Page 38 of Offside Attraction

Jordan was good at solving problems. He was good at giving people what they wanted. But he was shit at keeping his own emotions out of it. Every time he swore he wouldn’t fall deep he failed. After a couple years of therapy, he realized it hadn’t ever been about them.

Jordan blew his whistle and called out the next drill, then skated in to give specific feedback on their footwork. They skated hard until five minutes to the hour, then huddled up.

Ethan and Carter snickered about something, and Jordan called them out. “Care to share with the group?”

Ethan’s cheeks went redder than they already were. “No, Coach, I?—”

“Ethan thinks you got laid,” Carter blurted, and the rest of the kids responded appropriately.

Jordan didn’t miss a beat. “My typical Monday.” The boys laughed. “You all need to hit puberty first, then I can give you my tips for pulling snipers.” That got him a few smirks and eyerolls. “Good practice today. Hydrate. Get your calories in. You’ll need it for Wednesday.”

He sent them off to the showers, then worked with the other coaches to clear the ice.

“You have practice here tonight, eh?” Greg asked.

Jordan nodded as he scooped cones off the ice. “Unfortunately.”

“This arena is going to be a clown car all month.”

“With less laughs.”

Greg guffawed. They finished up and got off the ice so the Zamboni could clean it up, then walked upstairs to wait in the lobby for parents. Their kids were old enough not to need any hand holding, but it was a courtesy their parents appreciated.

The boys were tromping up the stairs when he saw a shove. Jace, one of the older kids with blond hair sticking out under his ball cap, had Ethan pinned to the railing.

"Hey!" Jordan shouted, but Jace leaned in, getting up into Ethan’s face. Ethan fought against his grip, but Jace had at least fifteen kilos on the kid.

Jordan yanked Jace back by his collar and put himself between the two of them. Jace spun, his eyes wild. Ethan, still breathing heavily, held his position against the rails, his fists clenched.

“You okay?” Jordan asked. Ethan sniffed and nodded, then stormed up the remaining stairs. Instead of heading toward the main entrance, he strode down the opposite hall. Probably taking a minute in the washroom.

"What's going on?" Greg asked.

Jordan shook his head. "Jace and Ethan."

Greg frowned. "Again?”

Jordan blew out a breath and walked back to stand next to the windows. Vehicles were arriving. This was the third time Jace and Ethan had gotten into it, and he figured it was probably time to loop in their parents.

He didn’t get it. Last year, they’d been thick as thieves. Now they seemed to annoy the hell out of each other. If they’d had a falling out, whatever, but they needed to show respect at practice.

Jordan flinched a little at that thought. He hadn’t always been willing to take that advice, so there was no judgement from him.

Ethan skirted past them and jogged out to a minivan. Jordan thought about following him until he saw Jace slumped on a couch in the corner.

He walked over. “You have a ride?”

“Mmhmm.” Jace pulled out a laptop from his bag.

“Looks like you’re settling in.”

Jace shrugged. “My dad has practice here. I have to wait till he’s done.”

Jordan’s jaw tensed. His dad. He thought back to who he’d seen picking up or dropping off Jace in the past. It had always been his mom, which was why he’d never made that connection. “Your dad plays for the Snowballs?”

Jace glanced up. “Yeah. You know him?”

Jordan nodded. “I’m going to tell him about what happened today. Between you and Ethan.”

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