Beth Treier

“Maybe Fitzgerald looked around the room to find the person least likely to be friendly, decided he liked a challenge and proceeded to focus all his charm on him. It's not inconsiderable, his charm, though he's more charming when he isn't trying to be; cycling through bravado and insecurity like every other kid his age does, playing with the big boys and trying to keep up.”
― 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

“Mike doesn't know if Fitzgerald is psychic or just get even stupider with bravado because right around the point where Mike realizes he sort of wants to break him, the kid starts flirting with him. It's easy to ignore at first, as easy as it had been to ignore Fitzgerald latching onto him in the first place, at least right up until he started following Mike around so often the team started calling him Mike's duckling.”
― 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