I stare at him, waiting for him to remember he got suspended last year for unnecessary roughness. It sounds like he was doing exactly what he was told to do.
Right as I scan my card, Leroy shouts, “Rod!”
He waves me over to his table. I could ignore him, but Terrence waves back.
“Guess you can find out for yourself what kind of guy Coach is.” He slaps my back, pushing me in Leory’s direction. Each step I can feel myself shrinking. When Christos looks back to see who Leory is calling to, he too gets smaller– minus his eyes. They pop right out, full of confusion and fear.
“Coach Chris, this is Rod—er, Roderick.”
“Nice to meet you, Chris,” I squeak out in a panic.
Christos nods in my direction with a grunt.
Leroy continues, “He’s a figure skating legend.”
I correct him, “Hoping to be.”
Christo’s eyes are still twice the size they should be, but he’s less timid now. “Really?”
“You’ve got a match this month, right? Terrence and I talked last night,” Leroy explains.
“Qualifiers are in Boston on the 28th. Grand Prix is in December in Japan, but I haven't gotten enough points toqualify for that yet, so I’ve got to compete in a few other places between now and then.”
I’ve been doing this long enough that the sparkle of international travel has waned. I’m kind of looking forward to Boston, since the trip won’t completely wreck my sleep schedule.
“I figured you could work something out with Coach so you can practice. Our schedule is different this year, way more intense.”
My lip twitches into a smile. “Really whipping the Dingbats into shape?” I avoid Christos, keeping my eyes on Leroy, whose face is serious.
“We’re aiming to be one of the Frozen Four teams.”
“Didn’t you end the season 4-29 last year?” Better than freshman year, sure, but not by much.
“New coach, new possibilities, right?” Leroy grins, showing little fangs that are reminiscent of the horns on his head.
“If the rest of the team is as committed as you are, we’ll smoke ‘em.” Christos’ voice is confident, verging on cocky. “We’ll have to do a lot of training off the ice. So, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice, Roderick.”
I make the mistake of looking Christos right in his big handsome face. His arms are crossed, and even in a hoodie, I can make out the muscles in his biceps and forearms.
“Th-thanks, Coach.”
“Let me get your number,” he shifts his body to grab his phone out of his pocket. “Our practice might change depending on how well the team does. Makes it easier to keep you in the loop.” He pauses, his phone a grim reminder of how weactuallymet. “Unless, email is better?”
Everyone has an official school email, and I check it, but somehow three years later, I still get important emails being sent to spam. I’ve got some professor’s numbers on my phone already. There’s nothing special about Christos’ number. Evenas I tell myself this, it feels like an excuse, but I push past, diving right into disaster.
“Cell works.” I grab my phone and we exchange numbers. I catch myself putting him down as Christos in my phone and change it to Coach Chris before saving. “I appreciate it.”
“Anything you need, let me know.”
I glance back at Leroy, afraid he notices… whatever that was. Assuming it’s anything beyond Christos being a supportive coach. Sure, I’m not on the team, but we’re all athletes here. There’s solidarity there, and as awkward as this is, I’m grateful the hockey team has my back.
“Thanks, Leroy.”
“Course man, hey.” He lifts his drink like it’s champagne. “We’re all going to crush it this season. And the next. You allowed a plus one to the Olympic Ceremony?”
“Terrence asked me the same thing. Maybe you can sit in his lap.”
Leroy chuckles. “Good team bonding.”
