Beth Treier

“Mike has no idea why the kid's attached to him. That isn't some 'woe is me, nobody likes me' bullshit; Mike isn't the most popular guy in the room, but he doesn't strive to be.

He's 30 to Fitzgerald's 18, brute force to his skill and his patience for idle chatter has sat at around zero for the last five years.”
― Taylor Fitzpatrick, Thrown Off the Ice

“Fitzgerald still has that doe-eyed innocent look about him, but Mike's seen him on the ice, seen what he can do and he knows the kid's as vicious, deep down as the rest of them. He's got big blue eyes and hair constantly falling in his face and an ass that's spectacular even compared to the average hockey player and Mike wants him so bad, his teeth hurt, but Fitzgerald has no clue what he's playing with, so Mike keeps his goddamn hands to himself.”
― Taylor Fitzpatrick, Thrown Off the Ice

“Fitzgerald starts talking to him all drowsy eyed, taffy slow instead of the manic pace he usually goes at. Mike finds himself vaguely worrying for a couple of days that Fitzgerald's wearing himself out. He knows the schedule's rough, the games rougher, how big an adjustment it is when you get to the pro level.”
― Taylor Fitzpatrick, Thrown Off the Ice

“The first sign of danger is Fitzgerald all fucking over him, though that might be an exaggeration. It's knees knudging, arms brushing, nothing huge, probably just a malfunctioning sense of personal space, the way Fitzgerald sits with plenty of others. No big deal, except Mike lets him. That's the fucking problem.”
― Taylor Fitzpatrick, Thrown Off the Ice