T O B I A S

Sweat drips down the planes of my back, muscles contracting. The ice bites beneath my blades, the cool kiss of the rink bouncing off my padded body.

My stick rests lazily in one hand while the puck is clutched in the other. I look through my helmet at the man swaying between the posts of the goal. Jason nods his head at me, green eyes focused.

"C'mon Tobias, I don't have all day."

I grunt, my glove twisting tightly around the handle of the stick as I drop the puck to the ground.

It rocks slightly, shaves of ice bouncing up from the floor as it hits, the sound of it slapping the ice loud in the mostly empty stadium. 

Jason smirks at me from the other side, his smile an odd sight with the mouth guard in his mouth. He hits the stick twice against the ice.

"C'mon, pretty boy." He sings, adding a southern drawl to the taunt.

I hiss a laugh through my own mouth guard and slide my stick along the ice, lining up the shot, my eyes flicking to the lowest left spot on the net.

Jason crouches down more, "Oh, pretty boy." He sings.

I grunt as I slide my stick back and slap it against the ground, the edge slicing ice from the floor with the momentum before it connects with the puck.

Jason dives to his right, and my left, stick outstretched to capture the puck before it slides into the goal. The puck slides right by him, through the side he left exposed.

I straiten, laughing through my mouth guard as he slaps to the ground, green eyes on the puck as it slaps against the net and stills.

"You have to stop believing peoples tells when they look at the net, Jason."

"Yeah well," He grunts as he stands up, swiping the puck up and throwing it in the air before capturing it in his gloved fist. "This was just practice."

"You're lucky you take it seriously when we actually play." I tell him, skating towards him and swiping the puck from the air when he throws it up. "Lets go again, this time take it seriously." 

"Yes, Captain." He salutes, situating himself in front of the net once more.

I drop the puck, skating back to get a clear advantage as I test my shots.

Jason and I train for an hour, switching between goalie and testing our quick-shots and just mucking about on the ice.

The feeling is freeing, to just hit the ice and not have any expectations laid upon you.

But that was for now, with the off season.

"You dicks going to get off the ice anytime soon?" A new voice echoes through the stadium.

"Don't get your panties in a twist." I shoot back.

I skate towards the side of the rink as the person walks closer. Pushing the gate open, I stomp through, Jason following behind. I lift a gloved hand to Levi as he walks towards us, his dark hair close cropped to his head.

He smirks as he steps closer. "Speaking of panties." He croons, grey eyes alight with knowledge.

I look at him funny as I stomp towards the back of the stadium, pushing the locker room doors open and collapsing to a heap on the bench, watching my best friends wander in after me, their faces giddy.

"What is wrong with you two?" I mutter as I reach for my skates, undoing the clips so I can remove the heavy footwear.

Jason snickers when he comes close, taking a seat beside me and removing his gloves, throwing them on my lap.

I grab them and throw them back at him before focusing back on Levi, lifting a brow at his taunting face.

"What?" I give him a weird look and sit back, skates forgotten.

My eyes move to Jason but he only shrugs, looking to Levi before they say in sync. "Oh, Nothing."

I roll my eyes. I know Levi and Jason enough to know that when they say nothing there is definitely something they know that you don't.

"What is it?" I groan at their silence and start to pull off my skates. 

They've just come off when Jason stands suddenly from the side and walks to the lockers, leaning against them and facing me. Levi stays at the door, both of their eyes on me.

"So, Tobias, any secret love affairs we should know about? Besides the obvious one with your stick?" He grins at the double innuendo, patting his own hockey stick.

Jason chuckles, and I roll my eyes. "Very funny, Levi. At least my stick doesn't talk to the media and get me into a fake relationship." I say, talking about the time he slept with a woman who split all his secrets to the media - including some unsavoury things that had management making him date someone who would keep everyone off his back.

"Yeah, but it doesn't cuddle either," Levi tease, ignoring the cheap shot and Jason laughs.

I look at them expectantly. "Why are we talking about this?"

"How was your night, last night?" Levi asks out of nowhere.

"His morning, you mean?" Jason intrudes.

They both look at each other and grin.

"Was it eventful?" Levi adds.

"What are you guys on about?" I swallow, eyeing both my friends with what I hope is a neutral expression.

They ignore me.

"Where'd you find her?"

"No no no, wait. I have it." Levi shouts before looking at me with a serious expression. "Did she at least leave the pillows?"

"The quilt?"

"The mattress?"

"What the fuck, how do you know about that?" I splutter, standing up with my skates in hand and walking to my locker, putting my back to them.

"Who do you think caught her leaving your apartment this morning?" Levi questions.

"In just a sheet." Jason sighs. "Damn, I can't wait to meet this girl."

I cough, wincing.

Levi, leans back, crossing his arms and slings a playful jab at me, "Yeah, Toby, when's the next episode of 'Sheet Lady Chronicles' airing?"

Jason chimes in, a mischievous grin spreading across his face, "Yeah, man, we're all waiting to hear more about your elusive midnight visitor."

I roll my eyes but can't suppress a chuckle, avoiding the question hanging in the air. "You guys act like she's some kind of international mystery. She's just... someone I met."

Levi raises an eyebrow theatrically. "Someone you met, who left wearing only your sheet? Sounds like a mystery to me, Sherlock."

Jason claps me on the shoulder with mock seriousness. "Mate, you've got to step up your game. How are you going to let her slip away like that?"

Tobias sighs, shaking his head. "Believe me, I'm kicking myself about it. But seriously, she was... different."

Levi waggles his eyebrows suggestively. "Different how? Like, 'call the police' different or 'call her back' different?"

Jason laughs, leaning against the locker. "Or maybe 'call me a taxi' different?" He raises a brow. "Well then, when do we get to meet 'Miss different'? Who I hope we can call by her real name?"

I don't say anything for a moment and his eyes narrow, "You did get her name didn't you?"

"I did." I cringe. "I remember asking for it at least."

He narrows his eyes at me.

"I just don't remember the answer she gave." I whisper like an asshole.

"Fuck, how much did you drink last night?" Levi mutters.

"Too much?"

"Did you get her number at least?" Jason whines.

I shake my head, hand curled around the door of my locker as I answer. "I checked my phone this morning. Nothing."

"Damn, there's no wining and dining with you is there. You're just a 'come and go' kind of guy."

I glare at Levi as he finishes.

He only smirks in return.

"Maybe she'll be back at the bar next weekend?" Jason hopes. "We can go find her for you. I want to meet her."

I give him an eye roll.

"What?" He pouts. "Anyone that can walk out of an apartment with a sheet as their only clothing is my type of person."

"We can't next week." I remind them. "We have training the next few weeks with the season approaching."

"We could get away for a bit." Levi wonders.

"You can deal with Coach then when he finds your ass drunk and disorderly in a jail cell."

"I wouldn't get caught."

I lift a brow back at him and he looks down, muttering under his breath, "Alright so that's out."

"And then we have the wedding after that."

"Isn't that like two months away?"

"We're going up early, remember? Matt has pulled no stops for this wedding. We'll be there for roughly two weeks. You think you'd remember this since you're invited to the wedding."

He cringes back, scratching the back of his neck. "Oh, yeah."

I shake my head at the man as I grab my clothes and strip from my gear. "The flight is in a few weeks, I'll remind you a few days before so you can pack."

"Thanks, Toby."

"In my defence, I thought the wedding was further away." Levi comes to his own aid. "But it'll be fun. A nice trip away in the sun and sand, with alcohol flooding my system. What more could I ask for?"

"Try not to get into trouble, your Agent already puts up with too much."

Levi rolls his eyes while Jason chuckles, "You're the only one of the group that has to fake date people just to get out of trouble, Levi."

"That was one time." He mutters.

"Keep causing trouble and your agent will make it happen again."

He holds his hands up in surrender. "Alright man, well I'm going to train. See you when I see you." Levi slaps my back and walks further into the locker room.

Seconds later the shower turns on.

"I don't know why he insists on showering right before any game or training session when he's just going to get sweaty anyway." Jason shrugs and starts to walk out.

I follow after him, looking forward to showering at home.

As much as I love this place, the showers are always on the colder side and theres just something about showering at home that is a lot nicer.

"Superstition, I guess." I let the door slam behind me as we walk into the morning sun.

I wave goodbye to Jason as I get in my car, driving back to my apartment.

• • •

When I woke this morning, it was to an empty bed and a roaring headache, my alarm blearing at six-thirty, demanding I begin my training with the hangover from hell.

I guess that was my own fault.

I'd groaned and then looked at the other side of my bed with bleary eyes.

She'd left.

The only thing that had brought a chuckle to the otherwise unfocused morning was the fact her clothes were still strewn all over my apartment and the sheet to my bed was missing.

I didn't even know what to think. But at least now I knew where the sheet went.

I'd quickly gotten up and dressed, ready to train with Jason, not even seeing what she'd left behind.

Now that I looked at the pile, I saw that she'd left everything. And by everything I mean every scrap of cloth that I had peeled off her body last night was in my apartment – which means she'd left here wrapped only in my sheet.

The thought brought ecstasy to my bloodstream.

I swiped up the pile, putting them in the wash. Hoping that if I ever saw her again I'd give her the clothes she left behind and maybe I'd get my sheet back.

I'm not really sure I wanted it back if she wasn't wrapped in it.

I should've fucking gotten her number.

I scowl at my own stupidity.

I'll probably never see the woman again.