Page 27 of Offside for Christmas
Cole stared at his phone.
Last he’d seen the team Mac had talked nonstop for fifteen minutes, Luke had offered to lend him three different books about hockey strategy, and Jamie—with his shock of red hair and troublemaker grin—had immediately tried to convince him that "initiation" involved streaking through the town square.
Now—three texts. And all three acting like Cole was already part of the team instead of a temporary problem they were stuck with.
Cole stared at his phone.
They were including him. The question was: why?
Nobody just welcomed the new guy with open arms. Not in his experience. There was always an angle—proving something to management, checking out the competition, sizing up the threat. Maybe they wanted to see if he was really the hothead from the video. Get him drunk, see what happened.
He opened the team group chat—someone had added him yesterday without asking, which was presumptuous as hell—and scrolled through the messages.
JENKINS:Hansen better show or he's buying next round
MARTINEZ:Twenty bucks says he doesn't come
DMITRI:I take bet. New guy looks like he needs beer.
Great. They were betting on him now. Like he was some kind of entertainment.
Cole's jaw tightened. This whole forced camaraderie thing, the "we're all brothers" bullshit—he'd heard it before. At every team. And it lasted right up until you got traded or cut or became inconvenient.
He should exit the chat. Make it clear he wasn't interested in playing small-town team bonding games.
But his thumb hovered over the screen, not quite ready to shut the door completely.
MAC:Who replaced all of Coach's coffee with decaf?
JAMIE:Wasn't me. But respect to whoever did.
COACH:I know it was you, MacKenzie.
MAC:Proof?
ELLIE:Reminder: Everyone needs to hydrate before practice tomorrow. I'm looking at you, Luke.
LUKE:One time I forget my water bottle...
JAMIE:Forty-seven times.
ELLIE:I've been counting.
MAC:This is why we love you, El. Your dedication to our hydration.
ELLIE:??
Three months ago, Cole's phone had been silent except for calls from his agent. His last team group chat had been nothing but logistics and criticism after the first week.
This felt different. It was already way into the season.
Cole closed the group chat and opened his conversation with Mac.
Typed:I'll think about Saturday.
The response was immediate:That's a yes. See you there! ??
Cole shook his head, something that felt almost like a smile tugging at his mouth.
