Chapter 2

Monday afternoon saw me walking to the arena after my Game design course. The professor gave us the first project outline which was to set up the shell of a game, including the storage database and the simple user interface and code to control the game. Everything had to be planned out and organized beforehand or we would end up doing it all over again when something made us change our mind down the road. It also allowed for easy updates if you knew what files controlled what with proper labelling and a plan to follow. My phone rang as I was planning out the project in my head.

"Hello?" I asked absentmindedly.

"Mike, it's Ken Holland from the Detroit Red Wings," he said. "Have I caught you at a bad time?"

"Mr. Holland, it's good to hear from you," I said, quickly focusing on the conversation. "Your timing is perfect; I'm just walking to the arena to get on the ice."

"I have the pleasure of telling you that the deal went through with the Islanders and Detroit now owns your rights," he told me.

"That is excellent news Mr. Holland, and a dream come true," I responded. "Thank you for believing in me enough to give up what you had to in order to make it happen. I promise that you won't ever regret it."

"We got the deal of the century Mike, a minor league defenceman who wanted a trade and a second round pick next year, for a potential star," he replied. "We're very happy with the deal and we're thrilled that you're in our organization. The NHL office will announce the trade very soon and we'll put out a quick statement out to the normal media outlets in the next hour."

"Glad to hear the feeling is mutual," I replied. "Do you want me to come down to Detroit for anything?"

"There's no rush, sometime this week maybe so we can get a couple of pictures taken with you and discuss a few things," he replied. "What day is good for you?"

"I have Friday's open if you can wait that long, but if not I can skip an afternoon skate and be there before four pm any day, including today," I told him.

"Friday is fine, let's say ten am at Joe Louis Arena," he suggested. "Wear a suit and tie and we'll take some pictures, do a quick tour and then have some lunch where we can talk about the future."

"Sounds good, Mr. Holland, I'll be there before ten at the main entrance," I told him.

"I'll have someone waiting for you there," he replied. "Do you have a number you would like to claim? I'm afraid number five is taken as is fifty five."

"Fifty is fine if it's not being used," I told him after thinking about it for a few seconds.

"No, fifty is not being used and in fact has never been used until now," He said.

"I like the fact that I'll be the first one using the number," I told him.

"Alright, next on the agenda is the fact that Steve Yzerman is going to announce the Olympic tryout roster tomorrow so there will be questions about why you're invited especially since we just acquired you. If someone asks, just be truthful and say that the Olympic invite was extended last week and the trade just happened today so they are unrelated."

"I'll follow that script then," I agreed. "I'm sure there will be some talk about my inclusion versus other more experienced defencemen in the league. I'll leave answering those questions to you and Mr. Yzerman and the others. I'm just excited to be invited and plan to prove that I belong there."

"Sounds good to me, Mike," Ken replied. "Try not to let any negative talk get you down. You earned the invite. You're going to be one of the biggest and strongest defenceman we have there and you definitely won't be the slowest. Work hard to be in the best shape you can and you'll do fine."

"Don't worry about that, no one will outwork me there, that I guarantee," I assured him.

"Alright, Steve and Coach Babcock will be there on Friday so we'll talk more then," Ken said.

"I'll see you on Friday," I replied. "Thanks again, Mr. Holland."

"You're welcome, though I think you had more to do with this then you're letting on," he said with a chuckle.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Holland," I replied with an innocent voice.

"You better practice that before you speak to the media," he said with a laugh. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye for now," I replied and we hung up.

I called Asuka and told her the trade was official and asked her to pass it on to the other two. She congratulated me and said she would see me tomorrow night. I entered the arena and made my way to Coach Benson's office.

"Mike, just the man I was looking for, this is Trevor Gardiner and Pete Laval, rookie forwards that will be joining the team next month," Fred said.

"Glad to meet you guys," I said, shaking their hands.

"I put out an invite to all the rookies to come and practice for a week with you over the summer if they had time and these two signed up for this week," Fred explained. "Why don't you show them to the dressing room and we'll get ready for our hour this afternoon. They'll be joining you in the morning workout and skate for the rest of the week as well."

"That's great news, misery loves company, especially at six in the morning," I said with a laugh. "Grab your stuff and we'll head to the locker room."

I found them a couple empty lockers to use for the week in the locker room and we quickly got dressed and did some stretching as Rolf cleaned the ice. We helped him put the nets up and got Oz on one and old Patrick on the other. After a quick skate and shooting warm-up, Fred came on the ice.

"I got good news today, I was traded to Detroit," I told him off to the side. "I'm going to meet with them on Friday but I expect they'll encourage me to stay here for at least a year. It should be out on the wire soon."

"Very good news," Fred said. "When are they announcing the Olympic roster?"

"Sometime tomorrow," I told him.

"Ok, I won't tell these two until then," he said before he called them over.

"Trevor and Pete, you're going to be the offensive team against us or just Mike for the hour," Fred explained. "We want you to use your speed to get around us most of the time but also stop and use us as screens from time to time. We'll also be using you as forecheckers and see if you can hound Mike when he's carrying the puck up the ice."

They nodded and we began. Both of them were relatively small, Trevor at five ten and probably a hundred and seventy, and Pete at five eight and maybe one sixty. What they gave away in size, they gained in speed. Coach had them coming in from centre ice to start and we backed off from the blueline. Pete went wide on me the first time and I had to quickly turn from skating backwards to forwards to keep up with him. I barely kept him from going around me and right onto net, but forced him to go around the net. I went in front of the net to catch him out the other side while Coach tied up Trevor out front. I out-muscled Pete for the puck in the corner and passed it back to centre ice.

We did different versions of two on two for the next twenty minutes and then two on one after a short break. My job on a two on one break was to try and stop the final pass over to the second man and let the goalie handle the shooter. It was exhausting and unrewarding work as I only blocked about half of the passes.

The final fifteen minutes I started behind my net with the puck and had to carry it up to centre ice against the two forecheckers. I had Coach as an outlet at the half boards on one side or the other but he was usually covered by one of them, so I had to break out against the other forward and try to out skate him or deke him at some point. Sometimes they double teamed me and I either had to pass it off or try and get to centre ice before shooting it into the other zone to avoid an icing call. All and all it was a good practice and we gathered by the boards when our time was up.

"Thanks guys; I'll see you guys at six for a workout and then we'll do another hour of power skating and skills from seven to eight," I told them. "I'm sorry I can't stick around tonight, I've got a bunch of homework to do."

"That's ok, Coach told us your schedule was booked and you only had a couple hours to practice with us," Pete said. "We'll see you in the morning. Thanks for letting us help out."

I had a quick shower and drove back to the condo.

Daphne and Willow were both sitting at the dining room table listening to a recording of one of the band's songs when I came in. They both were in jeans and tee shirts and looked a bit like sisters.

"Hello ladies, have a good day today?" I asked, sliding my book bag onto the table.

"Hi Mikey," Willow replied. "We had a good session today and finished earlier than expected. Daphne's all finished here as well so she wanted to hear one of our songs."

"It looks good in here and that lasagne smells great," I complimented Daphne as I looked around.

"Thanks Mike, it should be ready to eat anytime," she said, getting up.

"You don't have to leave so soon," I told her.

"I've took an extra shift at the pizzeria so I need to get going," she said.

I handed her an envelope with the money for both condos.

"This should cover last week's and this week's for both condos," I told her. "We'll probably want some pizza later in the week as well."

"Thanks," she said, slipping it into her pocket. "I'm making a dry-cleaning run Wednesday, so let me know what needs to go, ok?"

"I will leave it on the table here Tuesday night," I told her.

"See you Wednesday afternoon, Willow," Daphne said before heading out.

"She's such a hard worker," Willow remarked after she was gone. "She reminds me of you but in a cuter package."

"Much cuter," I agreed. "You work just as hard on your music as I do my studies and hockey. And you're very beautiful so don't get jealous of her."

"Oh, I'm not jealous of her," Willow responded.

She stood up and pulled me down for a kiss.

"She doesn't get to do that, now does she?" Willow asked with a grin.

"Nope," I answered.

Are you hungry?" she asked.

I grinned down at her.

"Stupid question," she stated with a shake of her head. "Come on, let's eat."

We got the lasagne and garlic bread out of the oven and filled two plates before sitting out on the dining room table.

"The official announcement of the trade has probably broken by now," I told her. "Tomorrow they announce the roster for the Olympic team. It's going to get interesting with the media, especially because of the trade. Steve Yzerman, Ken Holland and Mike Babcock all work for the Red Wings and are highly involved in the Olympic team this time around. More than a few people are going to say they are playing favourites."

"That's nonsense, the roster was decided last week and the trade just happened today," Willow said. "But most people won't care about the timing, will they?"

"You know Canadian hockey fans, and the Canadian hockey media," was all I had to say.

"You're just going to have to ignore what they say and keep working hard so you can prove them all wrong," she told me. "I won't have you doubting yourself for the next six weeks or you'll fail for sure. I want you confident without being cocky. I want to go see you play at the Olympics in Vancouver next winter."

"Don't get your hopes up," I said. "I'm probably a thousand to one long shot to make the team. They don't pick the team until the end of the year and they will be scouting their players all season long in the NHL. Even if I have a record year in the college ranks it probably won't be enough to get selected."

"You could always go pro with Detroit," she suggested.

"They don't need me this year so I would probably be sent to the minors. I don't think that would help my cause," I told her. "I'm sure we'll discuss it Friday when I meet with them downtown at the Joe."

"Well, you can only control what you do on the ice, wherever you play," she said. "I want to see you put an all out effort every shift of every game, every practice and in the weight room. Some of those players will be coasting, thinking they're going to get an automatic roster spot. You have to play for the sixth or seventh spot and, while it's bad to say, you might have to hope that an injury opens up a spot for you."

"Yes Ma'am, I'll heed your sage advice and work my butt off every chance I can," I told her," I said. "Now, let's eat and move on to other subjects."

After supper, Willow scanned the channels to find the trade announcement while I worked on my assignments and then started planning my project on my laptop.

"Mikey, it's on ESPN now," Willow said and turned it up.

'In a surprising move, the New York Islanders have traded the rights of Mike Stewart, star defenceman of the University of Michigan Wolverines, to the Detroit Red Wings for Paul Jones, an AHL defenceman, and a second round pick in next year's draft. Garth Snow, the GM of the Islanders, put out a brief statement, stating the reason is the need for more immediate help on the ice when Stewart decided to stay at school for at least one to two more years. Ken Holland of the Red Wings also put out a statement stating that they were very pleased to pick up a local talent that they had scouted extensively last year. John, what do you think of the trade?'

'Tom, the Detroit Red Wings might have just pulled off the steal of the century with this deal. Stewart is big, fast and has a monster shot from the point. He even played forward for a few games last year. I think he could compete for a roster spot right now on the team, but they don't need him so he gets to mature and improve at the college level for at least a year. I don't know what the Islanders were thinking. It cost them nothing to hang onto him until he finished college. I think it's a big mistake, one that they will be regretting for years to come.'

'I have to agree with you John, no sense what so ever, ' the other broadcaster agreed before moving on to another story.

Willow turned down the volume.

"They're on your side tonight at least," she stated. "I'd like to hear what they say tomorrow after the Olympic announcement."

"I'll let you pay attention to that, I'm going to try not to listen to any of it," I told her.

Willow let me work for another hour before coming over to sit on my lap.

"Time for a break," she said as she put her arms around my neck. "I'd like a bit of attention please."

"Yes Ma'am," I replied, saving my work before picking her up and carrying her to the couch.

I sat down and then leaned back, pulling her down on top of me.

"So how are you enjoying your stay here in Ann Arbor?" I asked.

"It's a nice place and the studio is great," she said, looking down on me with her hands propping up her head. "I wish I could spend more time with you but at least I get to see you fairly often."

"I'm sorry that we can't be together all the time," I told her, rubbing her back. "Things are going to get even busier soon enough so we better make good use of the time we do have together."

"What did you have in mind?" she asked in a sultry voice.

"Oh, play some chess maybe," I replied with a straight face. "I'm sure you haven't been practicing."

She got such a disappointed look on her face that I had to laugh before I inquired, "What, that wasn't what you had in mind?"

"No it wasn't buster; now kiss me before I take your chessboard and shove it somewhere you won't like," she threatened with a growl.

"Yes Ma'am," I replied and planted a kiss on her lips while I hugged her tight.

Soon we were open mouth kissing and our tongues wrestled in one mouth or the other. I ran my hands down her back and, once I heard her moan, I moved them down to her jean clad ass and lightly squeezed her tight cheeks. Willow wiggled her ass but didn't make any protests as I checked her cute derriere out without taking it too far. She moaned a bit more and slid her legs to either side of me so she could grind herself lightly on my lower abdomen. After a couple minutes she broke off the kiss and looked down at me.

"Mikey, can we take our shirts off so I can feel your skin next to mine?" Willow asked. "I'm keeping my bra on but it's time we went a bit farther."

"Whatever you'd like to do is fine by me," I replied with a smile. "Just so you know I will be staring at you. I've dreamt about what you look like under your clothes for a long time."

"You won't be the only one staring," she responded with a grin as she sat up.

I helped her pull the tee shirt off of her and looked at her slim body. She had decent tone to her body without being as muscular as Asuka. Her breasts were cone shaped and looked very nice in a lacy half bra. My hands went to her shoulders and down her arms and I marvelled at her smooth skin.

"You, my dear Willow, are one gorgeous woman," I told her as I tore my eyes from her body to look at her face.

She was smiling down at me and replied, "I like how you look at me, with appreciation rather than leering at me like a boy. Thank you for the compliment but I know the others are much more beautiful than I am."

"Don't sell yourself short, you're very beautiful and sexy and you're my Willow Rose," I contradicted her. "No one else in the world knows you as well as I do or wants you more. Just wait until Katie and her style gurus get a hold of you and you'll see what I already know. You're going to have every magazine wanting you to be on their cover. The combination of your beauty and your talent will make you go as far as you want. I just hope you'll remember our time together fondly when you're a huge star."

"And where do you think you're going to be?" she asked in a huff as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"I have no doubt some handsome Hollywood actor or top musician will sweep you off your feet in time," I said with a smile.

"Now you listen here Michael Stewart, I have my handsome celebrity right where I want him, underneath me right now," she said. "Get that shirt off so I can lie down on top of you and convince you that there is no one I'd rather be with than you."

"Yes Ma'am," I said as she scooted down to sit on my groin and help me pull off my shirt.

"Oh my," she said as I pulled it over my head, her hands reaching to caress my chest as I sat up. "Mikey, you're so muscular and ripped. Wow!"

I let her have her time exploring my torso as I watched her face and snuck some looks at her perky breasts. She eventually looked up at me and smiled.

"The real thing is much better than all the pictures," she remarked. "I can't believe how much you've done in a year to get yourself like this."

"You're done a lot to make yourself even more beautiful this year as well," I responded. "Our year away from there has done wonders for both of us. I'm so glad we've found each other again."

She impulsively hugged me and whispered into my ear, "You have no idea how much you mean to me. Promise me that we'll work hard to stay together, no matter where our careers take us. I couldn't bear not to have you in my life."

"I promise I'll do whatever it takes to be with you as long as you want me," I responded.

"Good, because I'll do the same," she told me as I rubbed her back.

Willow's hands explored my back for a couple of minutes and then she sat back a bit and very quickly undid the front clasp of her bra and pulled it off.

"I need to feel your chest on mine," she explained when she saw my look. "My pants are staying on, at least for now."

"Willow Rose, you're gorgeous," I said, moving my hand to caress one of her breasts before she could hug me.

"Hmmm," she said, biting her lip.

I brought up my second hand and took her second breast in hand. Her nipples were hard and she gasped when I tweaked them. It didn't take long for her breathing to deepen and her hips to start moving to rub herself on my erection.

"Mikey, that feels so good," she told me. "I've never felt so hot before with a guy."

I grinned at her and replied, "Now that statement needs clarification. It tells me that you have felt this way before, so who was it with if it wasn't a guy?"

She blushed and answered, "I'm not telling you that yet. Just forget I said that."

I chuckled and gave her a kiss before saying, "Don't be embarrassed, I don't mind either way; I'm glad you've had some fun before this."

She smiled and put her arms around my neck and pulled herself close to me, making me move my hands away from her breasts. I caressed her back and held her tight.

"Do you mind if we don't go any further tonight Mikey?" she asked. "I'm sorry for teasing you again."

"Willow, don't ever apologize for going at your own speed," I told her. "We stop when you want to, no questions asked, no pressure put on you."

"You're so good to me," she said with a smile. "Don't worry; I want to do more but not all at once. We'll continue from here on the weekend, I promise."

"I'll look forward to whatever you want to do," I replied.

She sat back and looked at me with a smile.

"So, what day do I get to see you on the weekend?" she asked, still without her shirt on.

"You can see me anytime you want, all of you can," I told her, caressing her shoulders.

"We all need our private time with you," she replied. "Don't get me wrong, we like getting together with you, but I can't sit on your lap without my shirt on when they're here."

"I don't know what's wrong with society when a guy can't have a shirtless girl on his lap when entertaining other friends who happen to be girls," I said, shaking my head. "You would think they would appreciate looking at her gorgeous body and maybe even go shirtless themselves. It's a damn shame."

"I'm sure you would enjoy it Mikey, but I don't think we're ready for something like that," she replied with a grin. "This isn't a harem you have here you know. We're three individuals dating you, not a group of four."

"And my world is poorer for it," I said with a sad shake of my head.

"Just be happy you have three women that put up with this crazy thing we have going on with you," Willow told me. "None of us are that thrilled that we have to share you with two other women."

"Then why do you do it?" I asked.

She reached for her bra and I helped her put it on.

"We do it because we would rather be with you part of the week rather than not at all," she said, looking at me with a bland face. "At least you have good taste in women so we can get along. Most women would be scheming of ways to belittle or get rid of the competition but we're giving this a shot without making it any more difficult than it has to be."

"I'm sorry it's not the best solution, and it's one I never would have proposed myself," I admitted. "I like you all very much but it's wearing on a guy to try and keep one woman happy, let alone three at the same time."

"What can we do to make it easier on you?" she asked as she grabbed her shirt.

"Nothing, you're handling things very well," I replied as I pouted while she put her shirt on. "I shouldn't complain, what guy wouldn't want to be in my shoes right now."

"That's right you shouldn't be complaining, you just spent the entire time playing with my boobs," she agreed with a grin.

"I'm complaining that I have to stop," I retorted. "They are wonderful boobs except when they're covered up."

She chuckled and gave me another hug before saying, "Don't worry, you'll see them again on the weekend, I promise."

"Oh goody," I said with a grin, rubbing my hands together.

Willow laughed as she got off my lap and I put my tee shirt on while she straightened herself up.

"Remember, you're welcome to come listen to us anytime at the studio," Willow informed me. "Have a good week of practices, Mikey."

"I might be free Friday afternoon but it depends on how long I talk with the Red Wings," I told her as we walked down to her condo. "Have a good week recording and I'll see you on the weekend."

I gave her another kiss at her condo door before going back to mine. I worked on my game design project until I got tired and then hit the hay.

Tuesday morning Trevor and Pete joined me in the weight room and then on the ice. We practiced getting out of our zone with all three on one team and then two of us versus one forechecker and then finally me against the two of them. At the end of the practice, we did some power skating before calling it a morning.

After classes, Coach Benson joined us on the ice in the afternoon and we practiced quick passing as we moved up the ice and into the opposition's zone, with one of us shooting on the net at the end of each rush. We also continued with the two on one and one on one practicing. It was nice to get so much ice time and get individualized attention from the coach. Asuka was waiting for me in the condo when I got back.

"Hello Michael; how was your day?" she asked, getting up from the couch as I closed the door.

"Not bad Asuka," I replied. "How was yours?"

"Good," she replied as she came close and gave me a kiss and a hug.

"I could get used to that," I said when she stepped back.

She smiled and we walked to the table to let me put my book bag down. She was in a tee shirt and snug shorts and looked very cute with her hair in a ponytail.

"I recorded some commentary on the Olympic orientation roster announcement on the TV if you'd like to watch it some time," she told me.

"How bad did they roast me?" I asked.

"Nothing bad about you, just surprised is the best way to put it," she replied.

I went over to the TV and found the recording in the DVR section and hit play.

'The Canadian's men hockey team orientation roster was put out by Hockey Canada, with Steve Yzerman as executive director this year, ' Bob McKenzie, an announcer from Canada's TSN channel, said. 'The 46 member team reads as a who's who of the greatest talent the country has to offer. Forty five of them are NHL stars for their respective teams and the only surprise is the addition of Mike Stewart, the star defenceman for the Michigan Wolverines, who yesterday was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. When asked about Stewart's selection, Steve Yzerman noted the decision to invite him was made last week, before the trade was offered by the Islanders. Here is his response when asked about him.'

'Mike Stewart is a big, very strong, puck moving defenceman with an incredible shot and a toughness that we think will be needed at the Olympics, ' Steve Yzerman stated. 'Mike actually had the most points of any defenceman in last year's hockey season while playing in fewer games. He set nine records at the draft combine for strength and endurance and everyone knows how fit he is. As with everyone invited to the camp, Mike has an equal shot of making the team. Yes he's young, but we're making a concerted effort to bring in some young talent to mix in with our older veterans.'

'So Darren, what do you think?' Bob McKenzie asked.

'Stewart is the only controversial invitee to the camp, ' Darren Dreger stated. 'The rest of the field all have a legitimate chance at making the team, though some did not have the best year last season. It should be noted that no one will be picked at the end of the four day orientation camp as it is more to get everyone familiar with the coaches' plans and to start some teambuilding. In fact, they will only have one actual scrimmage on the last day of the camp.'

Darren Dreger continued, 'In Stewart's case, he would be fighting for one of the seven spots with the other fifteen fulltime NHL defenceman and the fact that he might not even be playing in the NHL this fall leaves his selection as a long shot at best. While he possesses the size and physical skills that will make him stand out, his experience is minimal.'

'I have to agree, ' Bob McKenzie stated. 'His age and inexperience make him an easy non-pick and therefore, at best a media topic for the next six months.'

The recording stopped and I shut the TV off.

"Look at it this way," Asuka said. "The best hockey minds in the world have picked you to be one of the sixteen best defencemen that Canada has to offer. You've already made the cut from hundreds down to sixteen. Now you have to try and convince them that you're one of the seven best which means that you only have to beat out nine players. You're as big and strong as any of them, probably faster than most of them and can shoot just as hard as them. You have six months to prove to them that you're as skilled as they are."

"I like your attitude," I said with a grin. "I'm certainly not giving up until they start playing in Vancouver next February."

"That's the attitude I want to hear," she replied. "I'll talk with Sensei and we'll start focussing your training to improve your quickness and reaction times. That might help you on the ice."

"It couldn't hurt," I agreed.

We had a light supper and let the answering machine pick up the phone calls that started coming in. When I listed to the messages later, it was reporters from newspapers, sports magazines and some from the various TV sports shows that wanted to do an interview about the trade and the Olympic selection. I didn't bother copying any of them down.