Off the Record (Off #3)(59)

Nix wrote to tell me that The Post had published Ever’s article about me and he has attached a scanned copy. He doesn’t say much, other than I should read it.

I stare at that attachment for probably fifteen minutes. My fingers itch to open it up. Would she attack me again? Or would she paint a nice picture? Would she even talk about what we meant to each other?

Most importantly...would she be truthful about her cowardice? And how she bailed on me?

I walk away from the computer and do some more unpacking. I have been taking my time, because, frankly, I don’t give a shit if my home is a disaster or not. My time basically is spent working out, eating, sleeping and partying with my new buds.

After another hour, I go back to the computer and look at the email from Nix. I wish he had given me more details about the article, but he probably assumed I would be all too eager to read it. He just doesn’t understand how devastated I was to lose Ever.

My finger hovers over the mouse. A simple double-click and I will be able to see a piece of Ever. My heart rate actually picks up at the thought of seeing her photo near the headline. Because...in the several weeks that we had spent together, Ever and I didn’t have one photo taken of ourselves as a couple.

I press the left mouse button once then I hesitate.

I stare at the attachment and my anger builds again.

Before I can think twice, I right click the file and delete it. I then go into my Deleted Items and permanently remove it from my computer.

It’s time to move on from Ever Montgomery.





Tonight, the boys and I decide to forego a nightclub, instead opting for a popular bar with a band and outdoor seating. This is a good thing because I don’t like to dance and Niko and Zane are pretty awful to watch. They have mad skills on the ice but they look like complete dorks on the dance floor. It’s why I don’t dance...because I suck at it.

We are watching the band play 70’s cover music and drinking iced cold beers from The Phoenix Ale Brewery. It doesn’t take long before we are recognized and the same thing pretty much happens each night. First, some guys will recognize us and come over and ask for autographs. Word will spread, and then the ladies come up. These are usually the ones that are genuinely interested in the sport, and a lot of them can spout more knowledge of hockey than some of our own players.

Then come those ladies that want to get in our pants. They are usually scantily dressed, overly forward and don’t take offense if you say no. But if you show interest, then you can have one in your lap and offering a blow job within a matter of minutes.

I’ve watched this show play out each night I’ve come out with the boys. They’ve tried to get me to join in on the action. I always politely declined and tell them I’m just picky. There’s no way I was going to tell them I’m still stuck on some woman back in New York.

But I think to myself that maybe I need to get unstuck. Tonight...maybe I should let loose. I’m young...I’m single...and hey, it’s what I used to do before I met Ever. She’s gone. Now there is nothing stopping me from jumping back into the game.

I pound beer after beer and after the sixth one, I’m feeling pretty good.

“Hey, Linc,” Niko yells across the table at me. He’s way drunker than I am and his Russian accent is getting thicker by the minute. “Plenty of hot women tonight, no?”

He says that as a petite redhead squirms on his lap.

Yup. He’s getting lucky tonight. I glance over at Zane, who is standing beside our table talking to two women. They look really young and I hope he checks their ID’s before he takes one—or both—home.

I pound another beer and decide to walk up to the bar rather than wait for our waitress. A fleeting image of Ever bursts into my head and I immediately banish it. I deleted the last thing connecting me to her today and I need to let it go.

Warm fingertips on my arm cause me to glance down. A well-manicured and tanned hand rests there. I follow the arm up and glance into the blue eyes of a knockout woman. And f*ck if she doesn’t look similar to Ever. Except...well, she’s tanned where Ever is fair. And although she has dark hair, it’s curly and she wears it off of her face. Her eyes are lovely, but they are not as big and round as Ever’s. She’s taller than Ever too and her tits are bigger no doubt. I can’t help but notice because they’re spilling out of the scrap of a dress she’s wearing.

“You’re Linc Caldwell,” she says. I recognize her New York accent so it’s no wonder why she recognizes me.

“Yup, that’ me,” I respond as I pay the bartender and grab my beer from him.

“I’m a huge fan.” She removes her hand and I look at her skeptically. “I used to have season tickets to the Rangers until I moved here a few months ago. That shut out you got against Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs this year was phenomenal.”

Okay...the woman knew her hockey.

“Thanks. I just happened to have a really good game that night.”

She cocks her eyebrow at me. “Good game? That was a fantastic game. You stopped forty-seven shots that night, but I would expect nothing less from the goalie with the best goals against average in the NHL this past year.”

Holy shit! She really knew her hockey. I don’t even remember how many shots I faced that game.

“That’s impressive you know that,” I compliment her.