Page 73 of Fear of Falling

“Sorry about that Coach.” Wyatt called out, drawing me against his chest. A new wave of embarrassment washed over me, wiping the smile from my face. We weren’t just caught by some random staff person. Of course it had to be the Toronto Knights coach. I pulled back to look up at Wyatt’s face.

“Don’t worry he isn’t as bad as he seems,” he said softly. I knew he was saying that for my sake, but we both knew Coach Barnum was a hard ass. I could feel his eyes on us, waiting. Knowing we had to face him, Wyatt helped me off the boards and back onto the ice. With his back to his coach, he gently rubbed the smeared lipstick from beneath my lower lip, which only added fuel to the fire burning inside me

“Perfect,” he murmured. Dropping his hand from my face, he laced our fingers together. With a reassuring smile, he gently tugged me across the ice. As we neared Coach Barnum, my nerves skyrocketed. Aside from being one of the best coaches in the league, he was also an incredible player back in the day.

We came to a stop on the other side of the boards as Coach Barnum stood there with his arms crossed. His brown hair and beard were peppered with a little bit of gray that enhanced his attractiveness. Coach may be in his late 50’s, but the guy stillhad it. I wasn’t the only one who thought so either. There was a whole Instagram page dedicated to‘one of the hottest hockey coaches’.

“Coach, this is Josie Scott. Josie, this Coach Steven Barnum,” Wyatt introduced us.

“Nice to meet you.” I held out my free hand. “I’m a huge fan.”

Nice one, Josie. You sound like an idiot.

“Oh really?” His hand was firm in mine as we shook hands.

“Yeah. My dad used to talk about your winning goal for the Cup Championship. How you brought the team back from a 3-1 deficit.”

Great, and now you sound like a crazed fan.

“That was a great game,” he replied as he looked from me to Wyatt and back again. People weren’t exaggerating when they said Coach Barnum was intimidating as hell. The way he looked at us made me feel like a naughty teenager.

“I wanted to show Josie the arena,” Wyatt started to explain. I didn’t miss the way he squeezed my hand like he was nervous.

“I practically begged him to bring me here,” I quickly added. If his coach was mad at us, then the least I could do was take some of the heat. “Great game yesterday.”

Coach’s eyebrows raised just a fraction, looking at Wyatt briefly before he turned his attention back to me.

“Starting to find our rhythm again,” he said.

“If you moved Crosby to Right Defensemen instead of Left, you’d have a stronger line.” The words flew from my lips before I could stop them. I stood there wide eyed, shocked that I dared to advise the head coach of the Knights.

“A stronger line?” he asked.

“Oh…Um…I...” I stuttered.

Josie, what the hell did you just do?

I looked at Wyatt for help, but Coach spoke again.

“Crosby has always played Left.”

I thought he’d be pissed off, but I was surprised to find him looking at me curiously. I was unsure if I should say more—I knew nothing about coaching. Wyatt squeezed my hand, and as I glanced up at him, he gave me an encouraging nod.

“Well…” I hesitated for a second before pushing on. “Crosby may play left, but he pushes with his right foot more. He also uses his right shoulder when he hits.If you move him to right defense, he’d get more power in his push off.”

“He does,” Wyatt spoke up, sounding shocked. I hardly noticed—my attention was on Coach Barnum, as he stood there, saying nothing.

Nice work, Josie. You’ve gone too far.

“Just a suggestion,” I added, my voice soft as the confidence I’d had seconds ago depleted.

“Thank you for the suggestion,” he finally answered, not sounding in the least bit upset. “I’ll let you two get back to it.” With that, he gave the two of us a nod before turning on his heel and walking away. I waited until he disappeared before I allowed myself to look at Wyatt.

“I just pissed him off, didn’t I?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Wyatt shook his head, but I wasn’t sure he was convinced.

Great.

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