Page 17

Grant

Brooke kills it. The coach is on board, as is the rest of the team, especially when she says she can boost their social media presence. I’m sure most of the guys are excited about that, so they get more DMs.

She stays working out the finer details with the coach and Andrew whilst we all head to the locker room to shower and change; I said I would give her a ride back to the apartment, so I’m rushing through my post-practice routine and pulling my hoodie on when I hear some guys talking about Brooke.

“I don’t think it’ll be too hard to get her to go on a date with me,” Blake Johnson says while walking out of the showers with a towel around his waist.

Johnson’s a cocky little shit, we’ve been struggling to find the right line to put him on, he’s not a natural team player and doesn't work well with the other defenseman.

“Date? Dude, come on, I’m thinking more of a hook-up.” A rookie says while shoving his gear into his locker.

“No way, that’s a girl you date and marry,” Johnson shakes his head at the rookie and raises his eyebrows. “Can’t wait until the first shoot.”

“Get in line,” another guy pipes up across the locker room, and I can't help it. I lost my cool.

“No one, and I repeat, no one, is going to touch or be disrespectful to Brooke,” I announce loudly, slamming my locker to send the message home.

All the chatter in the room stops, everyone staring at me, except for a snort that I know is coming from Adam’s direction.

I turn and glare at him, to the other guys, I’m their captain right now, not their friend.

“C’mon, Cap, she’s hot.”

This rookie doesn’t know when to quit. “She’s doing a project for the team, which makes her unavailable to all of you.

” I stare around at the team, and they’re hanging on to my every word.

This is the first time I’ve had to put any rules down, I’m usually all for the locker room talk but not about Brooke, she's not just some girl they can lear at “If I hear so much as a whisper that one of you has hit on her, I don’t care that we’re on the same team, I’ll cross-check you into the boards and beat your ass,”

I look around at their stunned faces. “Got it?!” I shout, and they all nod and get moving. I grab my bag and head out, not bothering to wait to hear them bitch when I walk out the door.

I shake my head as I walk down the hallway, confused by my reaction to the locker room talk. Why would I care if Johnson dates and marries Brooke? But even as the thought enters my head, my fists clench like I'm ready to punch him in his smug face as he smiles at the idea of being with her..

Entering the lobby, I see Brooke is standing by the entrance, looking at her phone. As I approach, she looks up, smiling at me. She's my friend. I dont want that asshole fucking around and hurting her especially after the shit Josh and her mom put her through, thats all it is.

“Ready?” she asks as I reach her.

“Yep,” I say shortly, and I grab her bag off her shoulder. She rolls her eyes but lets me as we walk out the doors. “I can carry that, you know,” she says.

“I know,” I reply gruffly, shaking off my speech in the locker room and trying to be in the present with her. “Just thought you deserved it after that kick-ass presentation.”

“Well, thanks.” She beams up at me, and I smile down at her.

“I especially liked the first slide.” I nudge her, and she pushes me against my car door as we reach it, making me laugh.

“Shut up!” She pulls her door open and hops in. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“No?” I tease, getting into the driver’s side. “I thought the coach would be on board with a hot shot of his captain?”

“Of course not.” She turns to me with a serious face. “I was going for the pity angle; I need your other players because this is all I’ve got to work with.”

It’s my turn to roll my eyes as she giggles next to me, and I start the engine. “You’re lucky I liked the presentation; otherwise, that would have cost you your congratulatory iced caramel latte.”

“Hey, I would never have risked an iced latte,” she gasps, clutching her hands to her chest dramatically.

“Well, now you know the stakes.” I shrug my shoulders as I pull out of the rink car park

“The stakes have got to be higher than that.” She shoots me another of her stunning smiles while her phone buzzes, and she answers it.

“More than you know,” I mutter, keeping my eyes on the road while she excitedly debriefs Cami and I try to remind myself that she's just my friend.