“It’s okay, man. Really,” I say, patting his shoulder before heading off the ice.
I catch Coach Sawyer glaring at me. My stomach sinks. I’m in for the ass-chewing of a lifetime when this game is over.
I don’t regret what I did, though. I’m in for a world of trouble, but I’d do it again. Because I did it to keep Poppy safe, and she’s worth anything.
I sit in Coach Sawyer’s office, in front of his desk, my nerves firing off inside of me as I wait for him to arrive.
A minute later, he walks in and shuts the door behind him. I look over at him, waiting for him to walk over to his desk, but he doesn’t. He just stands there, glaring at me.
I take that as my cue to stand up.
“Coach, I can explain?—”
He holds up a hand, cutting me off. “You can explain in a minute. Right now, I’m gonna speak.” He pulls off his suit jacket and tosses it aside. “You’re currently suspended for the next four games.”
I swallow.
“I just got done talking to the half-dozen pro hockey scouts that attended this game. They were all impressed with your performance tonight, until you ran up into the stands to beat the shit out of that guy. They’re wondering if you’re even worthpursuing now. They’re concerned you’re a hothead that’s going to be a liability to their team if they were to draft you.”
Disappointment flashes through me.
“On top of that, I have the dean of the school calling me, threatening to fire me since I’ve lost control of the captain of my team.”
Guilt sinks deep into the pit of my stomach. “Coach, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to affect you.”
His hard gaze sharpens as he focuses on me, his hands on his hips. “Are you proud of yourself? Are you happy for the shitshow you caused because you lost your temper?”
I huff out a heavy sigh and shake my head. “No. I’m not.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, studying me. After a tense moment of silence, he speaks. “What the hell was going through your brain, St. George?”
“I didn’t think, Coach. I saw some guy putting his hands on my girlfriend, and I just reacted.”
He lets out a bitter laugh. He scrubs a hand over his face. “That’s just great. I’ve got a romance hero on my team,” he says sarcastically.
Anger pricks up inside of me. It’s fine that he’s mad. I understand that completely. But I’m not going to let him belittle or dismiss what actually happened.
He shakes his head as he scowls at his phone screen. “I hope you’re happy,” he mutters.
“I’m not. But I also don’t regret what I did.
He looks up at me. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t regret it, Coach. Because it was the right thing to do.” I take a breath and look him in the eye. “You have every right to be mad at me because you’re right. I broke the rules. But I did the right thing. I was protecting my girlfriend from being attacked. I would hope that you would do the same if you saw your wife or girlfriend being assaulted. I would hope that youwouldn’t give a shit about the rules when it comes to the safety of the person you love most in the world.”
He just stares at me, his expression unreadable.
My heart is hammering in my chest. I’ve never talked this bluntly to my coach before. But I can’t help it. He’s probably on the verge of kicking me off the team for good, and this is the only chance I’ll have to talk to him honestly.
“I’m sorry that you’re getting flak from everyone about what I did,” I say. “That’s not fair. But I’m not sorry for what I did. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. And if you don’t want me playing for you because of that, then fine.”
I walk out of his office before he can say anything, adrenaline pumping through me. When I walk into the locker room to grab my stuff, Blake, Travis, and Leo are standing there. Everyone else must have already left.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask.
“We wanted to see how things went for you after meeting with Coach,” Blake says.
A small bit of the anxiety and frustration bombarding me eases seeing my friends here to support me.
