Page 109 of Cross Check

“To who?” Ethan asks.

“Everyone with eyes.”

“Listen up,” Lexi says through her microphone. “Today I want you all to focus on keeping a neutral spine and correct pelvic alignment. No, Ethan, you can’t make a joke about that.”

“Dammit,” he grumbles. “She’s too quick.”

“Pelvic alignment is going to help with any tight hips you all might be experiencing. We have about three weeks left in the postseason if we make it to the Stanley Cup final, and keeping your bodies limber and loose is going to be crucial to how you perform on the ice. So are those stretches you all should be doing on your off days.”

Lexi is a league-leading athletic trainer for a reason, and keeping our roster healthy for two full seasons is a testament to that. She knows what she’s doing, and if she asks you to spend twenty minutes a day stretching your hip flexors and quads, you do it for the sake of the Cup.

“Ready?” She beams, fixes her ponytail, and puts her hands on her hips. “Let’s get started.”

Twenty-five minutes later, I’m drenched in sweat.

“I thought today was supposed to be easy,” I pant. “What the fuck was up with those knee folds?”

“My abs are killing me.” Riley drapes a towel over his face. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and his glasses dangle from his hand. “And what the hell is a transversus abdominis?”

“I have a family,” Ethan wails. “An imaginary family fifteen years down the road who might never meet me because everything hurts and I’m not going to survive the next thirty minutes.”

“You all complain too much.” Hudson dabs at his face before reaching over to give Madeline, who hasn’t broken a sweat, a kiss on her head. They’re dating now, and another one bites the dust. “You need to regulate your breathing.”

“Shut up, Hayes.” Liam leans over his machine and glares across the room. “We don’t need your blond boy positive energy when we’re in the depths of hell.”

“How does it feel to have your ass kicked by women?” Emmy pats Maverick’s shoulder and hands him a water bottle. “Piper is half your size, and she’s mopping the floor with you.”

“Thanks for the support, Em,” Piper says.

“I, for one, am all about female empowerment,” I start, laughing when a T-shirt gets chucked at me. “The more you all kick our asses, the better. The revolution will start with the women.”

“Such a suck-up.” Ethan flips me off and lies on his back. “Is this why you’re invited to girls’ night tonight? Because you’re a kiss-ass?”

“Everyone quiet down.” Maverick wipes his face and groans. “We’re not arguing over who has the best Pilates moves. Thirty more minutes, and we’re finished. That’s all we get. You need to lock in, remember why the hell we’re putting ourselves through this workout, and give it your all.”

“He gets married and turns into some war general spreading the good news.” Ethan sighs and peels himself off the Reformer. “Fine. Thirty minutes. That’s shorter than the amount of time I can fu⁠—”

“Back on your machines,” Lexi calls out, clapping twice. “We’re starting with Hundreds.”

It takes every ounce of willpower to drag myself out of the studio. Riley walks next to me, staggering to his left while rubbing his ass cheek.

“That was unpleasant,” he says.

“Maybe this is all part of Coach’s plan,” I say. “He wants us to suffer when we’re off the ice so when we have our skates back on, the drills he puts us through seem less pulverizing. That man is a goddamn masochist.”

“I think we’re the masochists. We’re the ones who keep showing up. Want to grab a smoothie?”

“I could really go for a slice of cake, but antioxidants are probably better for us.” I sigh. “Damn the athlete lifestyle.”

We order drinks at a nearby café. After a quick photo with the teenager behind the counter and signing our names on a napkin, we find a table outside in the sun.

“To three more weeks of the season.” Riley knocks his smoothie against mine. “And the Cup we’ll hopefully get to lift again.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.” I take a gulp of the berry and banana drink. “We should all do a trip this summer. Rent a house, go somewhere fun.”

“I’d be down. It’s going to be hard to convince Mav, Sully, and Hud to join, but I bet Connor and Ethan would come.”

“It’s weird. I know the locker room is the same. Our roster hasn’t been touched in two? three seasons? But things feel different. I can’t really explain it.”