His lips twitch at my answer, both of us fully aware of the record season I’m having. “Think it’s something you can keep doing?”
“That’s the plan, Coach. Going to give it hell.”
“Good.” He nods. “I’m glad to hear that. And you’re feeling all right? Everything okay after taking that puck up high?”
I’d nearly forgotten about that. So much has happened since, and I wasn’t as bruised and beaten up as I thought I’d be afterward. I still have some leftover scabbing from the gash on my cheek, but other than that, I’m all healed up.
“Feeling good. Having to work hard, but it’s nothing I’m not willing to do.”
He grins at that. “I figured you’d say something like that, and that’s exactly why we like having you as a Serpent, Locke.”
Hope fills my chest. We aren’t anywhere near new contract talks, not with it still being so early in the season, but it gives me a bit of faith that they’re going to work to keep me around. That’s good, because I want to stay, especially with…
No.I can’t base the rest of my career on a girl. I won’t. I?—
Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I would, and that’s a terrifying thought.
“So,” he says, sitting forward, “between you and me…anything special you’re doing? I mean, you’re playing next-level hockey here, Locke. What’s the secret?”
Nessa.
She’s the secret. As soon as I met her, I felt a shift, and it’s only intensified since she came back into my life. I’m playing good hockey because I’m feeling better than I’ve ever felt in my life, and I have her to thank for that.
“Ah,” Coach Smith says, leaning back again, his eyes gleaming with understanding.
“What?”
He lifts a single brow. “It’s a woman.”
“Nah.” I try to play it off, but we both know I’m full of shit.
He even laughs. “Right. Sure.” He grabs a pen from his desk, clicking it open. “I remember when I tried to deny it, too. Didn’t last too long.” His smile grows, and I wonder if he’s thinking about his wife. “Anyway,” he says, shaking himself out of his stupor. “I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to check in and figured since we had an early game and we don’t need to rush home after this, I’d talk your ear off a bit.” He flicks his chin toward the door. “Keep playing like you’re playing out there, and you’ll get everything you want, Locke.”
“Appreciate it, Coach.”
I rise from the chair, and I’m just about out the door when he calls my name.
“Yeah?” I ask, turning to face him.
“Whoever she is, keep her.”
Oh, I plan to.
“Thanks, Coach,” I say before leaving him sitting there with a knowing grin.
I sport a smile of my own as I make my way back to the locker room to grab my things so I can go home and get back to the girl I’m planning on keeping. I almost told her the other day. It was when I showed her the art studio I built for her, and she broke down in tears over it. I’d suspected before then that what I was feeling was serious, but that sealed it for me. Some very important words nearly tumbled out, but I stopped myself at the last moment. Not because they wouldn’t be true, but because it wouldn’t mean the same as it would if we weren’t hiding this.
All I have to do is muster the courage to tell Hutch, and I am going to. I have it all planned out. I’m going to ask him to dinner, sit him down, and explain everything that happened. In fact, I planned on asking him after the game, before Coach wanted to see me. Hopefully, he’s still here.
I pick up my pace and am relieved to see him when I walk back into the locker room.
“Hey, man. I was just coming to talk to you. I—is that my phone?”
He looks up from where he’s sitting in my stall.
Wait, why is he in my stall? And why the fuck is he holding my phone?
I drag my eyes from my property in his hands, and I’m met with a glare I haven’t been on the receiving end of in a long time. Actually, the last time was when he felt I betrayed him. I?—
