“No,” Coach and I echoed in unison.
“I guess I’d better get going then.” Hesitation filled my voice and my steps as I took one last glance at my ruined team facilities and my team standing outside of it. Each one of them looked at me as though I was about to throw them a bone and take away all their problems, and that very thought was what made me move faster. It wasn’t just about the building. It was about who we were, what we’d built together and would build with this new roster of guys. But most of all, it was who they needed me to be as their captain. When things went wrong, they looked to me first. And this wasn’t the moment we’d unravel; this was a new direction. Letting them down would mean losing the standard we held ourselves to as athletes, our training, pride, everything each person on this team has fought for to be here. This setback wouldn’t be stronger than us.
“Practice your smile too,” Bobby added.
“Maybe bow when you enter,” Nate deadpanned. “Could soften her up.”
Jake shouted, cupping his mouth. “If she kills you, I’ll tell your story.”
“Make it heroic,” I shouted back. Flirting my way through this meeting was my only arsenal against her.
“Gone too soon: slain by a woman with superior bench stats who hasn’t smiled since 2019.” His laugh followed me all the way to my car.
This was not how I expected my captaincy to start.
2
Teddy
“You want me to what?”
It came out louder than I meant it to. Not that I was known for subtlety, but still. I was mid-adrenaline rush, fresh off drills, and Coach Emery had just dropped a bomb so casually you’d think she was asking me to pick up milk on the way home.
Coach blinked at me like she was waiting for my chest to stop heaving.
It didn’t. I’m not sure it ever would when his name was mentioned.
“You want us to sharethisplace with the Knights?” I clarified, slower this time, in case I’d hallucinated. “Our brand-new facility. Withthem.”
She raised a hand in that diplomatic, let’s-be-reasonable way she does. “Now Teddy, you and I both know a great captain would recognize when someone else needs support—”
“Yeah, usually someone on my team.”
“Still, there’s an element for sportsmanship here, don’t you agree?”
Fuck, I hated it when she played themoral high groundcard. Mostly because she was right. Sportsmanship. Like when you get elbowed in the ribs, but you were supposed to shake hands after. Or in this case, when a bunch of testosterone-fueled chaos gremlins are about to take over your house and you’re expected to smile through it.
“This feels like sabotage,” I said, because I couldn’t say bullshit and not get a one hundred pushup penalty from her.
Coach didn’t flinch. “You’ve seen the footage. You know the quake hit their pitch hard. Their whole setup is out of commission.”
I had seen it. Half the city had. Sinkholes and snapped goalposts and weight racks sunk into puddles like shipwreck debris. Still, I wasn’t ready to hand over my hard-earned space to the Knight boys and their collection of shirtless Instagram selfies.
“Butwhyus?”
She leaned back against the desk, her signature power move. “Because we have the space. Because we got lucky. And because you know damn well if the roles were reversed, you’d be hoping someone would make room for you.”
Damn it. There it was. The guilt grenade.
Of course I’d hope for grace if the Valkyries were in their shoes. And of course she knew I couldn’t say no without looking like the villain in a feel-good sports doco. I knew we were lucky for the quake not to damage our facility as much; we weren’t near the fault line like they were. Downtown got it way worse. My heart punched in my chest every time I saw the footage of the ruined houses.
Coach crossed her arms as her eyes searched my face, calm as ever. She did this with everyone, but I was fully prepared on pretending I was immune to it.
“Look, you don’t have to like it, but we’ve been asked to collaborate, and I agreed, as long as we talked first. Management is already on board. They’ve emailed me a tentative plan they want you to go over together.”
“Oh good,” I said, tone flat. “So I get to choose the method of our slow and painful death.”
She pressed her lips together, fighting a laugh. “You’ll have full oversight. Separate training times, shared use only when necessary. But youwillneed to meet with Connor and sort out a plan.”
