Page 11 of Her Coach

"I always regret giving you a tab."

Moose appeared over Jett's shoulder. "Can you put a word in with the kitchen? I want the loaded fries but Marco said I'm cut off."

"You're cut off because you ate four orders last Tuesday and then couldn't skate a straight line."

"That's slander."

"That's a fact, I was there." I pointed at him. "One order. And tip properly this time or I'm telling Marco to ban you permanently."

Rhett materialized from somewhere in the middle of the group and immediately started steering me toward the door the way he always did when practice had run long and he knew I'd be late. "Go, you're gonna be late."

"I've got ten minutes."

"You've got eight. Go."

"You're not my —"

"Go, Bry."

They parted just enough to let me through, but I slowed down without meaning to when I heard the footsteps behind me.

Colton had come out of his office.

He stood in the doorway and just looked at them. Didn't say anything. Didn't need to. The noise in the hallway dropped like someone had turned a dial, which was genuinely impressive given that it was Jett who was making most of it.

Nobody said anything for a second.

Then Rhett stuck out his hand. "Rhett Calloway. Left wing."

Colton shook it once. "Mercer."

"We know who you are," Jett said, which was either brave or stupid, and with Jett it was usually both. "Saw you on ESPN. That thing with the Titans was —"

"Jett." Rhett's voice had that particular flatness it got when he was telling someone to shut up without using those words.

Jett shut up.

Moose lumbered forward next and stuck out a hand roughly the size of a dinner plate. "Moose. Goalie. Are we getting a new meal plan? Because the current one has no —"

"We'll talk about it Monday," Colton said.

Moose blinked. "So that's a yes?"

"That's a we'll talk about it Monday."

Moose turned back to the group with the expression of a man who had decided to interpret that as a yes.

Two of the defensemen introduced themselves. A couple more nodded from the back. Frank, the quiet one, just made eye contact and didn't move, which was somehow more intimidating than anything else anyone had done.

Colton looked at him for a second. "Frank."

Frank's eyebrows went up slightly. "You know my name."

"I did my research."

The hallway went quiet again, but differently this time. Less uncertain. More like something had just been established.

I realized I had completely stopped walking.