Training a Hockey Star Read online

  You’d have thought people would understand that I’ve been doing this long enough that I know my body, but no, they need forms for the insurance and all that crap. Well the joke’s on them. I chose the cheapest, freshest asshole, who won’t dare to stand up to me. I’m going to be training the way I want to train and I’ll have fun doing so. I might even see how far I can push him. I loved the look on his face when I told him how things were going to be. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He stammered and spluttered and looked as though the rug had been pulled from under him. This was only the beginning of his troubles because it’s a long time until I’m on the ice again, and I have a lot of frustration to get out of me.

  Of course, there’s another stop I have to make before I go to the apartment I’ve rented.

  I pulled up outside the old familiar house. I shake my head, wondering why Mom and Dad never took me up on the offer to buy them a new one. The door is hanging off the porch and the paintwork is flecked. I could have given them a nice mansion, but all they wanted was to stay here. I paid off all the bills for them, of course. It was the least I could do for all the hours they spent driving me to and from practice and letting me hone my skills, even when they would have preferred me to hunker down and focus on college.

  I walked in and stopped in my tracks. It wasn’t only my parents there. They’d asked Annette too.

  There she was, my high school sweetheart, still with the raven hair and the soft lips, and the lingering look that always suggested more.

  “Hey Annette, I wasn’t expecting you here,” I said.

  Annette smiled, as though she was aware of the trap that had been laid. “Yeah, it’s funny the way that works,” she flashed a smile to me, the kind that she always used to flash when we shared a private joke. “Your Mom invited me round and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see you again. It’s been a while.”

  “Yeah, well, you know how it is,” I said, glaring at Mom and Dad. Mom giggled to herself as though she was some kind of master puppeteer, while Dad got up from his chair and shook my hand. Mom eventually came over and hugged me.

  “It’s good to see you son,” Dad said. The hair on his head had thinned, and was something that I had to guard against.

  “I’m not sure why you’re not staying here though. We have your old bedroom made up. You don’t want to be spending so much time on your own. You’re at home, this is a time when you want to be with family,” Mom said.

  I tried to be as diplomatic as I could because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but sometimes I got the feeling they still thought I was a teenager. I guess maybe because they don’t get to see me in my day to day life.

  “Mom, you know that I’m not here just for a vacation. I still have training to do. We don’t get to just take time off. I’ll be exercising and reviewing matches and all sorts of things.”

  “That’s fine, we’d still love to have you back,” she said, and as she smiled at me sweetly I felt like a damned monster. But Annette was there for the save.

  “If he’s as messy as he was back at school then you definitely don’t want him around,” she laughed. Mom laughed too and the tension was defused. I smiled my thanks at Annette and that was the end of Mom trying to get me to stay with them, for the evening anyway.

  We had dinner and spoke about the usual things. Dad had kept up with all my games, of course, and we talked through the season with him. I have to admit I was curious about what was happening with Annette though, and I only got to talk to her once dinner was over. We went out on the porch with a couple of beers.

  “Welcome home,” she said, clinking her beer bottle against mine.

  “So, what’s new with you?” I asked. Mom had always given me brief updates on Annette’s life over the years, but it was good to hear it directly from the source.

  “Well, you know, I got married and then divorced, so that’s something,” she said, wearing a wry smile. I’d heard the tale from Mom, the tragic tale of Annette and Bryan. I couldn’t believe it when I heard it from Mom, and I still can’t believe it now.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Don’t be, it was a mistake from the beginning. I just wish I’d realized it at the time.”

  “I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything, but what the hell was it with Bryan? He was the last person I thought you’d end up with.”

  Annette laughed and swept a hand through her hair, pushing a handful of cascading dark hair away from her face. It was the same mannerism she’d had when we were together. Suddenly the past was rushing up towards me like a torrent of water. I was back being a teenager, with all the raging hormones and the uncertainty and the feeling that one kiss from her was going to blow my mind.

  “Yeah, well, things changed. You know. Life wasn’t easy for me after high school. I lost my Dad and college… well… college just went down the drain. I was searching for something and he was there for me. He was there at the right time and I think I confused companionship with love. I was too afraid to be alone. For a time I was able to delude myself into thinking that something would grow and we could be happy, but I’m just not that kind of person. I have to be in love with the person I’m with, and I was never going to be able to fall in love with Bryan. So things ended.”

  “I’m guessing he wasn’t happy about that.”

  “No, he wasn’t. Thankfully he’s not the angry kind of guy. He’s the weepy kind. I feel bad you know. But life never works out the way you think it will. I never thought I’d be married and divorced before I turned thirty. I guess it’s different for you though. Your life has turned out exactly as you planned.”

  I shrugged. It wasn’t possible to deny it, although my life was far from perfect. I understood what she meant about that longing for companionship. As my career was starting to wind down I was beginning to realize how empty my life was when you took away everything regarding hockey.

  “It has, yeah, but it’s not exactly everything it’s cracked up to be. To honest, at the moment I’m starting to feel like I’m back at high school again, right around the time when it was ending. I know my career isn’t going to last forever and I have to start thinking about what I’m going to do afterwards. I had the same feeling in high school, except then I knew that I was going to be a hockey player.”

  “Is the great Rudy Marsh going to have to live like the rest of us?” Annette teased.

  I shot her a look. “I’m sure I’ll figure something out,” I said. “I’m sorry Mom dragged you into this by the way.”

  “It’s okay. She means well. Besides, it was good to see an old friend. Reminds of a different time, a time when things were simpler.”

  I thought she was going to say better, but perhaps simpler was a more appropriate term. We were just kids when I had left her the last time. She had been in tears. I pursued fortune and fame in the big city, and she was left here, left behind. Sometimes I wondered what my life would have been like had I stayed with her. Maybe she would still be married. Maybe we’d have kids. It was the American idyll, but that had never sat right with me. As much as I loved Annette for everything she meant to me, even now I wasn’t able to imagine a life with her.

  I guess I just wasn’t the kind of guy to settle down.

  We spoke for a little while longer and then she left her beer on the porch. She said it was nice to see me again and kissed me on the cheek. As her lips brushed against my skin I let myself wonder what it would be like to experience a real human connection again, but as tempting as it was to relive my childhood I wasn’t about to revisit the past. I couldn’t hurt Annette again, and I knew that’s exactly what would happen. She had been through too much. At least I could count on her as a friend though.

  I said goodbye to Mom and Dad, and they made me promise to stop by as soon as I could. I left them and returned to my quiet, empty apartment. I hadn’t bothered to bring many personal things with me, but it struck me how desolate the place lo
oked. It dawned on me that, when I was finished with hockey, this is what my life would be like. It’s not like anyone would want to bother with me when I’m not on the ice.

  I’m just going to be pointless.

  I hate it.

  Chapter Three

  Josh

  It’s time for my second session with Rudy. I got up early because I couldn’t sleep. My legs were jittering all night with nerves and my mind was reeling. I kept imagining myself telling him what to do, but I knew it was just a fantasy. He had made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was in control and I had to do what he said. I hated it, and I kept telling myself that the only way to deal with bullies was to stand up to them. It was easier said than done though. It always had been.

  I’d never been the athletic type. At school I was a runt, the smallest in my class, and everyone knew I was the guy to pick on if they were having a bad day. There was one guy in particular who made my life a living hell. Alfie Dean, his name was, a big brute of a kid that looked like a giant. His head was as thick as a wooden post and he was the kind of guy you could see was going to be trouble from a young age. He was a kid with no future, and it was just a matter of time before he was behind bars. I wish he had been locked up sooner, but when you’re kids there isn’t any sympathy for crimes against each other. You’re just told to get on with it and the adults act like nothing went wrong. Every day Alfie came to me and punched me in the gut. He threw my bag in mud, pushed me down, stole my lunch. It became a grim routine and every time it happened I told myself that tomorrow would be the day when I stood up to him. Tomorrow would be the day when I embraced my courage and became a man.

  That day never came.

  Instead I became better at hiding, but there was no hiding from Rudy. It was deflating to know that Rudy was a bully. I had hoped for better from the small town hero.

  I was waiting in the gym for him, breathing deeply to try and calm my nerves. I glanced at the clock and my watch to make sure they were both running at the correct time. They were. It was Rudy who was late. Again. I paced back and forth, and checked my phone to see if he had sent me a message. He hadn’t. I scrolled through my contacts and thought about ringing him, but my hand hovered over the name, hesitant with nerves. I knew what kind of rebuke I would get if I called him, but then I told myself that I was supposed to be a professional. Part of being a trainer, especially a successful one, was dealing with the egos of these athletes. If I couldn’t handle Rudy then how was I ever going to be able to handle anyone else?

  Just when I was about to call the door burst open and he came in, acting nonchalant as though nothing was amiss.

  “Morning,” I said through gritted teeth. He flashed me a smile and dumped his bag on the floor. He began to stretch. “You know, the least you could do is turn up on time. We should at least get a full session in.”

  Rudy was standing with his legs stretched apart and his body angled, with his left arm arching over his head. He glared at me and resumed a normal standing position. “Are you really going to do this now? I can’t be late, because I decide when I train. Sometimes I might not show up at all. I wouldn’t think you’d mind, it means you get paid for nothing. This is going to be the easiest job you ever had.”

  “I don’t want an easy job. I want to do my job. I want to train you. At least let me lead you in stretches.”

  “I’ve been stretching myself since I was a kid. I think I know what I’m doing. Just relax Josh, come on, fuck, I bet you were the guy in class who always asked for more homework when you were done.”

  “I like to keep busy, what of it?”

  Rudy laughed and shook his head as he resumed stretching. His shirt was tight and accentuated his muscular figure. Given my profession I had an admiration for a healthy physique and Rudy’s was perhaps the best I had ever seen. Every inch of him was honed to be a powerful machine on the ice. His muscles were taut, his shoulders broad, every angle was sculpted to perfection. It pained me to know that he wasn’t invested in maintaining it to the best of his ability.

  “Man, you need to learn how to relax.”

  “Why? Let me guess, you were the guy who always did his homework at the latest possible time?” I shot back, hoping that something I said would work its way through the cool exterior and actually annoy him like he was annoying me. He brushed everything off with his uncaring air and that laugh that drilled into my mind.

  “Actually I never bothered with my homework. Didn’t see the point in it.”

  I looked at him aghast.

  “You didn’t see the point in homework?”

  “Of course not. I knew from when I was a kid that I was going to be a hockey player. Homework was just a waste of time when I could have been training.”

  “Oh, so you actually did training then,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

  Rudy seemed to find this amusing. “Yes, I did training then. I always worked hard to be the best. It didn’t just happen overnight. But the point of all that hard work is that I get to reap the rewards now and I get to take it a little easier than usual. You should learn to enjoy the good times while you can. I bet you didn’t enjoy school either. I bet you were always putting pressure on yourself to succeed. Don’t you realize it’s all a con? What does it matter whether you did well at school or not? Do you really think it’s helped you in life?”

  “It helped me learn how to study.”

  “What, so you can get a qualification in fitness? It’s hardly the most privileged position.”

  I could feel the anger rising within me. Heat bristled under my skin and it was turning crimson. In that moment I hated him more than any other person I had ever met, even more than Alfie Dean. There was no need to be this cruel. I hated myself for being so weak, but tears began to form in my eyes and my hands balled into fists.

  “Look, you can come in here and insult me and do whatever you like. You can tell me that this is a waste of time. But I’ve worked hard to get to where I am and I’ve put a lot of work into this business. All I want is to be a personal trainer. I don’t have to stand here and take this abuse from you,” I said, and turned to walk to the end of the room.

  I heard Rudy sigh. He ran after me and grabbed my shoulder.

  “Okay, look, that might have been out of line. You have to understand that I’m from a hockey team. We rib each other all the time. I guess I forget that the outside world isn’t like that. I get that you’re starting out and maybe I’m not the ideal client, but it doesn’t change my point that you just need to chill out. Isn’t it everyone’s dream to get paid for doing nothing? Just go and sit down and relax, it seems like you could use it.”

  He took his hand away from my shoulder. I couldn’t decide whether he was actually being nice or if this was just a way to get me to calm down. Like with Alfie Dean I backed down and nodded. I slunk back to my position, leaning against the wall as Rudy continued with his workout.

  “So what are you doing today then?” I asked dryly when I had worked up the courage to speak to him again.

  “I’m just going to do some circuits, work on my cardio, nothing too intense,” he said.

  I held my tongue as he burst into a sprint up and down the gym, turning sharply, stopping abruptly. His muscles were like pistons and I couldn’t help but push my dislike for him away and admire him. He was in great shape, and it was no wonder that he was at the top of his game. Still, as I watched him I noticed his cheeks puff slightly and I wondered if he was getting to the point where the workload was beginning to challenge him. His hockey game was intense. No man could do it forever. Was the great Rudy Marsh coming to an end?

  When he stopped his face was drenched in sweat and his skin was a shade of crimson. His chest heaved, and his shirt was soaked, so much so that it highlighted his muscles even more dramatically. He might as well have been naked. He grabbed some water from his bag and arched his neck back, gulping down the water dramatically. Then he poured some over his face to was
h the sweat away. It left his hair dripping.

  “Is that all you’re doing?” I asked. He looked at me.

  “For today, yeah. I told you I was going to take it easy.”

  “Aren’t you afraid your body is going to get used to taking it easy? What happens when you have to get intense again when the season starts?”

  “I’ll be fine. I know my body. I trust my body. I can handle this. I’ve been doing this for season after season. Do you really think I’m going to let myself go back to the team out of shape?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, you are the guy who never bothered to do your homework after all.”

  His mouth twitched into a smile, not that there was anything good natured about it.

  “Come on, I’ve got something to show you,” he said, and headed out of the gym. I glanced up at the clock. The session ran about an hour short and I shook my head. I didn’t know how to get him to take this seriously. He was in control when I was the one supposed to be telling him what to do, but he wasn’t prepared to listen to me at all.

  We walked outside to his car, which was sitting in the parking lot. He opened the trunk and pulled out a bag. He peeled off his shirt and tossed it in the bag. I glanced at the flecks of sweat trickling down his torso. There was a layer of dark hair rippling across his chest that was the epitome of manliness. It was as though he was a statue someone had sculpted. There was a sharp intake of breath as I let my gaze linger upon him. Despite despising everything about his personality I couldn’t help but be in awe of his body. It was a testament to human strength that a body could be forged into such a weapon. I had seen him plastered over magazines before, but seeing him in the flesh was something else. A strange temptation flashed through my mind, a temptation to touch him. His body was like a flickering flame that danced and writhed and made you want to touch it even though you knew you would get burned.

  I was shaken from my reverie as he pulled the bag towards me. When I peered into it I could see that it was filled with clothes.