Page 108 of Date with a Devil
The teammates looked at each other and exploded into laughter.
“The couple doth protest too much, methinks,” Jaden said.
Jaden’s joke fell flat, and the room went silent. The rest of the Dallas Devils slowly turned to stare at Jaden.
“Whatdid you just say?” Dane asked.
“Austen got it,” Jaden said sourly. “Right, Austen?”
Still bright-red with embarrassment, Austen gave a small nod. “It’s Shakespeare,” she muttered quietly.
Brayden shoved his twin brother. “What the hell do you know aboutShakespeare,Jaden?”
“More than the rest of you, obviously.”
“Anyway …” Reavo said, eager to move on. “So, D. We just had our first practice with Coach Quinn.”
“Oh yeah? How’s Coach Q run practice?” he asked. “Is it as bad as the rumors?”
“Câlisse,” Parisi swore. “It’s worse than the rumors! That mad man—he skated us for hours! My legs feel like jelly! I think they might fall off.”
Dane laughed. “Good. We’ve been needing a coach who cracks the whip.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Parisi grumbled.
“Anyway,” Reavo said. “We just came by to cheer you up before your surgery. But it looks like Austy was already taking plenty good care of you.”
She hid her face in her hands.
“Aw, don’t be embarrassed. We’re only playin’ around,” Reavo said. “Hey, we got something for you.”
“For me?” she asked.
“Yeah. A little token of our gratitude. You got it, right Mikey?”
“Yup.” Mikey had a plastic bag slung over his shoulder. He passed it to Austen. “It’s a gift from us boys.”
“Yeah,” Matchbox said.
Austen pulled a Devils jersey out of the bag. She unfolded it and held it up. The nameplate readKingslayer.
“Kingslayer?” Austen asked. “Is that a joke? I’m not sure I get it.”
“It’s not a joke, it’s your new nickname. ’Cause your story got a GM dethroned, a coach fired, and a bunch of those idiots in the media fired, too. That’s why the boys started calling you the Kingslayer around the locker room.”
“Hm,” Austen said. “Not sure if I should be flattered by that or what.”
“Well, we think it’s pretty badass,” Brayden said. “Oh, you also stopped our captain from being traded. So we owe for you that.”
The boys all agreed.“Oh ya.” “Yup.” “Mm-hm.”
“Yeah,” Mikey said. “The locker room feels somuch different right now. It’s like we’re a totally new team.”
“Is that right?” Dane asked.
Reavo nodded. “It’s wild, D. For the first time since Soupy and Hath, there’s this sense of hope again. I can’t wait until you’re back on the ice with us, D.”
Dane smiled. “Me neither, man. Doctor says six weeks, but I’ll make it back in four.”
