Page 14 of Tough Guy and the Show Off

“Oh fuck no,” Trav growls. “We are not losing to Toronto.”

“Show, Bozy, get out there,” Coach Hall yells.

Me and Show tap helmets when we hit the ice, and there’s a sudden uptick in the cheers from the crowd. Harlson taps my shoulder, pointing to the stands, and I see several people holding up signs that say “Team ShowBeau-t” on them.

“What the hell is that?” I ask, chuckling.

“Look at that one.” Trav points.

The sign says “ShowBeau-t is MAGIC.” I can only laugh.

“ShowBeau-t?”

“I think that’s your ship name,” Basilio says as he skates off the ice.

“What the hell is a ship name?” I ask.

The guys just laugh as Travis and I give each other confused looks.

“We’ll find out later,” Trav says. “We’ve got a game to dominate. My job is to get that puck in Toronto’s net. Your job?”

“Keep them out of ours. I got your back, Trav.”

“I know you do, Bozy.” He winks and we get into position.

The rest of the game is electric. Travis and I are completely in sync, and he manages to score again, assist on two goals, and me and the other D-men make an impenetrable wall between Toronto and Nilsson.

We end the game with a two-goal lead, which is good enough for me.

Nikola Aleksov, Toronto’s powerhouse D-man, skates over to me and claps me on the shoulder. “Good game, Bozy. Make me look bad.”

Chuckling, I shake my head. “Nothing makes you look bad, Bruiser.”

I skate off with my team and head to the locker room, filled with excited energy. That was the best I’ve played in a long time, and it has to be because of how good Trav is. Sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am to get to play with him.

“Get cleaned up, boys,” Trav yells. “We’ve got some celebrating to do.”

We all holler and cheer, but the mood shifts quickly when Coach Hall steps into the room, focusing his gaze on our struggling goalie.

“Nilsson. A minute please.”

Nilsson stands, his head low as he shuffles out of the room to follow Coach. I exchange glances with Trav, but he quickly forces a smile onto his face.

“First round’s on me when we get to the bar,” he announces to more cheers.

Nilsson needs to get his shit together if he wants a future on this team, but I push those concerns away when our assistant coach comes over to me.

“Press conference after you shower.”

I pull my head back and cringe. “Uh, no, thanks. I don’t like media.”

“Part of the job, Bozy. Showalter will be with you. They’re dying to talk about the chemistry we saw out there tonight.”

Travis claps my shoulder. “We’ve got this, Bozy.”

“Yeah, okay,” I grumble, heading for the shower. The sooner that part is over, the sooner I get to relax with my boys. Even better, in a few hours, I’ll be alone with my best friend again.

There’s nowhere I’d rather be.