As soon as he left, Rickles leaned over the bench, his dark braids falling onto his forehead. “That kid is going to do something stupid and we’re all going to be screwed, cap.”
I looked up at him, tired and annoyed and not wanting to deal with Devon’s delinquent brother. “You don’t have to convince me, Rickles. I want him gone too.”
There was something about Harley that sent shivers down my spine, and it wasn’t just because he had a drug problem. I had plenty of compassion for someone who’d made bad decisions or been in a tough situation and ended up addicted, especially if they tried to help themselves. But Harley didn’t seem to try at all, and worse than that, he seemed to have no moral compass whatsoever. Whenever he started sniffing around for Devon I was instantly on guard, waiting for the problems to surface.
I’d just finished lacing up my skates when Devon came back in and told us Harley was gone. The relief in the room was palpable, which spoke volumes about how dangerous we thought Harley was, considering we were all six-foot-tall, two-hundred-plus-pound blocks of muscle who were capable of knocking his skinny ass over with a good shove. The worst part was that I liked Devon. We’d hit it off freshman year and had been friendly enough ever since. His tolerance for his brother’s bullshit was going to be his downfall.
We made our way out to the ice and my concerns about Harley were forgotten as I jumped into captain mode. It was my job to make surethese guys were capitalizing on their strengths and getting ready for the season. Our first game was this weekend against Harvard. Since it was a home game, we had a home-rink advantage. We were looking pretty good but nothing was a sure thing. After we finished the on-ice part of practice, we all dragged our asses into the weight room.
A bunch of the guys were bragging about their conquests from the other night when Devon turned to me.
“Hey, Leo, what happened with Chelsea? Saw you hanging out with her when the party started but she was still there after you left.”
“I left the party alone,” I said.
The clanking of metal bars being set down seemed deafening.
Rickles was the one who broke the awkward silence. “You trying celibacy this season or something?”
I chuckled awkwardly and swung myself up from the bench where I’d just finished my last set of chest presses. “No. I’m just not into Chelsea.”
Most of the guys had gone back to their training, but Rickles and Devon were still staring at me.
“What the hell, guys? I’ve said no before. I don’t just leave with every woman who’s interested.”
Devon narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, it’s just, you usually blow off steam pre-season before our schedules get crazy. I’m surprised.”
Rickles said, “I left with some girl named Jia. Smokin’ hot and it was a wild night.”
Jia? Isn’t that the name of Soph’s roommate?According to Sophia, she and the two girls I met at the party had been living together since freshman year. Apparently, they’d been randomly assigned together in the freshman room lottery and inseparable ever since. Not exactly how my freshman roommate situation had worked out—theguy had stayed up all night and smelled so weird, our entire room reeked of an odor I’d never identified. He’d been nice enough, but we hadn’t stayed friends.
Just as I was about to reveal that I knew one of Jia’s roommates—which probably would have been a mistake with the way these guys gossiped—Coach Alvarez came into the weight room.
“Alright, boys, listen up,” he boomed.
Everyone dropped their weights and turned to face him. We probably would have done that for any Coach out of respect, but the way Coach Alvarez commanded a room and earned our obedience had more to do with his deep baritone and the two Stanley Cup championships under his belt, reminding us that he’d not only played in the pros, but played well enough to earn two rings that were prominently displayed in his office.
“We have more NHL-drafted players in our starting lineup this year than in any other year in history. The university wants to use that to generate some enthusiasm for the team and get more people interested in hockey. I assume you all saw the article about Harrison earlier this week? Well, that same school reporter is already working on a second article about Harrison and Rickles and their upcoming careers with the Bruins.”
I looked around at my teammates but they all looked equally bored by this conversation. No one cared if the school newspaper wanted to write articles on us. I just wanted to play hockey and so did most of these guys.
“The editor of the paper called me today and said she’s going to assign that reporter to cover all our games for the rest of the season and she’ll be instructed to continue adding her own personal touch. You know, the one that said Harrison’s looking for a wife.” Coach Alvarez nearly cracked a smile at his joke.
My teammates were less discrete, hooting and hollering while they laughed. I rolled my eyes.
And this is why only a few of these assholes are getting my new number.
“Listen, I’ve agreed to give this reporter full access to everything. They want her at every game, which means she’ll be traveling on the bus with us to our away games, she’ll be outside the locker room talking to you after games, she’ll be at practice sometimes, she’ll be everywhere we are as much as her schedule allows.” Coach paused and took a deep breath. “And since I’m looking at a room full of hormonal assholes, I think it necessary to tell you that if you harass this young woman or make her uncomfortable, it’s going to piss me off and get you benched. So, leave her alone.”
Blood rushed to my ears.He’s talking about Sophia!My pulse soared.Are we not allowed to fraternize with her at all? Because I did that, twelve hours ago and I’d sell my right kidney to do it again.
A lump constricted my throat as I opened my mouth. “I’m sorry, sir. Sophia Grimes? The girl who interviewed me?” I asked.
Coach looked at me with curiosity on his face. “That’s her.”
“Does she know?” I asked.
Surely, she would have said something last night if she did, right?We’d been at The Cohen Club for two hours, and when she’d left my room it certainly wasn’t with any expectation of following me around for the season.
