Take the shot

"You look like shit." My dad's friend was blunt if nothing else.

"Oh good. That's an upgrade because I feel like I died." I at least got a chuckle out of him with that. The ride to the arena was fairly quick and thankfully quiet.

My introduction to Gus went well and he was helpful in telling me what he expected, what the team needed and gave me a breakdown of the boys, the systems that they run and who the captains were. They were the unofficial chaperones of the newbies, like me, in the dressing room. Thankfully there was no on-ice today, but he showed me to the gym, where about half the team was working out and introduced me to the main trainer. I got my gear set up in my stall and donned the workout clothes left for me. The shorts were great, but the shirt looked like it was meant for my dad, looking almost like a dress on me. Not wanting to cause an issue, I put it on and made my way to the gym to ease into my training.

I received the typical head nods, but it wasn't until I was about 30 minutes into my run on the treadmill when one of the guys jumped on the one beside me. I looked over and he held out his hand.

"Dimitri Veskeanko." His Russian accent obvious. "Boys calling me Dimmer."

"Hey, nice to meet you. Tim Bower. Guys used to call me Tibo." I replied.

"You pretty small, must be fast ya?"

I laughed at his assessment. "Kind of have to be." He snorted in amusement and began his own run.

That was pretty much my day, meeting guys one by one. The team was an eclectic collection of hockey players, mostly from North America. Besides Dimmer I think there was a guy from Germany and Finland? I met the team Captain, his name was Larry Topes, or TL for short. He was in his early 30's and had bumped back and forth between the AHL and ECHL for the last 10 years. He was making the league max, which was around $1200-1400 a week. Sounds like decent money, and it is, but you're only paid for the weeks the season runs. It was his 8^th season here and spoke highly of the coach, managers and organization.

"So, Tibo, I see you met your competition." He could see the confusion on my face. "Dimmer? The big Russian boy." The lights went on and I nodded my head. "Dude has a real nose for the net, big body, big shot... coaches love him."

Not sure if was trying to rattle me or just give me a friendly heads up so I took the information in stride. "Thanks for the heads up. I guess I better put my big boy pants on then huh?"

Larry gave me a big smile and patted my back. "I like you Tibo! Hopefully you're still around come opening day of the season. The rookie party is always way off the hook!"

I chuckled at his vernacular choice of words. "I wouldn't miss it!"

Chapter III

The next three weeks were a blur and I barely saw Annet. I was hoping to spend a little time with her so she could teach me the transit system, and just to be around her, but so far it had been quick breakfasts and exhaustion after dinner. All in all, though, I was having a good showing. I was definitely the quickest and won the majority of puck battle drills. LT was right about the big Russian. The guy was a beast in front of net and could almost score goals at will, given the opportunity. We worked together yesterday on line drills and I was amazed at how well we clicked. I knew very little about him or his tendencies, yet he was always where I thought he'd be. I guess we did well as we were placed on a line together for the final day, which included full contact exhibition.

"Hey Dimmer! Don't hit the brakes too hard when Tibo's behind you... his head will end up in your ass!" Dimmer looked at me and I just smiled. Petie was a 6-year vet, from Illinois and likely will end his career here. His chances for the bigger show evaporated years ago. He was a big winger, with an even bigger mouth. He took to teasing me on day one, but it was something I was used to. I long learned to let my game do my talking. Dimmer skated over to me right before the face-off.

"Let's light the Yankee up." He whispered to me, and I smiled.

If I had to choose one word to describe what Dimmer and I did that day, it would be DOMINATE. Despite the rotation of our right winger, our line was the most noticeable. Dimmer had 3 goals, 7 hits and was over 70% in the face-off circle. Myself... I assisted all 3 of Dimmer's goals, laid 4 hits and had the highest corsi in offence zone time. Needless to the say the big Russian and I felt immediate chemistry, but you never know once the final cuts happen.

My usual protocol following a game was to take my time and hit the showers after most guys were done. I've always been self-conscious of what the good lord gave me between my legs. I had adopted many coping skills with towel placements, body angles and speed. Quick shower, quick dressing.

I was re-taping my sticks while I waited, when Dimmer came out of the shower and walked across the dressing room. Yeah... he didn't need to worry about hiding anything. The dude was huge. He was drying his hair when he came towards me and stopped a foot away.

"That was fun Tibo! You play great hockey style. It is like I knew what you were thinking."

"Back at ya." I was happy he felt it too. "I enjoyed playing with you as well. I think we gave Petie a slap of reality." I laughed as he mimicked a backhand slap and walked away.

The final cuts were being posted tomorrow so Dimmer, LT, myself and a few other players planned a night out. Shoot some pool, drink some beer, flirt with the local puck bunnies. You know... hockey guy stuff. I made my way down the stairs to find Annet waiting for me with something in her hand.

"Here. I'd like you to keep these with you." She was serious.

I looked down and saw a variety of condoms including a couple of XL Magnums. I blinked and looked back at her. "I won't be needing these Annet. I have no time for this kind of stuff." But she blocked my hand, insisting I keep them. "Fine." I put the packages in my jacket pocket but handed back the two XL Magnums. "These would be of no use to me." I smiled trying to look brave and her sensitive look rattled me a little.

"Well, go have some fun." She gently pushed me out the door. Her hand smacking my ass on the way down the front steps.

I blushed heavily at the contact and made sure I was looking at the ground as I left. I felt the condom packages in my pocket and made note to give them out to the guys. "Shit!" I swore out loud. "I should've kept the magnums for Dimmer."

For a moment, I went to the visual back in the locker room, of his huge cock just swinging in all its glory. Like any other guy, I was clearly jealous of what he had. It was also an unintending reminder of life back home. You see... I dated this girl Valerie from Grade 9 until we graduated high school. We were both each other's firsts for everything. First kiss, first fingering, first handjob and so on. I was far from a master at anything, but we muddled through it together. After high school things in our relationship changed. She was a little more distant and stand offish. Sure, we still got together and had sex, but it felt like I was into it way more than her. And then it happened; the... it's not you it's me talk. She was worried about me leaving to play hockey again... her college schedule, blah, blah, blah. She cried in my room for hours trying to make it easier, but I think crying made it easy for her. I asked if it was something I could fix or change but she assured me that this was best and that she'd always love me. So, we vowed to stay friends and off she went to her new life.

I guess I could've lived with that if I didn't find out she was seeing a guy less than a week after we broke up. Andrew Gooding... that was his name. I knew him from high school. He was a nerd of sorts. Super smart, computer guy into gaming and stuff. From the outside it was a union that made little sense. She was fit, athletic and pretty, where he was tall, gangly and still had zits for fuck sakes. I never hung out with Andrew, but we shared physed class together and I had seen enough in the showers to question her sincere breakup with me. You see... much like my Russian teammate, Andrew was hung like an absolute horse. How something that big and fat found its way onto his gangly frame was a mystery. He could be a nice guy. Maybe I read more into it than I should've. Sometimes I wish I was as confident in myself as I am when I'm on the ice.

I got to the bar a bit late and found the guys hanging around a couple of pool tables with an assortment of puck bunnies intertwined. I get that the term can be derogatory, but they literally seek out hockey players, so the term isn't exactly inaccurate.

"Tibo! Buddy! You're at least 3 behind buddy!" The big Russian pointed out as some girl was easing her ass back into his groin.

The blonde rubbing up to Dimmer was having a private chuckle moment with her brunette friend and I could see her friend separate her hands gradually until the blond nodded her head. Turning away from the spectacle, I almost ran into Larry who was carrying me a beer. "Oh shit! My bad LT!"

"No worries, guy. I got the first round earlier, so this is yours." We clinked bottles and took a deep pull on our long necks. "I think the words out on our Russian friend here." He pointed to the girls around him.

I just nodded at the obvious. "So, the wife let you out with a bunch of young horn dogs? She must be one hell of a lady." My comment made LT spit some beer out.

"Shit I hate beer up my nose!" He laughed. "Yeah, she's the best. I actually met her right here... at this bar."

"Wow, really? Was she a puck bunny back in the day?"

"Total opposite actually. She begrudgingly came with a friend as her wingman that night. My opening line was shot down in a heartbeat."

"Really? So how did you guys get together?"

"As luck would have it, her ex showed up that night, drunk as a skunk and was getting in her face."

"Ahhh... the knight in shining armor." I joked and he nodded, taking another swig of his beer.

I had a good time hanging out with the boys. We were loud and trash talking each other, just being guys... it was what I needed. Petie and Grimsy, from the team, showed up later which dampened things a bit. He clearly had it in for me for some reason as I had to listen to every small guy shot, he could think of. Going as far as to suggest my pecker was tiny too, which got a round of giggles from the group of puck bunnies. They loved Petie, that much was clear.

When I had met the end of my tolerance, I bid LT and the boys a goodnight and headed for the exit.

"Just ignore Petie, Tibo. We all know he can be an ass." Larry patted my shoulder as I walked by.

"Tell Dimmer I'll see him tomorrow." Not seeing the Russian around, I walked out the side door into the parking lot. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I collected myself and took the steps down.

"Ohhh... fuck ya..." I heard a deep voice and immediately turned my head to the right. Dimmer had his back pressed against the outside wall, a beer in one hand and the other tangled in the blonde hair of the bunny who was rubbing up against him earlier. She was kneeling between his legs, going to town on his huge cock. I could hear her slobbering, panting, and retching every time she went too deep on him. I watched longer than I should have, appreciating the effort she was putting in and envious of the glazed look of satisfaction on the big guy's face. It just confirmed everything I already knew... guys with big dicks have it made.

My mood had shifted again. I had no hard feelings towards Dimmer... he should enjoy himself. Someone should. Between my apparent cock envy and Petie's big yap, I was back inside my head, suddenly wondering if Valerie could deepthroat, horse cock Andrew.

I eventually got home and was surprised to see the main house lights on. I figured Annet was in bed long ago. I locked the door behind me and headed for the stairs up to my room, when Annet appeared around the kitchen corner dressed in nothing but a silky black kimono. Her long hair was clipped up in a messy bun, and her eyes... her eyes stood out from behind her black rimmed glasses. I'm almost positive she heard me gasp.

"Did you have a good time, Timothy?" She smiled sweetly at me.

"Uhm... yeah. Yeah, it was alright."

"How were the puck bunnies? Did my contributions come in handy?" She winked.

I chuckled. "I forgot I even had them to be honest." I reached into my pocket and grabbed the pile of condoms. "Here... I doubt I'll ever need these, but thanks."

She gave me the sweetest frown. Did she even know what she did to guys? How hot she was? "Why would you say that? To my knowledge, it's a hockey player's, must always carry." Her frown twisted back into that sweet smile.

"Yeah... I suppose. But I'm not like the others. I wouldn't want to disappoint a pretty girl." With that I dropped my eyes and headed up the stairs. I heard her say my name, but I needed to get away. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about it.

My hard work proved its worth. I made the team and thankfully, started getting paid (league minimum), $500 a week. It wasn't much but my expenses were minimal, so I was banking almost everything. I helped with groceries once and awhile. Annet fussed at first, but I just kept putting milk and eggs in the fridge, along with some bread and meat. I even helped her with some of the more mundane jobs of homeownership. Cutting grass, raking, taking out the trash, etc. My schedule was too full for me to take a job during the season but with Annet's help I was looking into some off-season possibilities.

We played our first game last night and it was a real barn burner. We went down 3-0 in the first period but regained our traction in the second. We were down 3-1 when coach Gus decided to put Dimmer and I together on a line. I guess he was trying to insulate us at first, but he became desperate in the third and started rotating line combinations. Our impact was immediately felt as I set Dimmer up on our first shift, for his powerful one-timer. That got our crowd back into it and the team responded well. Our line was getting chances every time we stepped on the ice, and it seemed inevitable when we scored with under a minute left. My deflected pass between my legs had given our big Russian a wide-open net to get his second of the period.

Much like the NHL version, our overtime was five minutes at 3 on 3. The vets played most of the overtime, but with a minute twenty left, coach threw Dimmer and I on with our best defenseman. After Dimmer crushed a guy, he regained possession and passed it to the defenseman in the other corner. I took off for the neutral zone, Kopsky (Brendan Kopanick) the defenseman, lobbed the puck straight up the middle landing a few strides ahead of me. The puck slid over the blue as I chased it down. Their goalie raced out to play it before I could get there, but he misjudged my speed. He flopped down on his side, stacking his pads and just before we made contact, I chipped the puck over him and jumped in pursuit. I landed on my knees but was able to redirect the puck into the net at the last second. The building went nuts as I slid into the end boards.

Chapter IV

I was riding a pretty big high for the next few weeks. Things were coming together, at least on the ice. Dimmer and I were in the coach's good books, seeing more and more ice time. The team was getting tighter as a group and Petie... well Petie was still an asshole. Annet was coming to our home games, and we'd talk for hours about the teams play. Chicky was right. She knew a lot about hockey. Not just rules and such. She had a good handle on the culture too, likely from the hockey family she grew up in.

Tonight was the legendary rookie's party, and I was part excited and part nervous. I've seen some weird fucking hazing in my past. Guys branded by a coat hanger that was heated up by lighters... ankles and wrists tapped and thrown in a pool... or my worst nightmare... tied to a chair, naked. Put in the elevator and sent to the lobby around supper time. Yep, I've seen them all. Fortunately, I wasn't the recipient of any of that shit. I had no idea what to expect at this level but a part of me was concerned. The party was at Petie's house that he rented with two other teammates. It was a newer home and had a lot of space for a crowd of 20 guys. I walked in and just to the left was a huge living room with the biggest TV I ever saw up on the wall. Some weird porno was playing. It looked like it involved midgets and a dog, so I pressed my way further in.

"Tibo!" Larry's larger-than-life voice boomed as I walked into the kitchen area. The guys joined in giving me some slaps on the back.

"Hey guys! Where's Dimmer? He here yet?"

Petie smiled. "Oh yeah, the big boy's here."

I chuckled at the obvious tone of his dubious comment. "Where's he at?" I asked nonchalantly.

"You never know..." LT smiled at me and took a deep swig of his beer. "C'mon let's see if we can find the big guy."

We walked through the large house going from room to room, when one of the guys gave LT a huge smile and gestured towards the bathroom. I followed along as he went to the door, which wasn't totally shut, and watched him push it in slowly. Instantly my eyes were drawn to the events unfolding here. A pretty brunette girl was bent over the sink, with her plaid skirt hiked up to her low back leaving her pert bottom in clear view. She was looking over her shoulder at the guy who was savagely pounding her from behind and her moans indicated she was more than a willing recipient.

"Atta boy Dimmer! Own that pussy!" Our team captain shouted.

I'm sure my embarrassment was easy to see on my face, but I couldn't look away as I watched his enormous cock slide in and out of the vocal girl. I thought he was huge when he was soft! Fuck... he had to be close to 10 maybe 11 inches!

"LARRY!" The girl faced us. "Close the door you perv!" She smiled between moans.

"You like this one, Sasha?"

"He's a beast for sure! I hope they're all like him!"

"This is Tibo. He's another one of our rookies." I blushed as she squared her eyes to mine.

"Hey cutie! I look forward to trying you out too!" She did a kissing action only to follow into a howl as my Russian teammate buried his bone deep.

I guess Larry sensed my retraction and he gently closed the door and put his arm around my back and slapped my shoulder.

"That's Sasha. She's the Zamboni driver's daughter and our unofficial welcome girl. She likes to fuck hockey players and has been doing our rookie parties for three years now." He could see the apprehension on my face. "No pressure Tibo. She's a sure thing. You'll get your chance after big boy finishes ruining her hole." He chuckled at his reference to the man's big dong. "Maybe we should strap a board to your ass, just to be safe, so you don't fall in."

I felt like I was on auto pilot for the rest of the night. The sight of that big Russian cock, slamming into Sasha gave me feelings I had a hard time understanding. My stomach was in knots as I battled with my internal emotions about what turned me on more... the girl, the fucking, or the huge cock. Lost in my thoughts, I missed when Dimmer came into the room and plunked down on the couch beside me. Guys walked by high fiving him, and he had a real shit eating grin on his face.

"Oh, Tibo my friend. That was grade A pussy. She really love the fuck!" A couple more guys high fived him again. "You have to try." He smiled at me.

As if on cue, Sasha sauntered into the room and clearly all the guys knew her. It was funny, they all knew what she did, yet no one was being a jerk to her. In fact, the guys were sweet and respectful. After stopping for a few hugs and some quiet chatter, she made her way to me and stopped right at my feet. "So... rookie. Can I see you in my office?"