Page 21 of The Save

Rory looked up. “Do coaches use this?”

I turned my head to find Chase watching me. “I don’t know. Do they?”

Rory and Axel turned, waiting for an answer.

Chase cocked his head to the side. “It’s a little more intuitive.”

Intuitive? There was nothing intuitive about this. Our brains paid attention to sensory data inconsistently and magnified the importance of some things more than others. The only way to know how these guys performed on the ice was by looking at the numbers.

“You know our functions?” Axel waggled an eyebrow.

There was that eye drop. The gentle exhale. The ache was back in my middle. “Nope. I’m only the compliance coach.”

Only.Another piece of the puzzle. Was Chase happy with this job? Or did he want more?

“So what next?” Rory asked.

I set the chalk back in its silver bed. “Now you do problem sets.” Rory balked. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

Axel raised his hand. “And then cookies?”

Chase grunted. “You've already inhaled half the bowl.”

Rory grinned. “Yeah, but now we’re earning them.”

The rest of the session sped past. I helped both of them with their problem sets, thrilled that they actually understood. By the end, they were getting most of their answers right without any input from me.

“When we talk to your professors tomorrow, you’re going to show them this.” I slipped my notebook into my bag.

Rory looked hesitant. “What if I don’t remember any of this tomorrow?”

“No problem. We’ll go through more questions. Math is about repetition. Patterns of thinking change with practice. And the good news is, with your other classes, it’s mostly memorization. I have tricks for that, too.”

Axel jumped up and took a cookie from the bowl. “Can I take these to practice?”

I started to shake my head, then thought better of it. “Actually, yes. But tell the boys they won’t get anything else unless they show up to studying sessions.”

Chase stood and sauntered to the bowl. I gave him a look as he reached in and took two cookies. “What? I showed up to the studying session.”

I fought a grin as my chest warmed. The fact that he loved my cookies shouldn’t have made me feel more proud than I did when I got that quiz back from Kowalski. But it did.

Axel and Rory packed up, and Axel grabbed the bowl. “I promise you’ll get this back.”

“I better.”

Rory swooped back and gave me a hug. “Maddie girl. You’re the best.”

I blushed at the flattery as they left, then scooped up my own bag and slid the straps over my shoulders.

Chase sighed. “Go ahead. Say it.”

I glanced up. “Say what?”

“That I was wrong.”

I couldn’t tamp down the smile that time. “You were only partially wrong. The other guys didn’t show up. You called that.”

“I didn’t know you were such good friends with them.”

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