Page 17

Jackson Owen

“Bill Baker!” Noah yells before he bursts through the locker room doors. His mouth opens in a pant, and he scans the room. “Have you seen Bill?”

“Ah, no.” I shake my head as I dig through my locker again, looking for my lucky glove. I never used to lose any of my stuff, but ever since my last breakup, my mind has been so distracted. I lost my glove last week before the game, and Bill grabbed a new one for me. It turned out that was a super lucky glove because we won that game. I definitely don't want to lose it. A knot swells in my throat when I lift my hockey bag again and look under it. Something drops to the floor. I don’t even need to check to know it’s my lucky glove. A sigh of relief falls from my lips.

I stuff my glove into my hockey bag and shift my gaze to Noah, who sniffs around the locker room like a bloodhound. “What’s up, bruh?” I take a step back, hugging the lockers, as sometimes he gets like this when he’s off his meds. “You okay?”

“No.” His eyes are glossed over, and his face is crimson as he spins on his heel and shouts toward Bill’s office. “Bill, you’d better get out here!”

I swallow, not understanding how he could talk to his boss like that, and doubting that Bill is even here. Everybody left but me, and I’m only here because I’ve been scouring the place for my glove.

A shuffle from the door pulls both Noah’s and my attention that way. It’s Bill, dressed in head-to-toe Granite Ice warmup clothes. He leans against the wall and crosses his arms in front of him as if he’s preparing for a confrontation.

“Tell me you didn’t,” Noah hisses, his expression so full of hatred that I do a double take. This is not the Noah I know. I’m about to push my hand on his chest to hold him back. He looks as if he’s about to attack Bill.

“Noah,” Bill says calmly. “I love you like a son, but I can’t have you on my team while you’re dating Blake’s daughter.”

My gaze bounces from Bill to Noah as I struggle to fill in the gaps. Noah blurts out everything I need to know. “You traded me.” Noah’s arms flail around as if he’s having trouble controlling his body. “To some brand-new team nobody has even heard of.”

“It’s going to work out just fine.” Bill’s words are cool and measured. “You wanted to move out of the house and have your own life, didn’t you? Well, this will get you all the way to Long Island. I traded you to Blake Anton’s new team.”

My jaw plummets all the way down.

Bill has lost his mind.

“Blake doesn’t have a team.” Noah rushes out, wild arm gestures continue to fly all around him. “And even if he did, why would you trade me?”

“Now you get to be with Paisley.” Bill’s smooth gesture seems almost condescending when paired with how upset Noah is. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“N-no. It’s not what I wanted. What I wanted was for you to accept Paisley as part of my life—the same way I accepted you as part of my mom’s life.” Noah stutters for a moment before spouting off, “This trade makes us rivals.”

“No.” Bill tips his head coyly at Noah. “You made us rivals when you started dating that woman.”

Lightning could crash into this locker room, and it would be less shocking than what I’m seeing. I knew Noah had a new girlfriend, but I had no idea about the conflict going on behind the scenes. The tension in the air is palpable, and my gaze bounces from Noah to Bill.

“Whatever,” Noah mutters as he slams his fist into a nearby locker. The echo fills the room. He doesn’t wait for it to quiet before he storms out of the room, calling back, “You thought you were losers before, just wait until we meet again on the ice . . .”

Well, this is awkward. I tap my finger on my leg, pretending I didn’t just witness the single most terrifying thing to go down since I joined this team. Bill is staring after the trail Noah left, and his cheeks are redder than a firetruck.

One thing I’ve learned about Bill is that you never want to cross him. I hug my hockey bag close to my chest, peeking inside to check for my glove. No relief comes over me this time, as the stakes have just been raised.

I might need two lucky gloves for next season . . .

Follow Jackson in his unending quest for love and his lucky glove, in All I Need is My Glove.