to protect me should I need it. Capesh?"

I looked at her for a bit and straightened in my seat. If she could say that and wear that to make a point I guess it was my turn to shake off the ghosts of high school and step up to be a man. I had been doing everything a man had to do for a long time, except when it came to women, or in this case one particular woman.

"I understand and accept all that goes with being your boyfriend. I am honoured that you feel that way and I will live up to my end of the equation"

I stood up and pulled her up and pulled her into a hug and gave her a kiss that became a little hot and heavy. I pulled away and said "Let's go!"

"Michael, where are we going? I can't go anywhere in this!" she panicked.

"Yes you can" I said as we kept going up the stairs. "We will go get a movie and come back. You will be with your boyfriend who will not let anything happen to you".

"Michael, please let me change, it's too short" she begged.

"Victoria Waters, you are my girlfriend, and if I think you are ok to go out, you have to trust me. Let's go" I said with authority.

"Sure now he grows a set" I heard her mutter. We walked down to the store without major accidents and only a couple strained necks. The clerk certainly couldn't keep his eyes off of her and Vicky looked embarrassed but nothing happened on the way back either.

We got back into my apartment and she gave me a shot in the stomach because I was grinning at her. I wasn't expecting it and woofed out some air but kept upright.

"That wasn't nice Michael. I felt like a tramp out there" she exclaimed.

"You looked gorgeous and not a tramp. I felt like a million bucks having you holding my hand. And you found out that I could take the heat of being your boyfriend. That was the reason we did it" I stated with some authority. "You want me to be a man; I'll be your man, but my way".

Now it was her turn to be silent and do some thinking.

"Fair enough. No more games, teases or hidden agendas from either one of us. Deal?" she finally stated.

"Deal" I agreed. "Now I think you had better put on a less revealing outfit so you can lie beside me to watch the movie without me all over you".

She was going to say something smartass but as she looked up at me and saw I was serious she stopped, thought for a second and then gave me a small smile and agreed.

"Ok Michael, give me a minute" she said and went next door to change.

I set up the movie and got the drinks and snacks ready when she came back with a full t-shirt and comfortable shorts on.

"Thanks Vicky, I appreciate it" I said with a smile.

She smiled back and got on the bed. The rest of the evening went smoothly and I walked her back to her room and bent down to give her a long kiss while I caressed her back. I'm happy to say that she was panting and a little dazed when we stopped rather than me.

"Good night Vicky" I said.

"Goodnight Michael" she replied as we went in and shut our doors.

I went to bed with visions of Vicky in her short skirt and bare midriff lying on my bed on her stomach looking back at me...

I woke up Friday feeling pretty darn good. I had a date tonight with a fox and would have a girlfriend after tonight. Life was turning around. I did the normal morning stuff and went to the arena to get in more practice. I looked at the intramural board and they had teams listed and people assigned. I found myself on the Wildcats and saw they would be practising tomorrow morning to get everyone acquainted with each other. I changed and got on the ice and did my usual skate for a bit. After I was done I glided over to the other side and saw the just the original two guys and the goalie there hanging around.

"Hi guys, mind if I join in?" I asked.

"Sure Mike" said Frank. "I should introduce these guys to you, this is Shawn and our goalie is Mark"

"Nice to meet you guys" I greeted them and shook their hands.

Frank asked "So can you play defence Mike?"

"Sure, I used to do a lot of one on one drills both as the defence and the forward" I replied.

"Good" said Frank. "Shawn needs some work on his one on one skills ok?"

"Alright" I agreed.

We lined up with Shawn at centre and I was at the blueline waiting for him. He came in pretty fast so I had to back up and turn as he tried to get past me on the left side. I had a longer reach so I poke checked the puck away as he tried to cut in. I skated to the puck and softly put it out past the blueline. Shawn tried again on the other side this time and this time I kept up and wouldn't let him cut into the net. We got close to the boards but I let up and didn't check him in so we skated right around the net with me close and he went back out to start again. This time he went right at me and pushed the puck past me and tried to skate around me. I just kept backing up and got in front of him without actually touching him so he had to go through me to get at the puck. It slid to the goalie and he cleared it.

Shawn tried a few more tricks, like faking one way and going the other, stopping quickly and going the other way, pure speed rushes, power forward rushes to muscle into the goalie with the defender along for the ride, taking shots with me as a screen and so on. He got by a few times, especially the longer we went on.

Frank called a break and waved us over. He threw each of us a water bottle which was welcome.

"Mike, you handled yourself well out there" he said.

"Thanks, but it's been a year since I've done some of that. Shawn's got some good moves that's for sure" I said as I sucked wind and had some water.

Shawn started taking some shots at Mark so we joined him and took a few as well. I kept it pretty tame for a bit until Mark told me to put some heat on a few. I put some more power into the shots and started picking the corners. He started compensating for his stick side so I mixed it up and shot low glove side then high over his shoulder and then five hole when he stayed up rather than go down into his butterfly. He was getting better that's for sure or trying harder anyway. I put a couple at him at full power but tried to keep away from his head or body. He caught one with his glove that stung him but he wanted a few more. I was feeling pretty good so I made him work by going to all his weak spots one after another when Frank fed me pucks one after another. Finally one of my shots broke his stick and went in and we called a stop. Both Mark and I were sweating buckets as we skated off the ice.

"Sorry about your stick Mark. Can I give you some money to replace it?"

"That's ok, Mike, the team provides all my equipment. Thanks anyway" he replied.

"Oh, ok. Thanks for the practice. See you guys next week maybe"

I went back to my locker room and was getting changed when Frank came in with another older gentleman.

"Mike, this is Fred Benson, the coach of the University Men's Hockey team" Frank said.

"Mr. Benson, how are you?" I greeted him as we shook hands.

"Nice to meet you Mike" said Fred. "Frank has been telling me about you this week and Rolf told me how you wrecked Simon and a panel of Plexiglas"

Frank looked at Fred and then at me. "That was you? I heard someone did a number but I didn't know who".

"Sorry about that. I offered to pay for the damages but Rolf didn't take me up on it. I can cut you a check if you know the amount." I said.

Fred laughed and said "No Mike, we don't want your money. Thanks for offering but that thing is covered under normal building maintenance. Don't worry about it ok?"

"Good, that might have drained my account" I said in relief.

Fred continued "I was watching when you and Shawn were going one on one and your shooting display. I was impressed and I don't impress easily. Where did you play hockey?"

"Up in Northern Ontario. We had a rink in back of the house every winter that my Dad and I played and did some shooting."

"And where did you play your organized hockey" he asked.

"When I was a kid I played a bit at the local rink but I haven't done that in about three years." I replied.

"So are you telling me your only training is from your Dad?"

"I guess"

"Did your Dad play organized hockey?"

"I'm not sure, he never mentioned it but he was very good. He could skate rings around me most of the time and he had a much harder shot than I have"

"What's your father's name Mike?" he asked.

"Hank Stewart" I replied.

Fred thought for a minute and said "I can't remember off hand anyone with that name but it seems to ring a bell. I'll have to do a little research. Frank does he ring a bell?"

"No, Fred, he doesn't"

"So gentlemen, why all the questions if you don't mind me asking?" I inquired.

They looked at each other and Frank nodded to Fred. Fred turned to me and said "The reason we are here is that we would like you to try out for our team. We think you could help us on defence and the power play with that shot of yours. Frank tells me that you were going to join the intramural league but you won't find it very competitive and to be honest, we think you would eventually seriously hurt someone with those slap shots of yours."