Page 24 of Pucking Tangled
He stared at the screen for a beat to see if she’d respond right away.
“Oooo. Someone’s got the rookie smiling,” Nate, theirstar goalie noticed and called him out before he had a chance to put his phone away.
Three sets of eyes immediately snapped to him.
Did he have a sign flashing over his head, telling them who he was talking to?
“It was just, Mia. She saw my tryout for figure skating,” he joked, hoping not to raise any alarms.
“Mia?” Nate questioned. “Your new ‘roommate’? What are all four of you banging her?”
Casey, Owen, and Waylon all flew to their feet.
Ahhh fuck.
Waylon swung first, landing a fist right under Nate’s chin. The goalie’s head snapped back.
Luca jumped up and tried to get between them.
A fight with a teammate was the last thing they needed right now.
Casey pushed him out of the way then grabbed Nate by the neck and pinned him to one of the lockers. “That girl is my best friend. She’s not a plaything. And what any of us do off the ice is none of your fucking business. Keep her goddamn name out of your mouth.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Coach Micheals’ voice boomed through the locker room.
Casey immediately let go of Nate and stepped back. “Just handling some business, Coach,” he spat.
“Jesus Christ,” Coach cursed. “Now is not the time for this behavior. Novak and Branson. One game suspension.”
“Motherfucker,” Casey punched one of the lockers.
“If you’re suspending Casey, then you’re suspending me too,” Waylon chimed in.
“And me,” Owen added.
Luca sighed. “And me too.”
“You have to fucking be kidding me!” Coach yelled. “Are you telling me that I need to suspend my entire starting line for the second game of the playoffs?”
“If you’re going to bench Casey and Nate over a little misunderstanding? Then abso-fucking-lutely,” Waylon snarled.
Luca watched Coach pace back and forth while rubbing his forehead.
“We have rules and regulations for a reason!” he screamed.
“Waylon’s right,” Nate spoke up. “It was just a misunderstanding. We were horsing around. That’s all. No harm no foul.”
Smart. Very smart on Nate’s part. If he convinced Coach Micheals to back off and no one got suspended, it would go a long way in restoring unity with the team. Or with four of his teammates, anyway.
Coach spun on his heels and looked at Nate. “Is that why you’ve got a bruise forming under your chin already?”
Nate shrugged. “That was from a hit on the ice.”
“You know what…this is theonlywarning I’m giving any of you. Any more shit like this and I’ll bench whoever the hell I have to. Playoffs be damned.” Coach gave them all a pointed look before stomping out of the room.
“Case,” Nate started. “Listen, man.”
Owen gave him a deadly glare. “Leave it alone for now.”
