“Why not?” he scoffed. “It’s not like you want thegirlout there.I’d be a better bet even if I was still injured. Right, guys?” Elliot looked around the room for support, but it was severely lacking.
The team had finally started to accept Mackenzie as one of us. We knew how hard she’d been working to level up, and in the last few practices it was plain to see how much her skills had improved. I’d always thought she was better than Ford, and it seemed the other players on the team were beginning to realize that too.
When Elliot didn’t get the response he was looking for, he simply shrugged and a smug smile returned to his lips. “Guess we’ll just see what Coach Foster has to say.”
He had me there. Coach Foster had never wanted Mackenzie to play, and with Ford back, I knew he’d be more than happy to swap her out.
There was a knock on the door before Mackenzie entered the room, shielding her eyes with her arm. “You guys better all be dressed. I donotwant to see your ass again, Seth.”
No one responded and Mackenzie lowered her arm to reveal a concerned look on her face.
“What’s going on?” She glanced around, her eyes finallylanding on the smirking Elliot.
Mackenzie stepped close enough to mutter to me, “Parker, what’s going on?”
I didn’t get a chance to give her an explanation, though, because Coach Foster walked in. “Evening, everyone,” he said, barely looking up from his clipboard. “We’ve got a big game ahead of—” He stopped short as Elliot practically danced up to his side.
“My ankle’s all better, Coach. I’m back and ready to play.” Elliot handed him a piece of paper that I assumed was a note from the doctor, but Foster didn’t so much as glance at it.
“I’m glad to hear you’re on the mend, Ford,” he replied. “But I’m afraid you’ll have to sit today out. You haven’t practiced in weeks.”
I felt my lips twitch into a smile, and when Elliot saw it, he glared at me. But he powered on. “I’m ready to go, Coach. I can play.”
“We can talk about this later, Ford.” Coach Foster’s voice was firm. “Right now, we have a game to prepare for.”
“But you’ll lose without me.” Elliot’s voice rose, and a few of our teammates recoiled in shock. Did he have a death wish? “Especially withherin goal. I know she’s your daughter, but come on.”
Yep, definite death wish. There were a few grumbles of dissent amongst the guys, but I was only interested in hearing Coach Foster’s response.
“Like I said,” Coach replied, somehow remaining calm. “We can discuss your place on the team another time.”
Elliot’s hands bunched at his sides as Coach Foster movedpast him. He only got half a step before Elliot thrust his phone into Foster’s hand. “She’s not even here to play hockey! Look!”
My heart sank as Elliot shot me a knowing look. I had a bad feeling Mackenzie and I wouldn’t like what was on that screen.
Foster clenched the phone tightly. When his eyes flashed in Mackenzie’s direction it looked like a storm was building inside them, ready to unleash. But then his expression softened, and I realized he’d noticed the number displayed proudly on the shoulder of his daughter’s jersey.
There was a pained look on his face, but I got the feeling he couldn’t bring himself to look away. Seconds of silence that felt like an eternity passed before his face became unreadable once more. He handed the phone back to Elliot.
“So you can see she doesn’t belong here, right?” Ford demanded.
Even though she was still standing a few feet away, I felt Mackenzie stiffen. I wanted to reassure her but feared it would only make things worse.
“Ford…” Coach’s tone was full of warning, but Elliot continued.
“She’s only playing because she figures it’s a way into our star player’s pants. And this is proof.” He held his phone for everyone else to see. There was a hazy picture of Mackenzie and me down by the lake at the team party. Despite the low light, it was clear we were kissing. I was surprised Coach Foster hadn’t already killed me.
“Not my best angle,” I said, earning a few sniggers from the guys. Mackenzie shot me a glare. It wasn’t as piercing as the one from her dad, though. I did my best to ignore it and stood up.“Yes, that is Mackenzie and me kissing. But it’s got nothing to do with hockey. I hate to break it to you, Ford, but hockey is probably the only reason shehasn’tbeen in my pants.”
“Not helping, Parker,” Mackenzie muttered.
“What? It’s true. Mackenzie and I kissed that night, but we haven’t since. Because she cares more about this team, and wants to make sure that everyone here respects her for the incredible player and person she is.”
“Cares about the team?” Ford scoffed. “We’ve been losing because of her! This is a boys’ team, and she’s a distraction.”
“I play just fine with her here, and I’m the one who’s in love with her.”
That really shut everyone up. Mackenzie’s eyes widened. I never knew when to stop talking, did I?
