Page 33 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
Jesse looked from Damien to Coach Morrison before taking an empty seat. "Look, Coach, this isn't what it seems."
Damien nodded. "I really just wanted to see some figure skating. It's... uh... my favorite sport."
Jesse stared at him as Damien's face grew redder and redder with the lie. His favorite sport? He suppressed a laugh and turned back to Coach. "Mine too. I'm actually considering a switch from hockey to figure skating."
Coach Morrison shook his head in disbelief. "You boys... what am I going to do with you?"
"Preferably not murder us and stick us in a deep grave.” Jesse pretended to shiver. “If I die, my family would at least like to know what happened to me."
"I'd shut up if I were you, Carrigan." Coach chuckled.
"Yes, sir."
"Look, along with Roman, you two are the only skaters on the team who might give us a chance. I need you, the team needs you, but my daughter..." He blew out a breath. "She isn't like other girls her age. She has goals and dreams that she will do anything to achieve. I don't forbid you boys from seeing her because I don't trust you. It's because dating would only distract her from her path."
"Is that what she thinks?" Jesse should have kept his mouth shut, but all he heard was that decisions were being madeforCharlotte, notbyher.
"What?"
"Charlie, does she think dating would be a distraction?"
"Well, son... she's eighteen, but she’s in high school and living in our house. It's not really her choice. We know what's best for her."
"With all due respect, sir, she has a mind of her own." He'd seen how much joy she took in playing around with Hadley on the ice, a kind of light he hadn't noticed in her eyes at any other time.
"And her mind is set. She has a competition to prepare for and does not need boys from the hockey team hanging around."
"She's a robot." He cringed at the words.
"Excuse me?" Coach stood, his large frame befitting that of a former NHL player.
"Did you know there's only one person in the entire school Charlotte talks to if she has a choice?" He didn't remember when he'd started watching her so much.
"I'm not sure that's any of your business, Jesse. We're done here."
"No, sir, respectfully, we're not." He stood to face him. "No one should have to strive for perfection in every area of their lives. That's an impossible standard. Charlotte is so afraid to make a mistake, so afraid to stray from her plan, she closes herself off."
His chest heaved, but he wasn't finished. "She's amazing out on that ice. Truly incredible. But she needs more than just training in her life."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "And you think she needs what? You?"
It wasn't lost on Jesse that Coach didn't refute his words. "Hockey."
Coach's face fell. "Not possible. I'm sorry, Jesse, but Charlotte is a figure skater."
He thought about the deal Charlotte made with the principal, but Coach had to agree. "One practice. Let her come to one. She can help us skate better, I know she can. And it wouldn't hurt for her to feel like she's worth more than the points given for her twirly things and jumps."
To his surprise, Coach laughed. "Twirly things? You really are a hockey player. That's what I called them when I first met my wife at the 1994 Olympics in Norway." He sighed. "Her mother won't like it."
"One practice. Imagine the boost to the guys on the team. Charlotte could come in and help them work on their edges. Even just starting and stopping stuff. These guys need help, lots of it. I’ve never seen anyone skate as smoothly as your daughter." He dropped his voice. "Coach, we want to beat Venice."
Coach glanced from Jesse to Damien who sat there watching them with wide eyes. "Neither of you are trying to woo my daughter?"
Damien shook his head, though Jesse had seen the crush developing.
Jesse clapped Coach on the shoulder. "No one says woo, Coach. But no. This is about the hockey."
"Charlotte probably won't agree to it."
