Page 110 of Winning Play

Awave of regret and embarrassment washed overSpence.Wayto go—overreact much?Heshifted in his seat, struggling to find words to express his remorse.

“I...Iwon't let you or the team down again,Coach.I'msorry for my... uh…”Hestopped mid-sentence asRamirezraised his hand.

“We’rehuman,Spence.Thisis the first time we’ve had to reprimand you in five years.It’sdone; you’ll sit the two games and move on.Weneed your leadership and example.DoImake myself clear?”

Henodded. “DoToddorEricknow what you said about the appeal?”

“Notyet.I’llleave that to your discretion.Butno further than your co-captains.”

“Understood.Iwon’t let you down again,”Spencesaid.

Spenceclimbed on the bus in the pre-dawn glow, dread and shame threatening his composure.Heglanced at his teammates sitting silently, some staring out the window with glassy eyes, others looking down at their phones.Takinga deep breath, he stood in the aisle and saw the curious expressions on his friends’ faces.

"Hey, guys," he said, his voice carrying over the hum of the bus engine. "I'msorry for letting you down yesterday.Ican't tell you my thoughts or whyIskipped the meeting and practice.Imade a rash decision thatIdeeply regret.Youdeserve better from your captain.”Hepaused to take a breath. “Ibelieve we can achieve the goals we set for this season, andIpromise to do better as a teammate."Hepaused a moment and made eye contact with each player. “WhenImet withCoach,IsaidIwould step aside as team captain.ToddandErichave excelled in their roles as co-captains this year.Youdeserve the best leadership, and it's time to pass the reigns to them—pending your approval."Heshook his head as murmurs arose from the team. "Iknow we can win the conference championship and hold our heads high when the season ends.Ipromise to give everythingIhave to make this a reality."

Hesat down, andToddturned to him. "Whatthe hell,County?Youcan't resign as team captain," he hissed.

"Ijust did."

"That'scrazy,”Toddsaid.

“WhodidWestiecall when everything went down that night?You, not me.YouandEriclook out for the first-year players.Ilet myself…”

“Stopright there, man,”Toddsaid. “You’vetaken on too much responsibility for most of the season.Ifyou want to step back from the role of captain, fine; we’ll ask the team to vote.Justpromise to accept the results, either way.”Toddleaned back in the seat. “AndFYI, the captain can have a personal life.Noone expects the captain to be a monk.”

Spencereleased a breath and closed his eyes.Shit.IleftKimhanging.Again.Didn’tcall her after the meeting.Noteven a text.Lefther out of the loop.Helooked at his phone.Shedeserves better….

KimsentSpencea short check-in text and tried to shrug off worry when he didn’t respond.Shereminded herself his priorities had to center on the team.Especiallywith the potential disqualification looming.Buthe said he’d call—what happened at the meeting?Didthe coach punish him for skipping practice?Wishhe’d tell me what happened.Evena thumbs up or down.

Atthe food court,KimspottedBarbandJeanineand made her way over to them. "CareifIjoin?" she asked.

"Sure!"Barbreplied as they hugged hello. "Howhave you been?Gotanything exciting going on?"

“Busywith semester projects and applying for an internship.Howabout you two?”

Jeaninegroaned. "It'sa real rollercoaster ride with the baseball team," she complained. "Ericwon't tell me anything—Ihad to hear about the results of the conference investigation from someone in my first-period class."

“They’repretty bummed,”Barbsaid. “Toddgave me a summary—conference tournament okayed, but they did not recommend them to be eligible for theNationalChampionship.Butthat’s it.Doyou know anything more,Kim?”Sheflicked her glance across the table.

“No… sounds like they don’t want to talk about it, or maybe they can't discuss it.”Kim’smind flashed to the confusion and anguish radiating fromSpencewhen she found him yesterday afternoon.Allthose hopes for this final season destroyed due to poor decisions by a few players...WouldDavehave reacted similarly if something like this had happened duringJuniors?OrJakebeforeVancouverdrafted him?

Thethought of callingDavecrossed her mind and then quickly vanished;Laurenhadn't told her any specifics and always emphasized client confidentiality when they spoke about working with clients.Didthat extend to her husband?

Herappetite vanished,Kimgathered her trash and flashed a warm smile atJeanineandBarb. "Forgotabout a meeting with my advisor—Ineed to run.Takecare."

54

Kimsank into her chair with a sigh of satisfaction after submitting the first two internship applications. “It’son,” she muttered to herself.Shehoped to score an interview with at least one of the two sports organizations.She’dmarked a few other opportunities, but those didn’t ping her excitement meter.SherememberedCaryntalking about her internship with a bank—boring!—and how helpingAndrewtake charge of his social media accounts provided the real-world experience that led to launching her own business.

She’dreceived an apologetic text fromSpence, but they hadn’t spoken.Theups and downs of their relationship, combined withSpence’sconflicted priorities, madeKimfeel as though she had to hold her balance on a tightrope.Wearyof the rollercoaster of emotions, she focused on things she could control—acing the semester, prepping for the summer internship, and scheduling fall classes.

Asudden ringtone made her smile in recognition—Dave. “How’smy favorite hockey guy?” she asked with a smile.

“Youmean your only hockey guy, don’t you,HalfPint?” he replied.

“Isuppose.”Kimtried to suppress a giggle with no success. “What’snew?”

“Justheading back from practice.Ifyou’re available,Ican pick you up—LaurenandIhope you can have dinner with us… and watch theStormSurgegame onTV.”

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