“Ha, yeah.” I always forgot Kappy got his front right tooth knocked out a few years ago.
Colt stopped suddenly in the hallway, making me turn back to him. “You were a little harsh on the rookies. Might wanna ease that over, eh?”
I shifted my weight. “You think I have to?”
“As your friend, no. You had a right to be annoyed with their mistakes.”
“Thank you,” I breathed out.
“But—”
“Fuck.” I dropped my head.
“As your captain, I think you went a little overboard. The only other time—” he cut himself off with a shake of his head. “Ah, never mind.” He adjusted his visor. “You just went overboard.”
“No, what were you going to say?” I pushed
He sighed and shifted his weight. “Look, you’re the calm one. You’ve always been able to keep a lid on your emotions, I’d say a little too well sometimes.” He gave me a knowing look. “But tonight, you let your emotions bleed out all over the place. I mean,” he shrugged, “I thought it was kind of funny until I was reminded of the last time you were like this…”
“The last time?”
“Hamilton.”
I reared back.
“Yupp, when you ended up with your jaw wired shut for six weeks, bud.” He immediately put his hands up in innocence. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Kappy’s the one who said it first.”
My eyebrows slammed down. “You guys were talking aboutme?”
“He texted between the second and third. Saw you snap your stick. He was just worried about you, that’s all.”
Great.If Kappy was worried then I really was fucked.
“Just get your head right,” Colt said, like it was so easy. His gloved hand landed on my shoulder. “I like seeing this fire in you. I love that Ali’s home, and I know you two have some things to work through, but you need to make sure you box that shit up before you suit up. Got it?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I muttered. I just wish I knew how to do that.
After showering and changing, I started for the family room, but Colt blocked the exit and gave me a firm nod toward the rookies.
Blowing out an annoyed breath, I turned on my heel. Niko, Nilsson, and Zukes were joking around together in their corner, but as soon as I walked up, they all went silent. I immediately felt like a dick—actually, worse: I felt like a bad dad. The kind that enters the room and all the kids button up and scatter.
“Hey guys.” I nervously raked a hand over my hair. “I'm sorry I was so rough on you, I just wanted the win. Good work pulling up.”
They all blinked at me in silence for a minute, which rattled my nerves.
“That was hard for you, eh bud?” Zukes said, flattening his lips into a straight line as he assessed me.
Feeling taken aback, I shook my head. “What?”
Zukes’ face cracked into a bright grin. “Just kidding. See”—he looked at his buddies—“Itoldyou he was a nice guy.”
“We got win, all good,” Nilsson said in his thick Swedish accent. He stood and gave me a handshake.
My eyes drifted to Niko. He took his time standing. He rolled his shoulders back as he sized me up. At 5’10, he was a few inches shorter than me. His eyes flashed with a mischievous glint. “Yeah, that’s all right, bud. I’m sure we’ll getcha back.” He gave me a wink while closing his locker.
I had no clue what that meant, but I didn’t care. My mind was consumed with the fact that Ali was waiting for me in the family room. “Yeah, okay, good. I’ll see ya,” I said before heading out.
________
