He looks down to where he’s gripping her and lets go. “Sorry. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Her lips part and form an O, but it takes her a second to speak. “No,” she says finally. “I’m fine.”
“See?” He flashes a cocky smile at me. “She’s fine.”
“She doesn’t seem fine. I think you should take a walk and cool down.” I take another step toward him. He’s taller than me, but softer. He looks like he works out just enough to have the appearance of a fit guy, while I’ve trained nearly every day since I was fifteen. My muscles aren’t for show. Although, that is a nice bonus.
He huffs a laugh and sticks out his chest as he comes toward me. Too dumb to know he can’t possibly win this fight. “Run along before I kick your ass. She doesn’t want anything to do with you, Ash Kelly. You’re a has-been they should have traded years ago.”
Now I’m pissed. A rush of heat spreads through my body. I assumed he didn’t recognize me, but calling me a has-been? Fuck that. I take a step and curl my hand into a fist.
“W-wait.” The girl grabs on to his arm. Some of her long, blonde curls fall over her shoulder. I couldn’t make out her eye color earlier, but they’re a greenish-blue, almost turquoise. “This is stupid. Let’s grab a drink at that place we went last week and then you can drive me to work.”
It doesn’t take a lot of effort on her part to stop him. She shoots me a look that tells me to get lost. I don’t want to leave her alone with this guy though.
“Go,” she mouths. I hold my ground until she adds, “I’m fine. I don’t need your help.”
Her boyfriend sneers when I eventually step back. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
With a huff, he shrugs out of her hold and heads down the sidewalk in the opposite direction with her walking quickly to keep up. I stand there and watch, feeling all sorts of conflicted about letting her leave with him.
My body tingles as my temper cools. What a fucking asshole. Who manhandles a chick like that?
As they turn the corner, she looks back and smiles, but it’s fake as hell. Her dimples don’t even pop. Then they disappear out of sight.
2
DID IT COUNT?
ASH
One month later
Coach enters the locker room thirty minutes before we go out for warmups. His suit is unbuttoned, and his face is downcast as he paces in front of us. Even without looking up, I can still make out the deep lines burrowed in between his eyes from scowling for the better part of a month.
A quick look around at my teammates and their expressions are just as grim. We’re frustrated, tired, and playing like shit. Everyone stops dressing and gives him our attention.
“I don’t have to tell you that Vegas is going to be tough. They’re going to push the tempo, try to rush us, and force mistakes. We can’t let them. We need to go out there and play our game. Take your time, move the puck around, and fight like hell in front of the net. It doesn’t have to be pretty. A goal is a goal.” He stops pacing and places his hands on his hips. Briefly, his gaze lifts to the doorway. Standing just past our equipment managers is the GM of the Wildcats, Jim Smith. Next to him is a younger guy, early to mid-twenties, wearing a suit almost identical to Jim’s. I can’t place him, but something about the kid is familiar.
“Who’s the guy with Jim?” I whisper to Declan, who sits on my right in his stall.
He looks over to where they’re standing. “I’m not sure.”
I stare harder, still unable to figure out who he is. There’s something about him that makes unease crawl up my spine. Maybe Jim got a new assistant. Though this guy is dressed way nicer than any assistant I’ve seen following him or the other executives around.
I refocus on Coach, who has started pacing again. We haven’t won a game in two and a half weeks. The home opener was a fluke. I don’t know what happened since then, but things just aren’t meshing out there. Passes are long, shots on net are wide, and we’re not giving our goalie any help at all. It’s like we’re a bunch of rookies playing together for the first time. We desperately need a win to turn things around.
“Let’s go out there and take care of business. Remind everyone what a great team we are because we are. But even great teams need to show up ready to go. Every guy counts, every shift counts.” He claps his hands together. “Let’s get the energy levels up. Captain, give us the starting lineup.”
After Jack calls each name, we all cheer, and by the time Coach leaves, the energy has shifted. Frustration has leached into anticipation.