“Aww, look at you,” Jude said, poking my side. “You look like a proud papa bear.”
“I kind of feel like one,” I laughed.
“Coaching looks good on you,” Forest said, throwing an arm over my shoulder. “You looked happy. Do you think you might apply or ask if you can?”
“Forest and I think it’s a great idea. You still get to be close to hockey, and it seems like you like this,” Jude said, leaning against me and I held him close.
I clenched my jaw, feeling like this is what I wanted, this feeling of support, closeness and their kindness. Forest and Judegave me something I had always yearned for, but was too afraid to have. Could they be the family I had always searched for?
“Yeah, I think I might have found what I have been looking for,” I said, kissing Jude’s forehead and leaning my face against Forest’s.
If it were up to me, I’d tell everyone who I belonged to. Jude had always had my heart, but Forest had burrowed into my heart and made himself at home like he had been there the whole time. Jude and I needed Forest to make this work, and it was at the tip of my tongue to ask them to make it official. Forest's lips touched my forehead when I heard the door to the locker room opening.
My heart clenched when they stepped away and I knew maybe us being together here wasn’t the best idea, but it still stung. A few guys came out laughing and ribbing each other. A few girls came to them, oohing and ahhing, and I couldn’t help but laugh, remembering the days when girls practically threw themselves at you.
“Jeez, do hockey players get laid just by existing?” Forest asked, when more guys came out and more girls were going up to them.
“Pretty much.” Jude answered for me.
I laughed, “It wasn’t always like that.”
“Yeah, it was puck bunnies for miles and miles!” Jude flourished his hand outwardly.
“Damn, I missed out,” Forest said, elbowing me.
“I mean it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows,” I muttered.
“Yeah, you got some fanatics,” Jude said. “And some pushy girls who don’t take no for an answer.”
“Eeesh,” Forest said, shaking his head. “Yeah, no thanks.”
“Hey, Coach!” A few players came up to us and of course, there were a few girls trailing after them.
It took a few more minutes for more guys to show up and then Coach Dalton made an appearance. We made introductionsand once all the guys who could make it were there, we made sure everyone had a ride, and Parker ended up riding with us. He was quiet on the ride over there, even when Jude and Forest tried making conversation.
As we ate and played games, I noticed that Parker was unusually the odd one out. I knew he was a bit of an asshole, but I always wondered what went on outside of the rink. Now I knew why there was so much strain on the first line. None of the linemen were hanging out.
I grabbed Parker, Tommy and Carson. “Come on, boys.”
I took them to the big shooting game they had in the back of the arcade where we could all play. It was some zombie game, but it was perfect for what I had in mind.
“Alright, I have twenty bucks on a card, and we are going to play together. If you can get to the third level before we run out of money, then you won’t have a special practice with me tomorrow at six am,” I said, scanning the card so everyone could start the game.
“Excuse me?” Parker snapped.
“This is an exercise,” I said. “You need to play well together and what better way than to get put on an early practice.”
“This game is hard,” Carson said.
“How do we know you aren’t going to sabotage us?” Tommy asked.
“You think I want to wake my ass up at six am?” I scoffed.
“This is bullshit,” Parker snarled.
“It’s not, you need to function as a team. You got lucky tonight, you've been getting lucky,” I said. “You guys are good hockey players, but you could be fucking amazing if you just worked together. You would be noticed by recruiters as well. No one will sign a player who doesn’t work well with others.”
Parker glared at me, but I saw the understanding in his eyes. “Come on, guys, there’s no way in hell I’m gonna wake up tomorrow morning for a fucking practice.”
