Coach Alvarez looked at his watch. “She should be finding out any minute now. I was told the editor had a meeting with her this morning.”
Fuck, she had no idea and now we are going to be together a lot.I couldn’t say I was disappointed about that at all. But what was she going to think? A large part of me worried she would be embarrassed tobe around me now, or that she might in any way regret last night. The thought of seeing that regret on her face made me sick to my stomach.
“Any other questions?” Coach Alvarez asked.
Devon’s hand shot in the air and Coach tipped his chin in that direction. “Can we sleep with her if she wants to sleep with us?”
My blood pressure rose to a low simmer while I turned my tight jaw to Coach to hear his response. If any of these assholes slept with my sweet, innocent Sophia who deserved to be treated like a queen and not however these morons would fuck her and leave her, I’d be kicked off the team for the beating they’d get. Then again, I also really needed Coach’s answer to be yes since I very much wanted to sleep with her again.
Coach’s jaw ticked. “What a bunch of college students choose to do with their time—consensually—is not something I’m capable of controlling, Green. But you are capable of controlling your dick, so please do so.”
What am I supposed to do with that?I started to sweat.That sounded like ano. Which means the other guys might leave her alone, but it wasn’t a clear no…so does that leave me any wiggle room? What about past actions?
The team went back to conditioning, but my head wasn’t in it anymore—it was on the shades of gray in Coach’s response. I finished up my workout and hit the showers, changing so I could head to my first class of the day. On my way out of the locker room I saw Coach sitting at his desk and I decided I better face this head on.
I knocked on his open door. “Hey, Coach. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure, Harrison, what is it?” He motioned for me to come in, so I stepped inside and shut the door.
“I need to be honest with you. Sophia Grimes and Ialready—”
“No.” Alvarez shot a hand up in the air to stop me. “I don’t want to know, son. If whatever you’re about to say is not affecting this team, your game, or her role here, then do not say another fucking word to me about this.”
I froze, slightly shocked. Coach was known for being abrupt and direct, but the force of his words still surprised me. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Be gone, Harrison.” He waved me off, making it clear that he really did not want to hear any of what I was going to say. His response made me confident that he wasn’t going to tell me to stop whatever Sophia and I had started.
Oh, thank God.
I knew at least half the team probably heardoff-limitsfrom Coach’s little speech, which was good because I did not want to punch my teammates for going after her. But I would.
I turned around and reached for the door handle.
Coach groaned. “Wait,” he yelled, causing me to freeze.
I looked over my shoulder at him.
“Consensual, Harrison? Whatever it is, was, or will be is consensual?”
“Of course,” I said quickly.
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, then go.”
I scurried out of his office and booked it to class before he could stop me and change his mind.
Harrison and Rickles Discuss Family and Team Loyalty
With two future BostonBruins stars entering their final season with us at BU, the Bruins fans are keeping a close eye on this season. I talked with Leo Harrison and Shawn Rickles about the pressure of having fans turning out for them before they’re even officially on the team.
“I’m used to being surrounded by Bruins fans,” Harrison says. “Remember, I grew up around these people, I am one of them. Hell, if I hadn’t been drafted by the Bruins, I might have had a hard time rooting for my own team.” Harrison may joke about his own loyalties, but anyone who knows him knows he would have been loyal to whichever team scooped him up. His father is another story though. “My dad actually said he’d root against me if I was on a team that played the Bruins, so I guess if I’m ever traded, we’ll see where his loyalties really are. My dad’s love of the Bruins runs pretty deep.”
Rickles, however, is already living Harrison’s worst nightmare: he and his family are loyal Vancouver fans. “I grew up cheering for theCanucks in Canada,” Rickles says. “Harrison is living the dream, being drafted by his favorite team. I’ve had three years to get used to the idea of playing for the Bruins and I’m still struggling with it. I figure I can cheer for Vancouver whenever it doesn’t negatively impact the Bruins. That’s how I’m getting by.”
As for his parents, they’re loyal converts already. “My parents have more Bruins gear than Vancouver gear now. They jumped ship in an instant,” he says, laughing. “Apparently, they have no team loyalty but a hell of a lot of loyalty to me, so I’ll take it.”
When asked if future love interests would need to be Bruins fans, Rickles says he’s fine with someone who’s just willing to tolerate his intense schedule. “They should probably like hockey enough to watch a lot of it,” he adds. “But loyalty to me is more important than loyalty to my team.”
How sweet. You heard it here first folks, Rickles just wants someone to love him despite the intense lifestyle he’s about to immerse himself in. And who could blame him? Hooking up with hockey players in college is one thing, friends, but dating them long term? Take a look at how many games they play a year before you jump into a relationship.
