Page 14 of Face Off

I rubbed my jaw, replaying the morning. “I’m really sorry I did that. I got a call from my agent to hurry in, and I knew it wasn’t a good thing. I was pretty lost in my head.” I remembered I was also blocking out the world. “And I had earbuds in, so I didn’t hear you.”

Her eyes trailed over me like she was sizing me up, and I fought the urge to do the same. “Fine. I’ll let it slide, this time.”

She pressed the button for the front office, and I realized then that the elevator hadn’t moved yet. The doors opened a few seconds later, and she stepped out, swaying her hips as she walked. “Bye, Mikey Dankowski.”

The doors shut, but I didn’t move. She knew who I was? She knew I was a player, and she apparently worked here, yet she had the nerve to give me a hard time. I wasn’t sure if I was attracted to her or offended. Most people would never call me out like that. Especially someone I didn't know.

I guess my bad first impression was enough to make her not care what I thought about her. Maybe it showed me in such a bad light, she assumed I could only improve with her unsolicited critique.

Either way, she’d certainly left her mark. I wouldn’t be forgetting her soon, but I would avoid her at all costs.

When I got to the locker room, most of the team was already there, pulling on their gear. Mitch nodded as I passed, and I was grateful to have at least one person know what was going on. As much as I wanted to ask around to see if anyone else had been called into a meeting, I didn’t want to think about it today. I’d let myself obsess and wallow the day before, but now it was time to get back to work. I needed to limit the distractions as much as possible, which included bad news and potential rumors and sassy blonds.

Coach Rust came in and started calling names, going over the lines we’d be trying this week. “Dankowski, Cullen, Dumoulin, Garrison, Jones. We want to see more shots on goal, and Dankowski, we want you running plays with special teams too.”

I nodded, keeping my mask of indifference in place, but that was a huge deal. That meant I’d be practicing with Schultz, Murray, and Brassard—some of the best guys on the team for power plays. That was a big responsibility and an even bigger surprise, given yesterday’s conversation. Why would they do that? Did they want me to fail or step up? It was impossible to know, but I couldn’t waste this opportunity to prove my worth.

After warming up and drills, we split into lines and went through various plays Coach Rust called out. There was one particularly challenging passing sequence he wanted us to nail, and we had to have done it forty to fifty times before he let us move on.

“We better use that tomorrow night,” I said to Cullen while we took a water break.

“I’ll stay with Parker and Jason until we can do it with our eyes closed,” he promised.

“Dank, over here!” Coach Romney called from center ice. I pushed away from the boards and stopped in front of him. “I’m taking a chance with you on this. I don’t like what’s happening any more than I’m sure you do, so I want you to prove how invaluable you are to our defense.”

I nodded. So this was his way of forcing me to step up and show off. “Got it.”

“I wouldn’t put you in this position if I didn’t think you would be an asset. Those three have established chemistry and work together flawlessly. If I see you slowing them down or being a hindrance, I’ll pull you. That’s not to say you did anything wrong, I just don’t want to set you up for failure. We’ll come up with something else.”

I inhaled deeply. “Thanks, Coach.”

He thumped my shoulder pad. “I believe in you. Remember that.”

I nodded and went to where the others were waiting.

Murray bumped my glove when I got to them. “Ready?”

I wasn’t. I was nervous and on the verge of vomiting, but that was irrelevant. “Yeah.”

The three of them nodded, and Coach Romney shouted out the first play.

* * *

After showering and changing back into sweats, I was folding and refolding a sweatshirt, waiting for the perfect time to ask something I'd barely managed to push out of my thoughts during practice.

Erik and Reese wouldn’t stop talking to Hartman, and I really needed one of them alone. They burst out laughing, and I was hoping that would be the end of their conversion, but no. They kept going.

Finally, I gave in and walked over. Their talking slowed to a stop when I got close.

“Nice job out there,” Hartman said.

“Thanks.” That was a confidence boost I desperately needed.

“Yeah, it felt pretty natural, huh?” Reese elbowed Erik who agreed.

“That’s good to hear.” I sighed. This would be the perfect time to catch them up on what was going on and ask if they knew anything, but that wasn’t the goal of this mission.

“What’s up?” Erik asked.