Meet Your Match (Kings of the Ice, #1)(46)

“But it’s against your fucking contract,” Coach filled in for him, nose flaring. “What the hell were you thinking, Tanev?”

I swallowed, knowing that wasn’t a question he wanted me to answer. I was expected to sit there and take my lashing like a good boy, and I was content to do just that.

But anger simmered in me, too.

Because I told Maven not to fucking post about that day.

Our away games had gone just how we wanted them to. We were on a five-win streak and back in our city to try to make it six. Yesterday was a hungover flight home for most of the guys, and we spent the rest of the day recovering. I hadn’t seen Maven, other than where she was already sleeping when I boarded the plane. She was in the back, hoodie on, pillow against the window, and headphones covering her ears.

When we got back to Tampa, she muttered something about seeing me later before she disappeared. I had no idea where she’d gone, and I hated to admit how much I missed having her around — especially since I wanted her to talk to me about what happened the night before.

She was so goddamn stubborn, it infuriated me as much as it made me want her more.

This morning, when I’d shown up to practice, I’d no sooner laced my skates up before Coach was pointing at the elevator. Wordlessly, I followed him, and when he hit the button for the executive floor and handed me his phone with his jaw clenched, I knew I was in trouble.

Maven had posted a video of me at the rink in Pittsburgh with Bobby and his kids.

I only watched a few seconds of it before I handed the phone back, knowing my ass was grass.

“Oh, come now, McCabe,” Dick said, leaning back in his chair with that jovial grin of his. “The boy is fine.”

“He could have gotten himself hurt. Before a game.”

“But he didn’t.”

The way Dick said those words told me he wanted Coach to back off, and the way Coach fumed told me that was the last thing he planned to do.

“I’m sorry,” I said to both of them, and I meant it. “I needed to clear my head, and I knew my buddy from Michigan was coaching at that rink. I promise, I didn’t do anything that would have put me at risk.”

“Being on the ice period put you at risk,” Coach argued. “You weren’t even wearing a mask. What if you got a puck to the jaw? What if one of those kids wanted to prove he was big and bad and shoved you into the boards? What if you pulled a fucking hamstring? Anything could have happened. And then what? You would have been out of the game. And what would you have told your teammates?”

“Alright, he said he was sorry,” Dick said, holding out his hands.

Coach let out a hot exhale through his nose, running his hands through his hair and turning away from me. I’d never seen him so pissed, but I knew without him saying so that he was less mad and more scared.

He didn’t want to have to figure out how to win a game without me on the ice.

Dick pointed at me next. “Let this be a one-time thing, okay? It was a nice gesture, and I’m sure those boys will remember that day for the rest of their lives. But Coach is right. We can’t afford to lose you, son.”

I nodded. “Understood.”

Coach didn’t talk to me the rest of practice. He hammered my ass, though, and made sure I was sweating and sore as hell by the time he called it for the day.

And where he ignored me, I ignored Maven.

She was there, just like she had been the last two weeks, recording from the sidelines. When we were dismissed, I didn’t wait for her as I shoved through the doors that led from the stadium into downtown. I walked with my headphones on, duffle bag slung over one shoulder, ignoring everyone who walked past me and recognized who I was. A few of them snapped photos, others just pointed and smiled and called out my name. The best of them left me alone altogether.

I’d no sooner made it home and started my shower before I heard a knock at my door.

Maven didn’t look scared when I swung it open, staring down at her with my jaw set. In fact, she folded her arms and lifted her chin in defiance.

“Bad day?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me?” She balked, catching the door before it could shut when I let go of it. I headed back toward my bedroom, to where I had the shower going. “What is wrong with you?!”

“You posted that video when I told you, I told you not to.” I spun to face her in the hallway, the sound of the shower serving as white noise behind our screams. “But you did it anyway. Because you’re Maven King and you just do whatever you want.”

She scoffed. “In case you forgot, you agreed to this.”

“Oh, my bad. I thought when I specifically asked you not to post something, you’d listen. Didn’t you tell me that in the beginning? That if I wanted anything off the record, all I had to do was say so?”

I didn’t know why I took that exact moment to take her in, to really look at her. Her eyes were as tired as mine, and yet still, she was glowing — her skin fresh and smooth, her hair curly and held off her face by a colorful bandana tied at the crown of her head. She wore her classic silver hoop earrings, a white t-shirt that fit her perfectly, and a pair of light-washed jeans that fit even better.

Even when I was pissed at her, I wanted her.

“This is a good thing,” she said after a moment — but it felt like she was trying to defend herself more than convince me. “Every news outlet in the city has picked up the story, along with some of the national stations. You’re welcome for the great publicity.”