“Oh, you’re gonna need it.” Emma barks out a laugh, the sound echoing off the rink. “My advice? Don’t show weakness.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I just stare at her. “Is that actual coaching advice?”
“These are 14U girls.” She leans in slightly, lowering her voice like she’s letting me in on a secret. “They’ll eat you alive.”
“They’re kids. Girls, Emma, not raptors.”
“They’re teenagers,” she corrects immediately. “And a couple already think they’re in their twenties, so just know you’re dealing with multiple personalities.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
“It should,” she insists. “Because you need to understand what you’re up against.”
I cross my arms over my stick. “Which is?”
“Chaos,” she says, without hesitation. “Smart, fast, observant chaos that will absolutely clock you the second you hesitate.”
I shake my head, half-laughing. “Got it. Be emotionally unavailable to a group of middle schoolers. Solid plan.”
“Teenagers. Get it straight. Feral teenagers.” She starts skating toward the boards, then tosses over her shoulder, “I just don’t want to come back and hear any stories about you being tied up and spun around on the Zamboni in the middle of the ice.”
I push off to follow her. “That feels very specific.”
“Because it could happen,” she calls back. “I’ve seen things.”
I laugh, the sound easy, surprising even me a little. “You’re trying to scare me.”
“Yet I’m also correct,” she shoots back. “We live in a world where both are true.”
We reach the boards, both of us slowing as the last of the girls clear out, the energy of the rink shifting into that end-of-practice hum.
Emma rests her arms on the top of the boards, glancing sideways at me. “Oh, and Saturdays. The team bonding sessions. They won’t be a problem, right?”
“I guess not,” I say slowly. “And what exactly am I supposed to do on those days?”
“Like I said the other day, you’ll be in the sessions with them.” Emma’s smile turns just a little too knowing. “You’ll be there, they’ll be there, Vivian will be there…”
“Yes, I gathered that part.”
“And, you will participate,” she goes on. “But try to keep your flirting to a minimum in front of the girls, okay?”
“Flirting?” My jaw drops.
Emma looks at me like I’ve just tried to convince her ice isn’tcold. “I picked up on your nervous, frantic energy the second you saw her at the store.”
I frown. “That wasn’t nervous…”
She lifts a hand, cutting me off. “I don’t need the breakdown right now. I need you to keep it together around the kids. And when Vivian tells you to do something in the workshop…” She points at me. “You do it.”
I narrow my eyes. “What am I getting myself into?” I glance back out at the ice, like it might offer clarity. It does not.
Emma laughs, pushing off the boards. “You’ll be fine.”
I don’t move. “You said that about today.”
“And look at you,” she calls over her shoulder as she skates away. “Still alive.”
I watch her go, then glance back up at the ceiling again.
