Jessa Haywood and her best friend, Sheldon Hopson, have accepted jobs as junior athletic trainers for team USA's Olympic hockey team. When Jessa accepted, she didn't realize that four players would fall for her, and she didn't expect to fall for the...
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Jessa looked up as she heard a knock on her office door. "Hey, Rizzo. Come on in." She said, smiling at him. "Hey, Jessa." He said, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. "What can I help you with?" She asked. Rizzo looked at her with a look on his face that Jessa couldn't read. "You've worked with Herb for a while, right?" He asked. She nodded. "I've worked with Doc for almost four years now, and he's worked with Herb for a lot longer than that, so yeah." She explained. "Why?"
"Is Herb always like this?" Rizzo asked. "Like what?" Jessa questioned, not understanding the question. "Does he always treat his players like this?" Rizzo continued. Jessa shook her head. "No. Not at all. But, I trust him and what he's doing." She said. "It seems like he wants us to hate him." Rizzo said. "Maybe he'd rather you hate him, so that you don't hate each other." Jessa realized. Rizzo nodded. "Thanks." He said, going to leave. "Anytime." Jessa responded. "My office is always open. Literally. There's no door." She said and Rizzo chuckled as he left.
***
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"O'Callahan." Jessa said as OC walked into her office and sat down. "I'm sure you know why I've called you here." She said. OC nodded. "So, how have things been working between you and Mac?" OC sighed. "I don't completely hate him. But he's still not my favorite person." He admitted. Jessa held back a chuckle. "You guys working good together?" OC nodded.
"Good." She responded. "You know, you're not as bad as he says you are, O'Callahan." She said. OC raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" He questioned with a smirk on his face. A knock on the doorframe snapped them out of it. "You busy?" Jim asked and OC took that as his cue to leave. Jessa shook her head. "Not at all."
***
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"I still can't believe you're leaving me." Kristie pouted as she placed dinner on the table in front of Jessa and Sheldon. "We're only gonna be gone for a couple of days, honey." Sheldon said, chuckling. "That's too long." Kristie complained. "I mean, you can come with us if you want to." Jessa suggested, digging into her mashed potatoes. "No, thank you." Kristie responded. "Oh, come on, honey. You always said you wanted to go to Europe." Sheldon said.
"Yeah, on our honeymoon. Not for your job. I'd rather not spend the entire time in a hockey rink." Kristie deadpanned. Jessa laughed. "Plus, I still have school." Kristie was still currently studying at the university of Minnesota working towards her undergraduate in education. "Well, I'll be sure to show you what you've missed when I get back." Sheldon said suggestively, shoving a green bean into his mouth. "Ew." Jessa complained as Kristie blushed.
***
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It was the last minute of the final period in the team's game against the Norwegian National Team in Norway. The game was currently tied three to three. Jessa stood behind the players on the bench with Sheldon, Doc, Coach Patrick, and Herb. Although the game was tied, the boys were getting pummeled out there. They boys didn't have the focus. A lot of them were too focused on the hot European girls in the stands.
While a few of the boys on the bench were discussing that, the Norwegians almost scored a goal, with Jim diving out at the last second to save it. Herb noticed the boys' chatter on the bench, and he was not impressed. The crowd began chanting in Norwegian as the clock counted down and the buzzer went off. The game ended in a tie. "Get a whistle." Herb said to Coach Patrick. Sheldon handed him one from the box near him.
The boys shook hands with the Norwegian team and started skating towards the bench. "Hold up. Hold up. Hold up." Coach Patrick said to them. "Gotta get back on the ice. Let's go." "What for?" "You'll find out soon. Now, let's go, back on the ice. Come on boys." "What for?" Mac questioned. "We'll find out in a minute, won't we? Let's go, come on." Coach Patrick said, ushering the boys back onto the ice where Herb was waiting. "Are we getting a picture or something?" Jessa heard one of the boys ask.
"What is he doing?" Sheldon asked. Jessa quickly shook her head. "I don't know. Don't question it." She said quickly. Herb spoke to the team as Jessa sat down on the bench. The boys smacked their sticks on the ice before skating to the goal line. Some spectators in the audience looked back in confusion at the boys as they all left. Coach Patrick blew the whistle and the boys all began skating their sprints, or 'Herbies' as they called them. "Think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone. Again." Herb yelled.
Coach Patrick blew the whistle again. Jessa sighed. She knew it was gonna be a long night. "I'll be right back." She said to Sheldon before walking to the locker room. She changed from her heels into her flats and grabbed her coat. She walked over to Rizzo's locker and grabbed his Mickey sweatshirt and slipped it over her head. She hoped he wouldn't mind. They were still doing the Herbies when she came out. She rolled her coat up and placed it on the bench before lying down, using it as a pillow.
"The name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back." Is the last thing she heard before she somehow fell asleep. She jolted awake once she heard Rizzo yelling. "Mike Eruzione!" The lights were shut off and she could barely see anything, but her eyes immediately found him. "Winthrop, Massachusetts!" "Who do you play for?" Herb asked. "I play for the United States of America." Rizzo answered. "That's all, gentlemen." Herb said, walking off.
All the boys skated to the bench and Rizzo immediately found Jessa. "You okay?" She asked him. He nodded, tiredly. His eyebrows furrowed. "Is that my sweatshirt?" He asked. Jessa blushed, although it wasn't visible in the dark. "Yeah. You want it back?" She asked, going to take it off. Rizzo shook his head. "Keep it. It looks better on you anyways." Jessa smiled. She missed the jealous looks three other boys were sending their way, but Sheldon didn't.
