Page 83 of Racing Heat
“No, it did not. And if this is your idea of a pep talk, well, you suck at it.”
He chuckles. “I didn’t say I was giving you a pep talk. I told Andie I wanted to have a chat with you. So that’s what I’m doing—having a chat with you.”
“Chat away.” I pick up my head and wave my hand, telling him to proceed. Jase just laughs again, but he doesn’t continue. “Are you just going to sit here with me?”
“I can do that. But you’ve got to head in at some point. Nate is going to chat with the team. You shouldn’t miss that.”
I nod. “I know. But Mac is still over there crying to Danny, so I’ve got time.”
“Do you want to cry to me?”
I shake my head. “I’m not a crier usually.”
“With losses or in general?” he asks.
“Yes,” I reply. That earns me another laugh.
“It sucks to lose. Believe me, I know. But it’s just a part of the game?—”
“You don’t think I know that? I know that is exactly what Coach Watts is going to say in there.Losses are a part of the game, and this is how we learn. Take what you’ve learned today and use it. Make sure you don’t let yourself feel like this again.Sounds like a load of crap to me.”
Jase laughs. “Yeah, I’m sure it does. I know it does, in fact. My coaches used to say the same thing to me when we lost. I feel like it’s in their handbook or something.”
“Would you have that same one?”
“Nope, goalie coaches have ripped up the manual. We play by our own rules.”
“Sure, you do.”
Jase puts his arm around my waist, and I look over at him. “Just shut up. No one is going to see me do this.” He gives my hip a squeeze. “It sucks to be shut out and to have so few of your shots make it into the box. But you just gotta pick your head up and learn from it. Don’t let the losses define you. And remember this…” He pauses and doesn’t start talking again until I look up at him. “I’m going to get you naked later, and you’ll forget about all of this.”
I laugh and lean into him. “Thank you for making me feel better. Sure, you said some of the same old crap that I’m about to hear in there, but I like it coming from you.”
“I’m glad.”
“Hey, come on,” Mac says, hurrying over to me. “We’ve gotta get in there and talk to Coach Watts.” She stops and stares at us. “What’s going on here? Cas, you okay?”
I nod quickly. “Yeah, I’m just bummed about the game. Jase was giving me a pep talk.” I hope she lets it go or isn’t in the process of connecting any dots. Jase still has ahold of me. I want him to drop his arm and stop comforting me. If we weren’t here, I would melt into his arms and let his comforting smell wash over me.
“We’ll get them next time, guys,” August calls out. “Go see the coach.”
I rise and look over at Jase. “Thanks for the pep talk. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” he replies before turning to Mac. “You had some nice runs out there. We just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
“Thanks, Coach. We’ll get there,” Mac says with a smile.
I love her optimism. It’s why she makes a good captain. She’s always ready to celebrate the wins and pick everyone up when they’re down. The losses don’t seem to weigh on her the way they do me. I’ve seen her smile through it all enough to know it’s genuine. I wish I had that superpower.
We make our way into the locker rooms. My head is still hanging. Mac puts her arm around my shoulder and gives me a squeeze. “It was just one game, kid. We’re going to do better. We have to.”
“Why are you always so annoyingly cheery?” I ask her, rolling my eyes.
Mac stops and turns to me. “Look, it sucks that we lost. I know that. But I have to be positive. No one wants to see me hanging my head and crying about it, right?” I nod in agreement. “There’ll be time for tears and reflection later. Now, Cassie, follow your captain’s lead and get your head up.”
“Okay,” I tell her. I don’t believe it, though. I know there’s a time and a place, but right now, I want to let the emotions roll over me so that I can shake it off in time for the next one.
“That was nice of Jase to stop and comfort you.” She bumps her shoulder with mine.
