Page 26 of Offside Possession

“Jesus Christ, how many season openers have we played together Chance?” Harrison asked.

“Since you started in Houston,” I answered.

“And how many have you been late to? Hell, how many practices have you been late to?”

“None.”

“None,” he repeated, I heard Stafford take a deep breath. “I’ll go calm Coach down, but tell me you’re really okay.”

“I’m good.”

“Good, see you in ten.” And with that, he ended the call.

“Come on.” Stella extended her hand to me, “You gotta go.”

“You don’t. You can stay here and—“ She smiled and tried to make it reach her eyes, but we both knew it didn’t.

She was retreating, but Stella had another thing coming if she thought I was going to let her push me away that easily.

CHAPTER 11

SCOTT

“So?”

“So?” I asked, unlacing my skates while I sat on the bench.

“What’s going on?” Rowdy asked over the sound of whistles still going off on the rink. I turned my body to look at him. The two of us were fully dressed in our practice gear and sweating after a hard practice before the game.

“I met someone,” I confessed, but Rowdy Bouchard didn’t flinch. Hell, he almost seemed bored.

“And?” He rolled his hand for me to continue.

“And… I’m fucking terrified that the timing is off.”

“Because the season is about to begin and I’m guessing she lives in Houston?”

“And she’s an old buddy of mine’s younger sister.” Now, that got his attention. First his brows rose with surprise then bunched with concern.

“How much younger?” I bumped him with my shoulder.

“Not like that,” I groaned. “She’s twenty-seven.”

“Oh, okay… So, what’s the problem?” I ran my fingers through my sweat-soaked hair.

“The thought of leaving her to go on the road, of her not being the first thing I see every day and the last every night when I got to bed, makes me want to crawl out of my skin. I don’t just want her to go on the road with me. I need her to.”

“Fuck,” he cursed, looking at me like it was the first time. “Wait, how long have you known her for?”

“Two days.” He coughed and tried to hide the bewilderment on his face but failed.

“What the fuck, man? Two days, and you want some chick⁠—“

“That’s the thing. She’s not just some chick. She’s the one.” I scrubbed my face and turned my attention to my friend. I put a hand between us, silently asking him to give me a moment to explain. “You know me, Rowdy. You know I’m not like some of these guys, hooking up with puck bunnies or falling in love with one woman after the next. I’ve never been.”

“I mean, I remember a time when I joined the Loestars and you were more than okay with puck bunnies.”

“That was at least seven years ago.” And it wasn’t a lie. Puck bunnies became boring the older I got. I’d tried half-heartedly to let friends or family set me up on dates, but nothing ever went further than a first or second date.