Page 95 of In It to Win It

“What about when you got benched when you played in San Diego?”

“How do you even know about that?”

“I don’t know. I think Théo mentioned it.” Or maybe I googled it.

He sighs and strokes my arm. “Okay, the truth is, I was on my way to practice. I was leaving my apartment. A bunch of the guys lived in that complex. It was pouring rain and cold that morning, and I spotted this girl walking. It was the coach’s daughter. She was drenched and hungover and wearing high heels. She’d spent the night with Tank, one of my teammates.”

“Hmmm.”

“I offered her a ride home. Of course she begged me not to tell her dad about it.”

“So when you got there late, you had no good reason.”

“Nope.”

“You could’ve made something up.”

“I couldn’t lie,” he says quietly.

“You never told the truth?”

“Not till now.”

Wow. That is some code of honor he has going for himself there. As I lie wrapped in his arms, cocooned in soft sheets, I feel like I’m falling through the mattress, through the floor, down twenty-five stories of his building. I’m falling . . . hard.

19

TAYLOR

After a breakfast of omelets,yogurt, and fruit, it takes us about twenty minutes to get to Lakewood. JP tells me more about the program as he drives.

“The team gives the kids a set of equipment for four weeks to try it out,” he says. “There are volunteers who come and help teach for the most part, but the kids think it’s cool when some of the players show up.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Dutch is supposed to be here today too.”

“Oh, cool. This sounds like the kind of thing Everly raises money for.”

“Yeah, sort of, except for the wrong team.”

I laugh. “I don’t think she sees it that way.”

JP parks in the lot outside the recreation complex and hauls an equipment bag and a stick out of his trunk. I follow him inside. I’m wearing one of his sweaters over my leggings because he told me it would be cold in here. He also loaned me a pair of gloves, which are too big, but oh well. I buy a large coffee from the canteen and JP shows me into the arena. Yep, it’s freezing in here.

There’s a lot of action inside here, people milling around on the rubber floor mats off the ice, parents I guess, and a lot of kids. Alot.

I make my way around the boards and take a spot near the glass to watch. The kids are all wearing the same jerseys, either the black or gold of the Golden Eagles colors. As they come onto the ice, I can see some of them are already pretty good little skaters.

Parents start surrounding me, gathered at the glass to watch their little players. There are a few tables and chairs, and some take seats, but most are standing, holding phones and cameras. I can’t help but overhear their comments.

“This program is so great!” a mom with blond hair says. “It’s really taken off the last few years. Our older son started hockey in it three years ago, and since then it’s exploded.”

“It is awesome,” another young mom agrees. “The Eagles have done a lot to increase youth hockey programs in Southern California.”

“Definitely. Oh my God, look! It’s JP Wynn!”

I look. Yes, it’s JP, on the ice, wearing a jersey and a ball cap, holding a stick and skating smoothly as he says something to a youngster beside him.

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