Trade Deadline - Avon Gale Page 0,43
dark curls, and lean into their kiss.
They’d work out the details later. For now, Micah was ready for some dessert.
Chapter Thirteen
After living in Georgia for more than a decade, being back in The Peach State felt like coming home. Not for much longer, Daniel suspected, with how well he was settling in Florida. But then again, he had left part of his family behind—the family he’d created through bonds of love and friendship—and he was certain visiting them would always stir feelings of nostalgia.
The Thunder had flown into Atlanta for their second game against the Venom this season, but unlike the last time, they had an afternoon match and an evening free to themselves before their early morning flight to New York. Daniel was excited to take on his former teammates again, but more than that, he was looking forward to meeting up with some of them at Tristan and Seb’s loft afterward. A few drinks with his boys were long overdue.
On the ice, Daniel was all smiles. Things hadn’t made a complete turnaround on the Thunder, not by a long shot, but the atmosphere in the locker room had definitely improved since his conversation with Cedric a couple of weeks ago. Consequently, everyone was more relaxed, more focused, and playing a little harder. True to his word, Cedric was trying and making efforts to be more levelheaded with the team, and as chemistry built and they began the slow process of repairing the damage that had been done, Daniel hoped the rest would fall into place eventually.
After the buzzer signaled the end of the second period, Tristan swung by and gave Daniel a friendly slap on the shin pads with his stick, much like he’d done during warm-ups. “It’s so good to see you, Bellzie,” he said, grinning around his mouth guard, as they skated toward their respective benches. “Looks like you guys are finally starting to come together. You even managed to sneak a goal past Ryu. Expect to hear him bitch about that tonight.”
Daniel laughed. “I can’t wait.”
“Missed you, man. Let’s catch up later, okay?”
“Of course.”
Tristan bumped his shoulder before they separated.
Daniel was the last one into the dressing room. Cedric, who was sitting with his helmet off and a towel draped over his shoulders, eyed Daniel as he wandered in, but he smirked instead of glared when Daniel met his gaze. “Conspiring with the enemy, eh?”
Daniel tentatively smiled back. “Telling him all our trade secrets.”
“Ha,” Demetrius said. He had a bottle of Gatorade in his hand and his face gleamed with sweat. “As the reigning champs, they probably do need a few tips on how to lose to give the rest of us poor schmucks half a chance.”
Cedric’s smirk faded. “I’m glad you can joke about our losses.”
“Hey, Tex, sometimes it’s laugh or cry.” Demetrius spread his arms. “We’ve been doing better because you’re finally starting to pull that stick out of your ass thanks to Bellzie here, but we’ve got miles to go before we’re even in the same caliber as the Venom. We’re lucky to be going into the third period tied, and you know it.”
Cedric thinned his mouth but didn’t contest the remark.
Daniel crossed the room to his stall, pulling off his gloves as he went. “Come on, guys, let’s focus on the positive. Things have been more balanced lately, right? We’re going to go out there and put our best foot forward, and maybe we can pull off a win. Tied means it’s still anyone’s game.”
“Hell yeah.” Demetrius flashed him a smile. “Just don’t want us getting complacent, know what I mean?”
“Then maybe go get your blades sharpened, D, because you were looking a little sloppy on your edges out there.”
Demetrius chuckled. “Damn, man, calling me out. And here I thought we were friends.”
But he put his drink down, shot Daniel a wink, and went out into the hall to have one of the equipment guys attend to his skates.
Across the room, Cedric gave Daniel a nod. It still wasn’t anything like the easy camaraderie he shared with the Venom, but hell, after the rough start they’d had, Daniel would take it.
* * *
The Thunder pulled off a win, barely, but at the end of the day, it didn’t matter how it happened as long as it meant another check in the W column. Cedric got the game-winning goal only seconds before the final buzzer would’ve sent them to overtime. It wasn’t a pretty goal and definitely wouldn’t be making any