Page 12 of Face Me Off

“Sorenson! My office. Now.”

Damn it. I wince but pivot, jogging over to his open door. “Coach, I’ve got class in?—”

“Sit. This won’t take long.” He points at the chair across from his desk.

I drop into it, leg bouncing. “What’s up?”

Coach leans back, fixing me with that piercing stare. “You might be getting an invite to the combine this spring.”

My stomach does a backflip. The combine. Holy shit. I try to keep my face neutral. “Oh, yeah?”

“Don’t play coy, kid. This could be huge for you. For the team.”

I nod, mind racing. The combine means scouts. Means a shot at the big leagues. Means…

Dad’s pained face flashes through my mind. The crutches propped by his bed. The pile of medical bills.

“Thanks, Coach,” I say, standing. “I’ll keep an open mind.”

“You’ll do more than that.” The sureness in his voice makes me stand straighter. “You put up good stats last season. People noticed. I need you to make the team proud.”

“I’ll do my best, sir,” I say through the lump in my throat.

He nods, satisfied. I take that as my cue to leave. Darting out of the building, I sprint across the quad. The combine. The possibility of being picked up and playing professionally. It’s been my dream since I was a kid. But I can’t go. I’ve got responsibilities. The same ones that existed when I turned down the verbal agreement with the Maine Pine Skaters. Dad needs me, and I need a definite paycheck at the end.

There’s no guarantee Dad will win his lawsuit. If he does, the lawyer takes a considerable cut from the award.

But I can’t quite shake the spark of excitement.

The science building comes into sight when a female voice calls out my name.

“Hey, Ryan. Are you and Blake going to the annual Delta Sigma Pi party?”

The question comes from Molly, but Juliette stands there looking more interested in the answer. She’s been after Blake since our first step onto Cessna University’s campus. He wantsnothing to do with her, though. I’m pretty sure that makes her chase him more.

“Uh, yeah. That’s our first home game, but we’ll be there.” I glance at my watch. “Sorry, girls, but I need to get to class.”

“Hope to see you there.” Molly gives a little finger wave. I nod and take off.

I can’t afford to get on the professor’s wrong side. Not this year. I need the grades to get into a physical therapist program. After Dad’s accident, I switched my goals to more realistic ones. Life can change entirely way too fast. I saw that firsthand. If I pursued what I wanted to become, a hockey player, who’s to say I’d be playing? One accident on the ice will have me spiraling down a path I don’t want to take.

My dad lost everything after that accident. Even Mom left. The whole “for better or for worse” only works in fairytales. Once things became rough, she split without a second glance and left me to deal with the fallout.

Besides the mandatory birthday card she sends, I have never heard from her.

She taught me a lesson, though—never trust anyone. There’s no such thing as non-conditional love.

“Hey, Ryan. Think the team has what it takes not to embarrass us?”

I find Jim, Delta Sigma Pi’s president, barreling toward me.

“Dumbass. You know we’ll perform.” Cockiness oozes from me. Everybody is on our ass to perform when the NCAA included us in their newly expanded division, but we’re ready.

“You better with the controversy it started,” Jim laughs. “You better show up to the party, too.”

“Nah, you know we’ll be there. We never miss.” I look down at the time. “Shit, I got to go!”

Without waiting for a response, I take off in a light jog.

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