Page 108 of Pinkie Promise

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Benson blows the whistle, calling time on today’s practice session.

I tear open the fastenings on my gloves as I work my way over to the other side of the rink with my teammates.

“Wilde. A word.”

I pause and turn my head to glance over at Coach. He’s staring out at the rink with his arms folded across his chest,radiating almost as much displeasure at the idea of having to talk out our differences as I am.

Fallon is about to be here in less than three minutes, so I want this conversation wrapped up as soon as damn possible.

“Yeah, Coach,” I say, tucking my gloves and my stick under one of my biceps and then pulling off my helmet so that I can quickly shake out my fringe.

He stays stoically silent for a few long beats and then he releases a sigh, stepping down from the substitution box so that we can talk face to face.

“You understand why I had to freeze your play for a week, don’t you?” he asks.

I nod my head. “Yeah. ’Cause I did some dumb shit at the Larch Peak U game.”

“Even after I warned you at the start of last term to keep your game clean,” he reminds me, narrowing his eyes slightly.

I shove my tongue in my cheek, irritated, but I nod again anyway. “Yeah, you did. I lost my head for a second and it won’t happen again.”

Benson watches me carefully before nodding in agreement. Then he clears his throat and begins, “So about the girl–”

“Coach,” I warn him, because this is one thing that Iwon’tbe changing my stance on.

He holds up a palm, asking me to hear him out.

“I only ever give my players the advice that I wish I’d been given, and telling y’all to not get too invested with anyone was a precaution so that you would never hinder your game. For this exact reason. For the type of thing that happened over at Larch Peak.But…”

He glances away from me briefly and rubs his hand down his jaw.

“I can see now that what I was really doing was hindering my players. I should have been coaching you about how to handlethe heat, rather than preventing it from happening completely. I mean, that’s my damn job – to coach you about every aspect of the game, not just the physical play. And there’s more smack talk in hockey than trucks on the damn highway.

“Having some good-for-nothing chip-on-his-shoulder yuppie prick get under your skin when you beat his ass on his home turf is inevitable, and I take full responsibility for going the wrong way around this situation. Jesus, Hunter – you’re one of the best players I’ve ever coached. I know that I’ve always had the ‘tough love’ approach but in this instance I’m gonna give it to you straight. I’m in the wrong. My players’ relationships off the ice are just as important as their relationshipsonthe ice. Don’t think I didn’t notice the fact that when you came to practice after the Larch Peak U shit-show your cheek had been freakin’ tended to.”

My face grows hot, remembering how Fallon took care of me that night, in every way that I needed.

“That’s a good thing, Wilde, to have someone behind the scenes who has your back like that. Not to mention, it’s damn wellrare. So,” he says, clasping his hands together like he’s about to wrap this up. “You apologised, and now I apologise. And as long as you can work through the fact that some guys are gonna try and push the nastiest buttons that they can get their hands on, and as long as youdon’ttry to murder them when they do, I want us to put this shit behind us and get back to winning the damn championship.”

He said exactly what I needed him to, so I don’t hesitate for a second.

“Yes, Coach.”

He nods once before heading down the corridor to his office.

I watch him go until he shuts himself behind the door and when I turn back to the rink I feel like I’ve had a weight lifted from my shoulders.

I set my gloves, helmet, and stick down by the audience seats and then I step back out onto the rink just as the doors push open.

Fallon peeks around the door and I’m immediately skating my way over to her. She pads delicately towards me, a small smile on her lips.

She’s wearing that baby blue two-piece and she has the box with her skates in tucked under one of her arms.

I skid to a stop at the edge of the rink and step out so that I can join her in the stands.

“Hey –ah!”she squeals as I pick her up by her ass and bury my face in the warm curve of her neck.

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