Page 6

CHAPTER 6

AXEL

A n extra two hours of practice a week? And one of them I had to spend entirely with Jace?

Fuck. My. Life.

I glanced over at my new ‘training buddy’ and my blood ran so hot I was either feverish or really fucking pissed. Definitely pissed. Jace didn’t look bothered at all, sitting there with his cocky manspread going on. Most of his unruly hair was shoved under his ballcap, and the ends that peeked out were even curlier since his hair was wet.

When he glanced at me, I saw nothing but contempt. No surprise there, he was as annoyed as I was about this fucktastic turn of events.

“And that’s not all—” Banning continued.

Please, what else could there be?

I was about to say something when there was a loud knock at the door.

“Enter!” Banning barked.

The door opened and Silas and Finn stepped into the cramped office. You could hardly breathe, never mind move in here. There wasn’t enough room for four hockey players, plus our coach, who was a massive guy himself. My chest tightened, like someone had punched my breastbone. Great. Now I could definitely add claustrophobia to my list of problems.

“Perfect timing,” Banning added. “Silas, Finn, I need both of you here on Thursdays at seven. You’ll be working on drills with Axel and Jace.”

“Extra practice?” Silas grumbled. “But Coach?—”

“Problem?” Banning replied.

“Kind of,” Silas bit out.

“If you want to stay on this team, you need to be there. Am I clear?”

Silas grunted.

“I’m sorry, was that a ‘yes’?” Banning snarked.

“Yes,” Silas mumbled and crossed his arms, his leather jacket creaking.

“Good. Finn?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Finn nodded with a grin. “Whatever it takes.”

“That’s what I like to hear. And that’s not all?—”

“Fuck me,” Silas muttered.

“One more word out of you, Moss, and I’ll add another hour to your practice time.”

Silas shook his head but stayed silent. Banning was at the end of his patience, if the throbbing vein in his forehead was any indication.

Banning leaned forward and steepled his hands. I braced myself for whatever was coming next.

“I’ve been approached by the mayor of Sutton for a community event they’re hosting in April. This is a formal dinner and dance to raise funds for the new firehouse. Axel and Jace, you’ve been assigned as the school liaison volunteers when it comes to the silent auction and the keynote speaker. Silas and Finn, you’re going to assist at the event itself as needed.”

Oh my fucking God.

“Uh, Coach, with all due respect,” Jace replied. “I’ve got a shi…I mean, a lot on my plate. It’s not just classes, but my kinesiology practicum, plus hockey. My schedule’s already packed.”

Banning didn’t look impressed.

“Make the time, Jace. If it means one less party on the weekend, so be it,” Banning replied. “It’s a couple of hours a month. You can add it to your résumé and it’s for a good cause. One that’s important to this town and the school. This isn’t just me talking. The mayor contacted our school president personally about this event. This is a priority for the Cougars and the university, whether you like it or not.”

“Yes, Coach,” Jace replied quickly.

“Does everyone understand?”

Unfortunately, I did. I was about to push back, but I caught the warning glare in Banning’s eyes and there was no point in arguing any further. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and nodded.

“The workload won’t be as cumbersome as you think. Given my history in the professional league, I’ve already been in touch with my contacts there and they’ve agreed to donate signed items for the silent auction. On your end, it’s simply follow-up to ensure we receive and track the donations,” Coach continued. “I’ve also confirmed that my friend, defenseman Selwin Kirkland, will be our keynote. His attendance means a lot of press coverage. You need to get in touch with his assistant and keep the event organizers in the loop. And be discreet about it.”

I was stunned. Stunned and suddenly stoked. Selwin Kirkland was Chicago’s best d-man and a player I greatly admired. Even though I was pissed about having to work with Jace, meeting one of my hockey idols tempered my bad mood.

“I’ll email you the details, including the information about the league contacts and you can take it from there. I’m counting on you to get this job done right,” Banning added. “This also applies to the game; we only work if we work together. Together or not at all. Got it?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good. Any other questions?” Coach asked.

“Is Kirkland going to visit campus? Maybe give our team some one-on-one guidance while he’s here?” Silas asked.

Banning leaned back in his chair.

“I’ve already asked him, but unfortunately with his schedule, he’s flying in and out for the dinner only. But there’s always the possibility in the future.”

“Next fall?”

“Maybe earlier,” Coach replied with an enigmatic expression. “Now, if there’s no further questions, you’re free to go.”

Free, my ass.

The temporary high I had from scoring earlier was gone. Even the possibility of meeting one of the greatest players in the league couldn’t quite lift me up. And I certainly didn’t want to show up to the party tonight. Why would I? Jace would be there. Then again, now I had even more frustrations to vent.

Food, beer, and a pretty girl to distract me for a few hours sounded just right.

To be honest, I was more excited about the food and beer. Sex? I could take it or leave it. It was yet another secret that I was holding tight to. At least if I got drunk, I wouldn’t have any worries.

Not about how shitty I was in class, how shitty I was at sex, and now, how shitty I was at hockey.

Okay, the hockey part was an exaggeration. An assist and two goals wasn’t crap by any means. But given the extra practice that had just been handed to me, it felt like I was being punished. All the past nagging from my father about how lousy I was at everything reverberated in my head. No matter the distance, that wily asshole’s voice still got to me. But I’d made it this far, and no way was I going to give up. That center line position was mine and if I had to work with my rival to prove I was the bigger and better player, so be it.

As to the rest, and when it came to my classes, I needed to pick a lane. Either stay with my economics major or switch. A decision had to be made and there was no more time for dicking around.

And sex? Dicking around was a given. Maybe I just needed to embrace my inner fuckboy and do it as often as I could. Practice made perfect, right?

“Axel? Is there anything else you need to say?”

Shit, I was still sitting there like an idiot.

“Uh, no. Sorry, Coach.”

I finally stood up and filed out of the room, following my teammates. It felt like we lost the game rather than won it. Jace walked ahead with Finn, and Silas with me.

“At least Coach sees our potential,” Finn broke the silence. “He’s giving us more time because he knows we can do better.”

That didn’t make me feel better. Not at all.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I kind of agree with Finn,” Silas replied.

The rest of us stopped short and turned to stare at him.

“What?” he growled and rubbed a hand over his unruly beard. “Okay, so I wasn’t expecting the volunteer thing, but having the chance to meet Kirkland? He’s the best d-man in the league. Come on, don’t tell me you’re not excited.”

I nodded and so did Finn and Jace.

“And sure, finding time in my schedule for extra practice is going to be a pain in the ass, but I’m starting to find my groove,” Silas added. “And if working more closely with you guys is gonna help get me get where I need to be, then I’ll do it.”

“And where do you need to be?” Jace asked.

“Same as you guys,” Silas replied with a frown. When no one responded, he sighed. “On the radar for the scouts.”

“You want to go pro?” I asked and received a glare in return. From everyone. “What? He’s already twenty-two. That’s like, ancient for a hockey draft.”

“Not old,” Silas snapped. “And I have a hell of a lot more stamina than you.”

“Oh really?” I smirked. “I guess we’ll see on Thursday.”

“Fucking right we will,” Silas bit out and stormed down the hallway.

“Don’t forget about the party!” Finn called out.

Silas replied with the tried-and-true ‘fuck off’ hand gesture.

“I’ll talk to him,” Finn assured us and took off after Silas.

“You don’t make a lot of friends, do you?” Jace snarked.

I stepped towards him, but he didn’t back up. Not one freaking inch. This close, I noticed that his eyes were more hazel than brown, with specks of green, and surrounded by lashes that were almost too thick to be real. And since when did I give a shit about anyone’s eyes? Jesus Christ, I was hallucinating from dehydration or something. I needed carbs, preferably in the form of pizza and beer, and I needed them now.

“I might be blunt, but at least I don’t treat people like shit,” I bit out.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Don’t play innocent with me,” I snapped. “You’re Mr. Popularity here at Sutton, but students here don’t really know you, do they?”

“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head in the game today?” Jace bit back, his cheeks flushed. “Because you’re not making any goddamn sense.”

“I don’t have time to stand here and argue with a two-faced narcissist,” I hissed.

“Well, you sure as fuck have to play with him and, FYI, I’m talking about you,” Jace sneered. “I’m anything but two-faced and look who’s talking about narcissism? You’re too good for anyone here at Sutton, including the team. You’ve been here since September, and you’ve barely made any effort to get to know your teammates. The fuck is that? Maybe if you pulled that elite hockey stick out of your ass, and learned how to use it properly, you’d have a chance at being a decent person and player.”

“You want to talk about decent? How about?—”

“Hey!”

Jace and I turned to find Coach Banning standing outside his door, arms crossed, scowl in full effect.

“What the hell, guys? I can hear you from my office!” he bellowed. “What did we just talk about?”

And I thought we were loud.

“Sorry, Coach,” we replied at the same time.

“Sorry is an empty word in this case. Remember what I said. We work together or we don’t work at all.”

Banning turned on his heel and went back into his office. When he slammed the door, I jumped. Hey, in the narrow hallway, the sound was really fucking loud. I had to get out of here. I needed food and I needed a drink. Several drinks.

“Scared?” Jace quipped. “Going to call Mommy and Daddy so they can yell at the coach for you?”

“You think you’re so clever,” I sneered. “But you don’t know shit.”

I stalked off, and didn’t look back. If I did, I’d probably either heave my guts out or walk back and punch Jace in the face. Either way, I couldn’t afford to go there. And I didn’t know how the hell I was going to do this. My parents would be laughing their asses off if they could see me now. The ‘I told you so’s would never end. Calling them? I’d rather practice with Jace every day than do that. Was transferring schools a mistake? In my gut, I knew the answer was no, but the nagging self-doubt kept creeping up.

Then I thought about my freshman year at Langston. Everyone seemed friendly but that’s just because of my family history with the school. I didn’t make any real friends there. Just people who invited me to stuff, and who wanted an invite in return. Or an introduction to my parents, and their circle. That’s how the one percent operated.

I never fit in there. And I wasn’t going back.