Page 46 of Interference
She smiles. “Just wait until the others hear. You’ll be sick of us before you know it.”
For some reason, I highly doubt that.
Coach blows his whistle, and we start making our way to the bench where he waits.
Kellan slaps my shoulder as he comes up next to me.
“A little rusty, but not as bad as I thought you would be, Woods,” he teases.
“Fuck off,” I mutter, making him laugh.
“How do you feel?” Wyatt asks as he comes up on my other side.
I take stock of my body before responding.
“I’m more fatigued than I typically am, but other than that I feel pretty good.”
“That’s awesome, man, I’m happy for you,” Kellan says sincerely.
“Thank you.”
We come to a stop next to Coach. He glances around at us before he jumps into his after-practice speech.
“All right, boys, the season is about to start. That means no parties, no drinking, and sure as hell no drugs. Not even Mary Jane,” he says, eyeing a couple of the guys. “For the last two years, we’ve been on a hell of a winning streak, and I want that to continue. You boys are good on the ice, but I need you to keep your grades up. If you aren’t eligible, then we have a problem. Does everyone understand?”
“Yes, sir,” we all mutter in unison.
Coach nods. “Good, now hit the locker room. You guys smell like ass.”
A few of us laugh as people head off the ice.
“Woods, hang back a minute,” Coach says as I try to pass by him.
“I’ll meet you guys in the locker room,” I tell Kellan and Wyatt.
Once the ice is clear, Coach turns toward me. “How do you feel?”
“Tired, but okay,” I tell him.
“Better than you thought you would feel?” he asks.
“Actually, yeah,” I admit.
“That’s what I like to hear. Since you got on the ice today, I take it you’ve worked your way through whatever mental block you had?”
I wouldn’t exactly call it a mental block, but I nod nonetheless.
“Good, then I want you to start this season.”
“Uh, Coach, as flattering as that is, I can’t.”
He raises a brow. “Can’t or won’t?”
“Both?”
“Which is it, Woods? What’s the holdup?”
“It’s just that today is my first day back. I’m not in shape…” I trail off, trying to come up with another excuse.
