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“He made me captain.” I mumbled my confession.
River’s eyes went round, and he huffed out a breath. “How do you feel about that?”
My shoulders tightened, and I stood tall. “What are you, my therapist?”
He cocked his head to the side, examining me. “No, but I know you’ve been avoiding getting involved with the team.”
“What are you talking about? I live with the team, and I had one of the highest points last year for assists,” I said, defensive.
River, never one to be goaded into an argument, leaned back against the counter. “So, what did Coach say?”
Fuck, he had me. I rolled my eyes. “He wants me to be more involved with the team and thinks being captain will force me to do it.”
The smallest hint of a smile curved on River’s mouth but vanished before his next words. “He’s right. And once you get your head out of your ass, you’ll be a great captain.”
My shoulders relaxed for what felt like the first time today, knowing he wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t mean it. I nodded once and headed toward my room, in need of another shower. “Thanks, man.”
* * *
All three guys were in the living room when I came out of my room. There were a couple of boxes of pizzas laid out on the coffee table. The air was too quiet as they watched me approach.
“So, you going to be a dick all year, or did you get that out of your system?” Alex chimed in before shoving a bite into his mouth.
River knocked his shoulder into Alex’s side, drawing his attention, and shook his head.
Alex shrugged. “What? Someone had to say something to break the mood. Shit was getting entirely too serious.”
Ignoring Alex, I watched Jax. His face was turned away, and he stared at the hockey game playing on TV. It was a repeat from the playoffs last year where his favorite team went down in the last round. He turned to me and raised a brow, some of the lightness returning to his features. “Heard you’re our new captain.”
My face snapped to River’s, who returned my stare. “Never pegged you for a gossip.”
“I told you. There’s no secrets in hockey.”
“So how fucking scared are you?” Jax asked, and I blew out a breath that he’d decided to let the subject of Piper go. For now.
“Honestly?” I sat in one of the armchairs and looked at all of them, but my gaze landed on Alex. “Should’ve been Alex. Everyone likes him, and he’s earned respect on the team.”
“Aw, you love me.” Alex batted his lashes.
River choked. “That right there is probably why Coach skipped you.”
Jax pushed the box of pizza my way in a peace offering and said, “So where we headed tonight? Heard there’s a house party, and I wouldn’t mind getting laid, then shit-faced.”
I eyed him, tension building in my chest. “Lately, that’s all you’ve been into.”
He kicked his feet up on the coffee table, moving a box to the side. “Got an opinion on it,Captain?”
I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck, deciding to give him the same courtesy of a free pass he’d given to me. “Fuck off with the captain shit.”
Alex laughed. “Oh, you better get used to that, or the team’s going to have a field day. Don’t worry, we’ll stick up for you.” He smirked.
These fuckers were going to be the death of me.
FOURTEEN
PIPER
What wasI thinking drooling over Lucas like that? What happened toLucas who?
