Free Breakaway (Pro-U #1) by Ali Parker Page A

out my name. I wasn't going to survive much longer without breaking the rules I held so tightly and at least testing the waters with her. Love was out, but lust... we both could use some lust in our lives.
    "She's not that kind of girl. Get out of your head. Idiot." I pulled my helmet back on and drove toward the rink as the kiss replayed in my mind over and over. I was rock hard by the time I parked the bike and walked into the locker room. Thank God for my large duffel bag that I had pressed to the front of my joggers. Otherwise I'd be hearing about my condition for the rest of the evening, if not for the rest of the season.
    "You're late." Jayce popped me in the chest as I walked to my locker and dropped my shit.
    "Yeah. I had a short detour." I tugged my shirt off and worked to hide myself as best I could, which wasn't at all my style. I had to hope everyone was nervous enough not to notice anything but the internal bantering that was racing through all of our heads no doubt.
    "All right. Gather up you punks." Coach got up on a bench and glanced around the room as we turned to face him. "White, get your ugly ass up here."
    "Yes, Sir, Coach." I stepped up and the bench wobbled a little, almost throwing coach off balance. The guys laughed as he and I smiled at one another. "You're getting fat, old man."
    "You too." He turned back to the guys and tapped his clipboard as he rattled off our starting positions. "And, of course, Lucas, you're our forward for this one."
    "All right, keep your head in the game and don't think for one minute that these bastards haven't studied the films of our games." I turned and let my eyes move across my teammates’ faces. Each of them had a story to tell, but much like me, they were just struggling with expectations and women troubles. "This is our moment. If you're a senior, raise your hand. We win for you tonight."
    Several of the guys raised their hands, and I locked eyes with each of them, knowing that our last home game was going to mean something - win or lose.
    "Let's take these Boston College bitches out in high style tonight. We're not just winning. We're staining the ice with their loss. Got it?" I lifted my hand as the guys went nuts. Boston was our top rival, and would be the most difficult game we played all year, and yet the most rewarding.
    I hopped down and let my eyes move across the group, looking for William and not finding him. My plan had been to give Will a bit of my own playing time for the evening just to get them acclimated to how Boston played dirty. They would need to understand the depths to which this opponent would go so when we faced them in the Frozen Four again, we would be stronger - better.
    "You ready?" Jayce cupped my face. "Let's do this."
    "Where is Will?" I glanced around again as my stomach soured. The kid was riding on thin ice as it was. I was his mentor in the program, and though we had far more differences than things we could agree on, I was still in charge of his success.
    "He was in the bathroom. The little fucker is nervous." Jayce laughed, and I smiled before slipping through the crowd and walking to the bathroom area. I could hear him heaving while still a little way off.
    "Hey bro. It's time to get out there. Pull it together." I banged on the door.
    "I'm trying man. My stomach is just fucked up."
    The door opened and he moved out, pushing past me and moving to the sink.
    "What did you eat? Mark the shit off the list for next time. We need you fully ready-"
    "Hey. I don't need a fucking pep talk right now, all right? I smoked something this morning that's had my head in the toilet most of the day." He groaned as I jerked him back from the sink and held the front of his jersey tightly.
    "I told you no more drugs." I searched for signs of him being high and found none. "You're going to find your ass ejected off the team, kid. We don't put up with potheads. I've already explained that."
    "Fuck you, Lucas. You don't understand what it's like to be