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Kingston shrugged in his usual noncommittal manner.
I swept a fly-away out of my face and chewed on my lips as I thought. That was some of the best footwork I’d ever seen. He’d effectively turned his skates into two more sticks, bouncing the puck off his blades. It was as smooth as a soccer player dribbling a ball, so fast and flawless that I couldn’t tell how many times his skates had redirected the puck. It could have been once, twice, or even three times.
“That was awesome,” I gushed. “But I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen you use that in a game before.”
Kingston nodded. “Yeah, it’s not perfect yet. Maybe in a few more months.”
“I think it’s good to go now,” Mason said in disbelief.I agreed.
Kingston shrugged and snagged another puck. He didn’t seem nearly as enthused as he should be. That shot was fucking impressive. How long had he been working on that? If I were him, I would have been doing enough cellys to get carded right now. Kingston fiddled with the puck as he waited for Mason to take his turn at me andthe goal.
“Is that you, Warren?” a voice suddenly called over the ice.
We all turned to see Coach Hansson standing by the rinkentrance.
“Hey, Coach, you need me?” I asked, already heading toward him.
“Yeah. You too, Kingston. I was just about to call you guys, but someone mentioned you were already here. We need to talk real quick.” He gestured for us tojoin him.
I looked back at Mason and Kingston for answers, but their matching confused looks told me they had no idea what was goingon either.
We glided across the ice and stepped onto the rubber mats outside therink door.
Mason shifted on his skates.
Coach spared him a glance. “Give us a minute, Frey.”
Mason’s eyes flicked to me. I shrugged. Without further ado, Mason followed the rubber mats to the locker room, balanced perfectly on the thin metal of his skates.
Kingston sat on the nearest bench and took off his gloves. I stayed standing in the door of the rink, fiddling nervously with the mask in my hands. Kingston plucked at the tape on his stick and waited for Mason to disappear before talking. “What’s up, Coach?”
Hansson crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the top of Kingston’s bent-over head. “I need you to bring Warren to your charity event after our next game.”
Kingston’s head whipped up. “What? Why?” He echoed my thoughts exactly.
“Because you’re her new mentor,” Coach Hansson saidcasually.
I met Kingston’s eyes, confusion and dawning horror bouncing between us.
Fuck. I so did not need a mentor. If they would just give me some time, I could figure everything out on my own. It wasn’t like I was a rookie. Granted, I hadn’t played a full game with the Seattle Blades, but I still held my own on the team and with the media. If I ran into anything new on this team—which I doubted—Mason would be there to help me out. He’d done it before. I didn’t need Kingston, a guy I didn’t know, to take me underhis wing.
“Why not Frey?” Kingston said, and I jabbed a finger at him in agreement. “He would be happy to mentor her.”
Exactly! Mason was my person. And I didn’t want to be an annoying weight on Kingston’s shoulder. The guy was undoubtedly busy. With the new skills he showed during our little practice, he must have been working to improve constantly.
Besides, with Mason being my childhood friend, he was the most obvious choice.
“Not that I need a mentor at all,” I cut in, slightly irked at not getting in a word yet in a conversation about my own career. “I grew up in this city, and I’m not exactlya rookie.”
Coach turned to me. “Aren’t you? Yes, you’ve been in the NHL for a year, but last night was your first start. All things considered, you did very well. And based on your performance, I think you’re going to do well on this team. But you need a mentor to show you how to work with your teammates. I’ve talked to your old teams. You don’t play well with others.”
If Coach wasn’t directly in front of me, I would have assumed that it was Mason giving me the same lecture he had been for the pastfew years.
“So, Kingston’s going to show me how to make friends?” I deadpanned.
Coach shrugged. “Basically.”
Fantastic. Mason is going tolove this.
