“Thank you.” Teddy nodded. “I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.”
We waited near the sideline as Caldwell left. Teddy rolled her shoulders once, loosening them, then dropped her bag beside the bleachers. She looked over at me, expression composed again, but there was something warmer lingering underneath now.
“You ready?” I asked quietly.
She nodded. “Always.”
A man in his late fifties walked into the gym a moment later, grey at the temples but dark-haired on top, a five-o’clock shadow lining his jaw. He was a couple of inches shorter than me, but still well over six foot, broad through the shoulders in a way that told me he’d spent a lifetime around sports rather than behind a desk.
“Teddy Sloane,” he said without question, already smiling as he crossed the floor.
“That’s me.” She stepped forward, hand outstretched.
“Carlos Perez,” he replied, shaking it firmly, but he didn’t let go right away. His attention lingered, eyes sweeping her with open appreciation. He probably thought he was being subtle. “I’ve followed your career,” he added. “You’re a very impressive player.”
The lilt in his voice prickled along the back of my neck. Teddy brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, and the shy smile that followed did nothing to help my mood.
“This is Connor O’Riley,” Teddy said easily, motioning to me without missing a beat.
Perez turned, recalibrated, and offered his hand. “Of course. Captain of the Knights.” His grip was solid, but his attention flicked back to Teddy a second too quickly for my liking. “You two are quite the duo.”
I smiled politely as I shifted just enough to be closer than necessary.Totally mature behavior, I told myself. Not trying to puff out my chest or stand taller, because I waswaytoo mature for that.
“I can’t tell you how excited the girls are.” Perez continued, refocusing on Teddy. “They’ve been talking about this all week. A professional captain walking their floor…” He blew out a breath and shook his head in awe.
Teddy smiled at him, practically beamed, in fact, and my blood pressure spiked. What did he do that earned that from her? Irritation prickled over my skin, and I couldn’t help but glare at the coach.
“I remember being their age,” she said. “It’s a great feeling having people inspire you.”
“Yeah, me too,” Perez said, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Didn’t have many chances like this when I was coming up. Would’ve made a difference to see others picking the road less wandered, you know?”
“I get it,” Teddy replied, easy and carefree. “My coach had faith in me during college, and without her, I wouldn’t be here today.”
“And that would be a shame.” Perez gave her a megawatt smile, and I was absolutely certain that the two of them had forgotten I existed—which was rude, considering I was standing right here, watching them flirt. I realized with sudden clarity that I didn’t like being on the outside of her attention, and I knew that kind of alpha male shit wasn’t what I did with women. Except it was taking all my restraint to not beat my chest and growl “back off” to the man in front of her.
His eyes dragged up and down her body once more. Teddy didn’t notice. Or if she did, she didn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting.
Something inside me crackled to life, like a fire catching alight. My jaw tightened, my stance shifting instinctively closer to her. Iwas a second away from opening my mouth when Teddy glanced back at me and one eyebrow lifted higher than the other as she tracked my face, my posture, the way my hand had curled at my side.
A pinch of her brow was all it took for that silent question ofyou okay?to thread between us.
And no, I wasn’t okay, because Perez’s focus was now roaming over Teddy’s ass, and I was close to seeing red as I flicked my gaze between them both. I wanted to shout,no, I’m not alright with him flirting with you. He doesn’t get to look at you like that.I wanted to say a lot of things I had no right to say.
Teddy took half a step closer to me, and her pinky grazed mine. The contact immediately settled my racing thoughts, and I exhaled quietly. I didn’t know if she meant to do that, and somehow that made it matter more.
If Perez made any moves, I’d be ready, but this wasn’t about asshole men; this was about Teddy and the girls in the locker rooms.
I gave a loose shrug, smoothing my expression back to neutral as the locker room doors opened and the first wave of girls filtered in at the far end of the gym, and my body deflated as laughter trailed with them. They slowed when they spotted us, whispers starting immediately, heads turned with quick, curious bursts.
Perez clapped his hands in a thundering boom. “Alright, team. We’ve got a different kind of training today. Do you know who these people are?”
A ripple of excitement moved through the group. A few hands shot up immediately. “That’s Teddy Sloane,” a girl near the front blurted out. “She plays for the Valkyries.”
“And that’s Connor O’Riley,” another added, pointing confidently in my direction. “My brother has your jersey.”
Perez smiled. “Correct. They’re here to talk to you about leadership, discipline, and what it actually takes to keep showing up when things get hard.”
Teddy stepped forward then. The chatter faded. Even I straightened without meaning to. “Hi,” she said, waving her hand at the group. “You can relax. We’re not here to yell at you or make you run laps.”
