Meet Me in the Penalty Box: A Small Town Hockey Romance (Orchid City Book 1)

As I rolled out of bed, I checked my phone for the time. I had plenty of time before I had to be at work, so I laid in bed for a moment. It had been three days since the night at the club. After I came out of the storage closet with Nico, I ended up finding Ava who had been looking for me. She was another photographer and I met her when I came for my first interview. We kind of hit it off and she offered to be the one to show me around.

Orchid Beach was a lot different than Boston or Denver but I was slowly getting acclimated to it. The worst part was being alone. I needed a change of scenery after I ended things with my ex. And as soon as the position opened up for the Orchid City Vipers, it seemed like the perfect escape.

I fell in love with Connor in college and stayed with him for far too long. He was drafted into the NHL after we graduated, so we tried to do the long-distance thing. It didn’t work for long before I had to end things with him. He seemed like a great guy when I first met him, but after getting into a relationship with him, I realized he wasn’t the man I thought he was. After multiple blowout fights and too many hurtful words later, I knew what I had to do.

He was manipulative and when I refused to follow after him, he completely lost it. The night that he threw a glass at my head was the same night I finally ended things. I felt absolutely broken at first. I wasted my time and energy with someone who wasn’t good for me. It hurt and I was still healing, but I was finding out that I was much better off without him.

He had other toxic qualities, but I chose to put on my rose-colored glasses when we were together. Now that he was out of my life, I was able to move on. The only problem about being a sports photographer that worked for a professional hockey team… there was going to be a point in my career where I’d most likely see him on the ice.

The only thing I could do is prepare. I wanted him to see what he was missing, but not because I wanted him back. Because I wanted it to be a slap in the face, for him to see that I came out stronger and never needed him.

I allowed myself the luxury of lying in bed for a few more minutes as I scrolled my social media accounts. There was a text from Ava, checking in to see if I wanted to meet up with her before work today. I sent her a response, agreeing to meet her at the coffee shop near the arena before I climbed out of bed and began my routine.

The day passed by quickly and before I knew it, it was time for me to head out. Grabbing all of my equipment, I double-checked my outfit in the mirror and slipped my feet into my sneakers and left my comfortable space to meet Ava.

She was already there when I got to the coffee shop. I held my hand up to wave to her as I walked over to the counter and ordered a latte. The place wasn’t busy, which didn’t surprise me. It was the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday. The fall air hadn’t gone too crisp yet and with the sun still shining, it was a beautiful day outside.

“Are you ready for your first day?” Ava asked as I sat down across from her at the small table by the window. She was wearing an oversized Vipers crewneck and had her dark hair pulled back in a sleek bun.

I took a sip of my latte and nodded. “Yeah. I’m a little nervous but I think I’ll feel better after I get this first shoot out of the way.”

“That’s usually how it goes,” she said with a knowing smile. “You’ll be fine. I haven’t run into anyone who wasn’t cool there. Most of the other staff members just leave us alone anyways.”

“That’s honestly the way I like it.”

Ava stared at me for a moment before she leaned forward on her arms. “Okay, we need to talk about the other night. You’ve been gatekeeping and I need to know what happened.”

“I told you, I was dancing with some guy.”

She shook her head at me and propped her elbow on the table before dropping her chin to her palm. “I call bullshit. I saw you coming out of the VIP lounge, I just couldn’t see who you were with.”

Heat crept up my neck and spread across my cheeks. “I don’t know who he is. I only got his first name.”

“Oh my gosh, look at how you’re blushing.” Ava’s eyes widened as a shocked expression consumed her face. “No way. You hooked up with him in the VIP lounge?”

I cringed and shook my head. “We only kissed… and it was in a storage closet. We got interrupted before it could go any further.”

Ava’s face cracked and a string of laughter fell from her lips. I couldn’t help but laugh along with her after realizing how ridiculous it sounded. Of all the places—a storage closet. That was probably low on my list of places to hook up with someone.

“Damn, girl,” she laughed softly and shook her head. “I know you said your ex fucked you up, but he must have done a number on you if you’re hooking up with random strangers in closets at the club.”

“Dear God, please never say it like that again,” I told her as my shoulders sagged in defeat. “That just sounds like I’m a slut.”

Ava shook her head. “Absolutely not. You’re a goddess and this is your time to shine. Fuck the guys and the relationships. You do you, boo.” She paused for a moment and winked. “That asshole doesn’t deserve any of your energy. Preserve that shit and save it for someone who earns it.”

“You know, I wasn’t so sure about you, but you might not be that bad,” I admitted, although I kept my tone light and playful to pass it off as a joke.

Ava checked her watch and rose to her feet as she motioned for me to follow. “Please. I am the best friend you will ever have. You just haven’t realized it yet.”

Our laughter followed us out of the coffee shop and we parted ways after Ava pulled me in for a hug and promises of seeing each other in literally ten minutes at the arena. Traffic wasn’t too bad and I ended up being directly behind her as we showed our cards and pulled into the staff parking lot.

The entire building was already buzzing with energy as we walked through our entrance that led to the media staff room. It wasn’t the one where they did the post-game conferences. It was where all of the media staff met and where the photography team would meet up to get our assignments.

As Ava and I walked in, there were already a bunch of people grabbing some food and drinks from a little buffet station they had set up. It surprised me. This was the first professional organization that I had worked for, but I wasn’t expecting all of this.

We all gathered in the center of the room and everyone took a seat as Phillip, the head of media, stood in the center to read off our assignments.

“Harper, we’re going to have you at the players’ entrance and then you’ll be at the goal line by the home net for the first period.”

I nodded as I wrote that down and looked back over the players list. I had spent last night going through the matchup and highlighting the star players on the team that they would want more photos of. There were two rookies on the team that I needed to make sure I got some shots of. There was a lot of talk about them and the spotlight was on the two of them. Nicolai Cirone and Weston Cole.

The fact that my ex played professional hockey had completely turned me off from following along with the sport. Both of their names were familiar, but that was the most that I knew about them. That and their stats. I guess I would find out what the team really looked like when their skates hit the ice.

After we all broke apart from our meeting, I quickly set up my small station with my laptop and everything ready to go. It was an insane job. Taking thousands of pictures during one twenty-minute period and then having to race back here during the intermission to edit and send some off before taking my next position for the next period. It was a lot. I had done it for some AHL games before, but that was just as a freelancer.

It was high stress and a part of me really enjoyed it. The other part of me wanted something a little more low-key. This was where I was at in life right now and until I had my own business established, this is what work looked like for me.

“Just take a deep breath and everything will be fine,” Ava told me as she walked over to my station. “We decide the rest of our assignments usually between the first and second period. Sometimes Phillip will assign them before the game, other times he does it on the fly.”

I nodded, taking in any words of encouragement she could offer me. “I shouldn’t feel as anxious as I do right now, but I have a feeling this is going to be crazier than what I’m used to.”

Ava smiled at me as she adjusted her own camera bag on her shoulder. “They picked you for a reason. You’ll do great.”

I smiled back at her before glancing at the watch on my wrist. “I should probably head downstairs and get set up.”

“Yeah, they should start heading in within the next twenty minutes or so.”

Ava and I parted ways and I took the elevator down to the ice level floor. As the doors slid open, the cold air washed over my skin. A shiver rolled down my spine and I fought the urge to pull my hood up over my head. It wasn’t as cold as it was right by the ice, but this floor was definitely the coldest in the building.

I made my way over to where the players’ entrance was and I set my bag down on the floor before making myself comfortable. It wasn’t the easiest to do, given that the ground was concrete, but I tucked my legs underneath myself and it provided a little comfort and warmth.

My settings were already set up on my camera and I lifted it to my eyes as I took a few practice shots to make sure I had the perfect angle for when they came walking in. Once I was in the right position, I checked my phone for the time and made myself as comfortable as possible.

The first few guys who walked in greeted me and I took my shots of them as they strolled down the hall in their suits. I recognized some of them after checking out the team roster. I offered my name to the ones who asked and they kept on moving.

The guys came in waves and some of them were in pairs. Hockey players were known for being ritualistic creatures and being ones of habit, so I wasn’t not surprised when they didn’t seem to miss a beat as they all walked past me.

A group of four all came walking in and you could feel the air leave the building as their presence consumed the entire hallway. They were walking in pairs, with two in the front and two behind. I couldn’t see the two in the back as they were a few feet behind them and I needed to move to get their pictures too.

I swallowed nervously and continued to take my shots as they were laughing about something. One of the players in the front was wearing a suit that needed to see a dry cleaner to get it pressed. His white dress shirt was wrinkled and so was his suit. His tie was cocked to the side and it made my eye twitch from wanting to fix it for him.

Rising to my feet, I went to move to the side, but the one in the wrinkled suit stepped in front of me. His brow furrowed together and he cocked his head. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before, but not here.” His bright blue eyes were shining as his lips pulled into a smirk. “What’s your name?”

“Harper,” I told him, my voice soft. “I’m not sure that we would have ever met before. I just moved here.”

“I’m Wes,” he said as he tucked his hands in the front pockets of his disheveled dress pants. His lips parted and he was about to say something as someone ran directly into his back. “Shit, Cirone,” he mumbled as he stepped out of the way.

The air left my lungs in a rush and my eyes widened as his gaze collided with mine. I watched the recognition pass through his expression and my brain tripped over itself as it quickly tried to connect the dots. I didn’t make the connection until now. He looked older and different than he did in his rookie picture.

Which is probably why I didn’t realize it sooner.

Nico from the club was Nicolai Cirone. One of the star up-and-coming centers for the Orchid City Vipers.

“This is Harper,” Wes said to him with a smirk.

Mischief danced in Nico’s dark eyes. “Hey, Harper.”

I nervously pulled my lip between my teeth and watched his eyes drop down to my mouth. Instinctively, I released it and smiled at him. “Hi, Nico.”

Wes lifted an eyebrow at me and I instantly regretted not addressing him by his full name instead. Wes glanced over at Nico. “She’s new to the city. Maybe we could show her around sometime…”

His jaw tightened and a shadow passed through his expression before he grabbed Wes’s shoulders and swiftly turned him around, giving him a light shove in the back. “Let’s go. We’re going to be late.”

Wes glanced at him over his shoulder with his eyebrows together. “For what, exactly?”

Nico glared at him but didn’t bother responding to him as he directed him away from me. Somewhere within those ninety seconds of interaction, my stomach must have fallen onto the ground and my camera wasn’t where I needed it to be.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath as a few more players came in. I quickly got back into position and the shutter of the camera clicked as I snapped some shots.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and when I had another short break, I pulled it out. My heart pounded erratically in my chest as I saw I had a text message. It was a number that wasn’t saved in my phone, but I knew exactly who it was.

Nico Cirone.