Rebound

by Sophia Summers

  Then his phone dinged. You have lips, too; I managed to notice them and still beat you. Fair’s fair.

  He tipped back his head and laughed.

  Zane put in his earbuds.

  He could have said all kinds of things about learning to not be so distracted, but the truth was he loved his new fascination with Summer. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

  It’s a good thing you don’t play for the Comets.

  Good luck in Detroit.

  Thanks. I’ll be wishing you were there with all the Davises at the glass.

  Next time you’re home.

  He sent her a row of pleading emojis and then, Plane’s taking off. Can I call you later?

  I’ll wait up.

  Those three words could not have made him any happier. Switching his phone off, he leaned back, not even trying to hide his grin. It had been a long time since someone had been there for him like that. Millie had been the last one to care, and she…well, she just didn’t compare in any way to what he felt for Summer.

  The next day, the team worked out in the Comets’ practice facility. The only good thing about working out on someone else’s ice was that Rocco would run into Trane.

  The Comets were packing up their gear when Rocco showed up early for practice. His hotel room had felt lonely, and Summer hadn’t answered his call. He tried not to think about her words, I’ll wait up. He wanted to get in some of his own puck work before practice. This win against the Comets was important. They were good. Almost as good as the Flyers. And if the Steers had any chance at all of making it to the playoffs, they had to beat the Comets at least once.

  Rocco pushed open the door to the visiting team’s locker room, but a deep, familiar voice called him back. “It’s my Rock.”

  He dropped his duffel and ran at Trane, jumping high to hug the guy around his neck. Trane reached out to hug him back

  When Trane dropped him again, Rocco shook his head. “Every time I see you, it surprises me how tall you are.”

  Trane shrugged. “How ya been?”

  “Good, big guy, I’ve been good. Hey, I’m here to practice shooting against you, wanna do some drills with me?”

  Trane shrugged again. “Sure.”

  And right there, Rocco remembered that the heart in this guy knew no bounds. “I’ll be right out.”

  He didn’t bother with his pads, just grabbed his favorite stick, his skates, and a helmet and headed back out the door.

  Lacing up his skates on the side of the rink, he called out to Trane, who was cleaning ice from his box. “How do you like playing for the Comets?”

  “No complaints here. They’re a solid team, and we have a decent chance at the Stanley.”

  Rocco skated out, dribbling the puck in front of him, easing into his drills. He circled back down to the other end of the ice and picked up speed toward Trane, cutting across his front and slamming the puck into what he hoped was the bottom right corner.

  Trane blocked it and sent it back out.

  Rocco circled back. He went through all his moves, his cuts, his fakes, and did not get one goal. Trane blocked every single one.

  They were running out of time, so he called out, “Hey, we have an audience,” and pretended to look in the stands.

  But even though Trane looked, Rocco’s puck still did not enter Trane’s sacred ground. “Well, this is not looking good.” Rocco muttered. But he skated up to his old friend and held up a hand. “Hey, thanks, man. At least now I know how hopeless my chances really are.”

  Trane lifted one corner of his mouth. The typical smile of his large and solemn friend. “Must mean I’m doing my job, right?”

  “Yep. You sure are. Thanks, again.”

  Trane nodded and headed back to change while the Steers started to arrive on the ice. Rocco laughed when his team gave Trane a wide berth. Everyone feared him. No one wanted to go up against him on the ice. The Northbrook guys, who knew him best, knew there was not a better guy to watch your back.

  The team ran through drills, the coach shouting from the side. And then they all took an hour to chill before they had to be back for the game.

  Rocco stayed at the arena. He wandered through the vendors. They were setting up shop, and most of them would give a hockey player a free meal. Walking back to the locker room with a brisket sandwich in one hand and a turkey leg in the other, he suddenly wished he had a friend in Detroit. The thought of the Davises’ cheering family made him smile, and he wished he had someone like that in the stands here. His mom and dad came to many of his games, but not all. They hadn’t said anything about coming to this one, so he assumed they were still enjoying their new friends, the Davises.

  Who was he kidding? What he really wanted was Summer up there in the stands watching. Holding her in his arms had amped up everything for him. And even though they weren’t at this place at all in him knowing her, he wanted them to be. He wanted to have a girl in the stands again, but not just any girl. He wanted Summer.

  What was she doing today? He had no clue what a librarian did. He hadn’t been in a library since he was a kid. He was surprised to hear his mom had registered for a library card. It’s not that he didn’t read; he followed several fantasy authors and had all their upcoming books on preorder through Amazon. But libraries just weren’t… He never thought about libraries. Until now. The first thing he would do when he got back to Star Valley was register for a library card.

  He spun, tossing the puck back to Crandall.

  “What are you grinning about?” his teammate asked.

  “Just thinking about going to the library.”

  Crandall looked at him like he was crazy. “We gotta talk, man.” He pulled to a stop.

  Rocco approached. “What’s up?”

  “I don’t know how to score off Trane. They call him Diesel for a reason.”

  “Yeah. I ran some drills with him this morning, and I got nothing.”

  “It’s gonna take us both, I think.”

  “And maybe Hooligan off defense.”

  They worked out a plan of distraction and tackling and outright desperation, but Rocco thought it just might work.

  Then Coach called them in. The stands were filling, and it would soon be time to announce the players.

  10

  All the Davises piled onto their overstuffed sectional in front of the large screen TV, waiting for the game to start. And as happy as Summer was that all her brothers were home for a bit, she had started to feel a little claustrophobic. Seeing Rocco had made her realize how silly it was for her to still be living at home. But she loved her family, so she tried to enjoy her time with them. Later, maybe she’d start looking around for her own place.

  Mom had set out dinner on the bar, buffet style, and they were all sitting with plates of food.

  “Rocco’s gotta score off Trane.” Kyle scooted closer to Summer. “He will, won’t he?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Not many people do. But I bet they have a plan.”

  The lights flashed, and the stadium announcer called out the names of the Steers. Summer smiled as she watched her brothers.

  Jed pounded the air and shouted, “We know him!” when Crandall skated out onto the ice.

  And then the announcer boomed, “And the Steers’ starting right wing, Rocco De Luca!”

  The lights went crazy, and all of the Davises jumped up and cheered.

  Summer clapped as loud as her brothers. She sat, out of breath, and pulled her plate back onto her lap. Her phone sat close. Even though she knew he wasn’t going to be texting her during the game, she thought he might right after. Who knew when he would reach out? But she didn’t want to miss it when he did. She could kick herself for falling asleep last night and missing his call.

  The game started slow. And Summer remembered why she didn’t love watching hockey.

  Every time Rocco got the puck, which was most of the game, her heart clenched. A whole period went by with no one scoring. With no real fights or check
s against the glass. She didn’t love the violent part of hockey, but for most people, it made things interesting. And the players didn’t seem to mind, so why should she?

  She jumped up.

  “Where are you going? Rocco’s got the puck!” Kyle wore his own Rocco jersey, and Summer loved that she was making this little guy so happy.

  “I’ll be right back. Even with Rocco on the ice, I still have homework.” She was working on her doctorate. Slowly. But it was coming. She had an online class that just required her to go to visiting campuses every quarter for one week.

  She grabbed her laptop and sat at a card table behind the couch. No one noticed, which was just fine for her. They were completely entranced by the game. Rocco caught the puck in the air and raced down the ice. Her brothers all leaned forward, clenching their fists. Kyle grabbed hold of Eric. Even Summer stood when Rocco tossed the puck to Crandall, did a round spin, taking out a defender, got the puck back, and faked out Trane. The puck left his stick with power. It slammed toward the goal, and even though Trane saw it coming, his legs dropped too late.

  Rocco scored!

  The camera zoomed in on his face. Rocco held his hands high in the air, all smiles, but then he glanced back in concern toward Trane. His old friend lifted a gloved hand in salute, and the crowd went crazy.

  The Steers circled up, chanting, and then everyone got ready for the next play.

  Summer didn’t know when her heart would stop pounding. “Wow! He did it!”

  “He sure did. That man of yours is something, being able to skate like he does.” Her dad stood beside her. “And a good man, too. I like him.” He patted her shoulder.

  Summer knew she was supposed to be pleased that her dad approved of her friends, but calling Rocco her man was just too much. She hoped he wouldn’t say anything like that to anyone else, but of course he would. Summer needed to move out. She’d thought her mom needed her, but she was starting to realize they’d be just fine.

  The thought of having her own space was super welcoming right now.

  “I like him too, Dad, but there’s nothing going on. We’re friends.”

  “Friends don’t dance like you two did out there. And don’t think we all didn’t notice.”

  “Oh, I know you noticed.” Summer shook her head. “Look, I’m glad everyone’s so happy about it, but it might make things difficult if everyone assumes there’s more than there is.”

  Mom chimed in. “She’s right, honey. You let them work this out. We’re gonna love the De Lucas no matter what.”

  Her mom had meant to be helpful, but suddenly the whole idea of a relationship with Rocco felt more confining than fun. She didn’t want to ruin whatever they might have. She sighed and started scrolling through her emails, more to distract herself than anything.

  She pulled up her latest assignment, related to her dissertation. Her mentor had been focusing her coursework on the Baltic states and the Czech Republic, the Iron Curtain, and the Soviet rise and fall that would help with her dissertation. But she just couldn’t concentrate. She switched to googling “Rocco De Luca.”

  The search pulled up pages and pages of hits. She smiled. The first one she clicked on was an announcement about their upcoming all-star game. She read through the roster for Rocco’s team. Each player had a bio, and then the Northbrook Hockey Center was highlighted.

  Rocco de Luca, born in New York City, son of Giovanni De Luca, the owner of Giovanni’s Pizza and Pasta. When Rocco was 12, the family moved to Chicago to start a new franchise there and soon took the town by storm. And it was in Chicago that Rocco’s hockey career had its beginning. Under the tutelage of Coach Fenwick and the Northbrook Hockey Elite Club, Rocco learned to shine as a winger and acquired the skills and experience necessary to play in college and then the pros. Rocco currently resides in Star Valley, Wyoming, where his family has again relocated. You can find their franchise growing in the ready market of nearby Jackson Hole. Rocco joins the all-star team as the leading wing in assists.

  Summer read through each one of the players’ bios. They had all moved on from the Northbrook hockey club to become great pro athletes. They came from diverse backgrounds and families and were all excelling in their careers. Summer was impressed. Rocco’s closest friends, the ones on the Pit, would all be together on the team.

  Clint, the former marine and brother of pro baseball player Grizz McCarthy, was super handsome.

  Jax now played for the Flyers, the leading team in the NHL. Many predicted them as a clear frontrunner for the Stanley Cup. But the Davises, of course, hoped the Steers would at least make a showing. And if not the Steers, then they wanted the Comets to come up as the underdog.

  Zane played for the Tennessee Hounds. Summer didn’t know much about the Hounds, but Zane was enormous. And having met him in person, he was even more enormous than his picture made him look. She smiled. She liked Zane. There was a funny, soft side to him that made her grin. She’d been surprised to learn he had a daughter. And the pictures he’d readily pulled up showed just how much he adored her.

  Declan also seemed like a great guy. Declan was raised by a hardworking, blue-collar family who made plenty of sacrifices to get him to the elite levels. He became a pro from his own sweat and reputation. You had to appreciate a man like that.

  And Trane, the goalie from today’s game. The article gave very few details about him except he was happily playing in Detroit for the Comets. The man was even larger than Zane. And seemed intimidating from his picture. But Rocco was especially loyal where Trane was concerned, so Summer hoped one day she’d hear his story.

  She clicked on a few more links and then found some that had to do with Rocco’s past girlfriends. She winced as she opened the first one, not able to resist.

  A stunning brunette filled the screen. She was an Italian beauty from New York City, a tall runway model with legs for days and stunning green eyes on a face that was probably on the covers of magazines. Summer scrolled through to find dates. Yup. Just this past year, he’d been seen with her at big gala-type events. They were both formally dressed and waving at cameras on red carpets.

  Wow, she felt way out of her league. She’d not really considered the types of women Rocco usually dated, and this one, this Millie, was also working on her masters in chemical engineering. So, not dumb. She was the real deal—smart, beautiful, perfect.

  Summer googled information about Millie, looking to see if there were any hints about their current relationship status, and…nothing. The press had been silent on them for the past six months. She sighed. Opening up her phone, she analyzed their whole conversation by text. Yeah, he was interested. He was intrigued. But he wasn’t all in, that’s for sure. And now that she’d seen his ex-girlfriend, she knew that it would take more than just some fun on the ice for him to be all in.

  But was she all in?

  Who knew? It was early yet. She tried to tell herself to let things move at their own pace. They had time. He even lived in her hometown. But she couldn’t stem the anxiety in her chest that told her he wasn’t a sure thing. At any minute, he could tire of her and move on.

  She lifted her attention back to the game, sorry she’d wasted time searching Google. The game was tied up, and Rocco had the puck again.

  Could he score another goal off Trane? She didn’t know how he would pull it off. Rocco tossed the puck over to Crandall, and then Rocco turned around, raced to the side, and slammed his shoulder into a defender on the Comets.

  Her brothers cheered as the guy fell and slid to the wall.

  “Whoa.” Every face in the room turned to Summer.

  She shrugged. “He’s strong, I guess?”

  Crandall tossed the puck back to Rocco and made a beeline for the goal.

  Even the announcer gasped at the bold move. “He’s going in. He’s gonna try to take on Diesel!”

  Crandall slammed up against Trane, trying to wedge himself behind the goalie in his own goal. It happened, not against Trane. That took g
uts. But the behemoth was immovable, and now two bodies were standing in the way of the goal. Worse, the defender that Rocco had floored was now on his feet and skating right at Rocco.

  “Abort! Abort!” Summer screamed.

  All the Davises were on their feet. Rocco dropped the puck back to himself as he dodged out of the way of the massive defender trying to take him out.

  It would have been beautiful, but then the Comets’ other defender came up behind Rocco, stole the puck, raced down to the other goal, and scored.

  All Davises sat back down, silent.

  They muted the volume and took some bites of their dinner.

  “It was a good try.” Summer’s voice sounded weak even to her ears. What else could they say? Not every puck made it in.

  They finished out the game with no more goals, and the Steers lost. Summer didn’t know what to text Rocco. Should she act like it didn’t happen? Be overly dramatic in concern? She was so out of her element that she ended up sending him nothing.

  Instead, she forced herself to get some work done on her paper. She wanted to be finished this year if possible. After she helped her mom clean up from dinner, she made her way back out onto the ice.

  And her brothers joined her, flipping on the outside lights as they came.

  But this time, she didn’t mind. They brought out the goals and a puck, and the Davis kids did what they did second best. They played each other in a game of hockey.

  Summer’s body warmed whenever she thought of her dance with Rocco. She couldn’t imagine anything more romantic. She hoped it would happen again. Because she could think of lots of moments she’d love to have with Rocco on the ice. She hoped he was okay. And wondered when he’d call.

  11

  Rocco slammed his stuff down onto the floor. Everyone around him stepped back.

  “I’m gonna need a minute.”

  Coach came thundering in. “Well, you’re not gonna get a minute, not yet. What was that, De Luca?”

  “What was what?” He jerked open his locker.