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Nate sat at the conference table, looking confused as his gaze moved from our coach to Max and me, one eyebrow raised. His eyes, too, hung on our hands for a moment.

“I know you are angry that Max and I—”

“I don’t care who you fuck, Bendixen!” he barked, wheezing. “What I do care about is my captain groping one of his teammates at a public spa!” He stalked around the room, pullingat his thinning hair. “I don’t want any of the bullshit like what Chase Harper gets up to.” Jerke spat out the name of the Gators’ right winger as if it tasted bitter on his tongue.

“You are benched—no. I don’t even want to see you anywherenear the icefor the next three games. Suit and tie, in the stands on your best behaviour. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” I muttered, staring at my knees, my body tightly coiled, ready to jump to Max’s aid when he let loose on him.

“Decker, you will take over from Bendixen.”

“What?” Nate stared at him, then met my eyes with a horror-struck expression on his face. “No, I—I didn’t know that’s why you wanted me here,” he stammered, wringing his hands.

“Yeah, it makes sense. It should be Decker.” I gave him a small half smile I hoped reached my eyes. He deserved it, and he had everything he needed to be an excellent captain for the Pumas.

Our coach acknowledged me with an almost imperceptible nod, as if against his will.

I can accept defeat, Coach. You should know that.

“While he’s benched. Don’t freak out on me, men. I’m mad, but I’m not that mad.”

“Oh, okay.” Nate exhaled. “Yeah, I can do that, of course.” I caught his eye, giving him a small lift of the lips I hoped he interpreted as a smile.

I’d meant it. If anyone took over from me, I'd want it to be Nate.

“Decker, would you mind leaving us alone for a moment? You too Bendixen. You can wait outside.”

“No, Arne needs to stay. Please,” Max said royally.

Oh, Raven. I’m so fucking sorry.

“Well, if he must.”

He waited until Decks had closed the door behind him, then settled down in the chair opposite of my raven.

“Wir kriegen das wieder hin, Max, okay? Finn wartet auf dich im Social Media Büro. Wir lassen dich in der Situation nicht allein. Keine Sorge, in ein paar Tagen kräht kein Hahn mehr danach.”

“Coach, can we talk about this in English? This concerns Arneandme.” I could have kissed him for saying that.

Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t do that in front of Jerke.

Coach Jerke huffed. “Apologies, Bendixen. So as I was saying, it’s going to be okay. You’ll meet Finn to discuss how you want to handle this. We can’t just ignore it, there will have to be an official statement.”

His eyes fell on Max. “What?” Jerke narrowed his eyes at him.

“Sorry, Coach.” He chuckled. “I thought you were going to tell me to pack my things and go. And I would. Anything to protect—”

“I’mnotamused,” Jerke interrupted him. “We won’t let one of our best newcomers or one of my best enforcers go over something like this. I take it that things between you and Bendixen are consensual?”

I choked on a sip of water from one of the small bottles on the table.

Max smirked at my coughing self. “It’s definitely consensual, Mister Jerke.”

“See? You will keep Bendixen company in the stands but absolutely no touching. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” we replied.

Fat chance.