I take a long drink from my water bottle. “She’s not my enemy.”
“You were literally disqualified from trivia together,” Austin points out.
“That was a misunderstanding.”
“You both cheated,” Hayes says.
I glower, letting the rookie know he should keep his mouth shut.
“We didn’t cheat. We made questionable judgment calls under pressure.”
Austin snorts. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
“I’m calling it ancient history.” I toss my water bottle toward the bench. “And the Ball planning will be fine. Professional. Under control.”
“I’m worried you two might set the building on fire.” James’s eyes twinkle with mischief.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Austin smirks. “There are definite sparks between you.”
“More like fire and ice,” Scotty adds.
I glare at all of them. “There are no sparks. She’s annoying. I’m busy. We’ll plan the Ball, execute it flawlessly, and move on with our lives.”
“You could barely handle trivia night,” Austin says.
“That was one incident.”
“A very public incident.”
“With witnesses,” Hayes adds, because apparently he’s committed to toilet detail for the rest of the year.
They fill in Reese on the saga while I coax them to line up for the next drill, determined to end this conversation with aggressive skating, stick handling, and a goal. But my authority as a lieutenant doesn’t follow me onto the ice.
After Austin wraps up the story that has the guys chuckling, he says, “Good luck, Maverick.”
The nickname mocks who I used to be—the kid who’d try anything, risk everything, and laugh at danger. Now I’m the guy who triple-checks equipment and studies incident reports in case we missed something. The most exciting thing I’ve done in months is refuse to share nachos with a woman who drives me completely insane.
We run another drill. Hayes manages not to fall. Progress.
During the next break, the conversation shifts to Austin’s childhood best friend visiting. He’s weirdly twitchy about it, checking his phone every thirty seconds.
“Emery’s flight lands Saturday. She’s staying with me since the Timber’s Edge Inn is booked.”
“She?” Hayes perks up. “Single?”
“Off-limits,” Austin says quickly.
Scotty and I exchange looks. Interesting.
“I’ve known her since we were kids,” Austin continues. “She’s like a sister.”
“Uh-huh,” James says. “That’s what they all say before the wedding.”
Austin cross-checks him for that comment.
When we’re finishing up, doing cool down laps, James skates up beside me. Brow pinched, he wears the expression we’ve all identified as the one before he says something he thinks is profound.
