I’m loving having extra time with Ellis and Jack during the offseason as the pregnancy has moved past the halfway point. There’s just one glaring issue: the sex. It was amazing. It was what I wanted. But it was our boundary, and we broke it. Now I have no idea where I stand. Where we stand.

There is only one thing that keeps me from calling Ellis and putting on the pressure about our relationship: being on the ice. I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be at the rink when I got here a few hours ago, but colour me surprised, because a few minutes after I got out on the ice, Edge followed behind.

Honestly, I think he is beating himself up a little bit. No player wants to lose and I think he is trying to prove himself for next season. It’s a commendable thing, but I’m not good enough at pep talks to tell him that. Instead I told him to get in goal so I could work on my slap shot.

To be candid, Edge is shit in goal. Too big to move quickly enough to block, but I figure if I was in goal he’d take his frustration out on me and that doesn’t sound like fun.

“Ruin I didn’t come here to be your puck boy, I want to run some drills.” He finally whips his helmet off yelling at me. I nod to him and with a relieved sigh he skates to the bench for some water.

We race up and down the ice for a while until someone else joins us: Anders. He announces his presence by skating over while slow clapping.

“At least I know two of my players are working out instead of drinking all night.” He drawls as he nears, and I notice the bags under his eyes.

“Shit, who’s in trouble?” I ask, my chest heaving. Sweat drips from the ends of my hair.

“Got a call at two a.m. from Rook because he needed a lift home from some bar. Kid was drunker than a skunk. My car still reeks.” Normally Anders would be mad, but we know why he isn’t. Rook is blaming himself for us not making the playoffs. He was about to score when he got slammed into the boards, causing him to give the puck away to the Kings, which led to them going one up. We lost by one and he has been punishing himself ever since.

“Do we need to do something?” Edge asks. Underneath his burly exterior he loves his teammates, if he can do something to help he will.