Page 32 of Cross Check My Heart
Just as Coach was wrapping up his “goals for the team” speech, he’s cut off by someone barreling into the office. When I turn around, the man in the doorway has me biting back a smile.
The best way to describe the guy leaning against the door frame, sporting a crooked grin, would be to say he’s a Shaun White look alike with more muscle, if possible. Holding two cups of coffee, he pushes the door further open with his foot.
“Mornin’ Coach! Sorry I’m runnin’ a bit late. That dang coffee place by my apartment had a line longer than Space Mountain.” I can feel my brow lift in response as I look over my shoulder back at Coach. Based on this man’s build, I’m going to assume he’s one of my new teammates. He pushes himself off the door frame and stalks across the office. He doesn’t spare me a glance as he steps next to me to set one of the coffees down in front of Coach. His wide smile and dimples make it seem like he’s used to charming people and keeping the peace.
“They had that toasted mocha syrup that you loved so much last year so I grabbed ya one.” Finally, he turns to me, thatcrooked smile spread across his face. “You must be our latest victim.”
Standing so that I’m not forced to look up at him, I stick my hand out as I introduce myself.
“Dominik Mikelson.” He takes my hand. Before I’ve even finished saying my name, he’s pulling me against him, holding me in an awkward half hug while holding our hands between us as he gently pats my back with his coffee. Unsure of how to react, I shoot a sideways glance at Coach, who lets out a loud sigh.
“Landon, let the man go. It won’t help if you scare him off before he meets the rest of the team.” Coach pinches the bridge of his nose as he shakes his head with a small smile on his face.
The guy hugging me, Landon, apparently, laughs before finally letting me go. Taking a step back, my gaze bounces between him and Coach. Using his desk to help push him up, Coach stands and motions between the two of us.
“Dominik, this is Landon Sinclair. One of your fellow defensemen, and the team captain.”
My stomach knots at hearing Coach introduce Landon as the Team Captain, I take a breath, shifting on my feet as I nod and hope my smile isn’t pained. When I signed my trade agreement and moved here, all I focused on was getting away from everything and everyone that reminded me of Sarah. Not in the sense that I want to forget her, just in the sense that it didn’t take much to trigger me.
Clearing my throat, I realize that they’re both staring at me. Landon’s smile has fallen off as he studies me. Not wanting either of them to take it personally, I lift my head and hold Landon’s stare.
“It’s good to meet you, and to be here.” I glance at Coach for a moment, wondering how much he actually knows. These two people are the ones who have to be in tune with every single member of the team. If one person starts holding back or havingissues with others, things start getting bumpy both on and off the ice.
When we’re in a game we each need to be able to move without hesitation. Most times all we have is a quick glance around to see who’s got your sides or open to pass too. So, if team members can’t be on the same page off the ice, it raises the stakes when the timer is going. It was one of the biggest struggles we had on my last team.
Taking a deep breath while focusing on the wall behind Coach, I brace myself for the fact that, for the second time today, I’m bringing Sarah up.
“I’m not sure how much Coach Owen told you about why I agreed to open up for a transfer. When I left my last team, it was because I couldn’t look at our captain without wanting to pummel him in the face.” Not wanting to see either of their reactions, I close my eyes. Lilly’s face this morning as I told her about my loss pops in my mind. She was clearly sad for me, but for the first time, someone saw past the pity. Keeping my focus on the memory pushes me to say the words again.
“My sister died last September in a car crash caused by my team’s captain.” Opening my eyes, I hesitantly turn to face Landon. “What I’m sure just came across as pained or annoyed when you were introduced is not because of you. Just a bad association with your role on the team that, apparently, I’m still working through.”
Much like Lilly surprised me, these two don’t seem to miss a beat. Sympathy lines their expressions, but no pity. When Coach James speaks, I surprisingly have to hold back a smile as he unknowingly echoes his daughter’s question.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Knowing I’ve reached my limit for talking about the crash today, I slowly shake my head. Coach nods and turns to grab a couple folders to bring with us to the locker room. While he gathers his things, I turn to Landon.
When he walked in the door smiling widely a few minutes ago, I had been thrown off by the fact that he is so happy. Except now, as he watches me with a serious expression, I almost wish he would snap out of it and smile again. I can only hold his gaze while he searches for an answer to an unspoken question. After another long moment, he nods before shooting a glance at Coach.
He turns back to me, “If there’s anything ya need, just ask.” Before I can even nod or agree, it’s like watching a switch flip on as his smile streaks back onto his face. “Now, let’s get down to the locker room and introduce ya to the team before warmups.”
I scramble to grab my bag as Landon pulls me along with his arm around my shoulders. He rambles about how he’s planning to do something as a team this Saturday. I’m half listening, since whatever he picks is something I will be doing, while at the same time I memorize the layout of the arena. We pause briefly at the door of the gym and Landon starts talking about the team’s daily routines.
“As a team, we all work out together every day an hour before practice. We adopted a sort of buddy system. Each line works as a group to go through sets together and hold each other accountable.” He finally drops his arm from my shoulder as he keeps walking toward the doors to the locker room. “Did Coach get a chance to tell you the plans for what line you’re on?”
“No…” I say hesitantly. Landon nods as he turns to face me. The smile on his face has me faltering in my step.
“You’re with my line.” I stop dead in my tracks.
Last week, I did my research on the team. I had watched a couple games, studied some of their rankings, but focused on the team number associated with the scores. I had wanted to avoid the news articles about them and their personal lives. Who they are as individuals is something I wanted to learn with unbiasedthoughts as I met and interacted with them myself. So, I focused on how they played as part of a team.
But what I did learn was that the captain is number twenty-five, on the starting line. The line that sets the tone and feel on the ice. On my last team, Coach Owen and Josh never let the newbie on the starting line. They claimed they didn’t know them well enough, that they needed to be given time to find their groove with the team.
Yet here I stand, my first transfer, being told that I’m on the starting line next to the team captain. I can only bring myself to blink in response as I wait for him to shout that he’s just kidding.
Except, he doesn’t.
Landon pushes the locker room door open, the smell of sweaty gym clothes and air freshener that’s working overtime hits me full force as I snap myself out of my shock. The sound of laughter and yelling greets me as I follow him into the locker room.
Not to sound full of myself, but I know I’m good on the ice. The first hockey game I had ever played, I lost. I had stormed off and told my dad that I was done forever. He didn’t respond right away, instead, we drove around for an hour while I sulked in the backseat. When he finally stopped driving, we were at a diner in a town over. Neither of us spoke as we got a table, but after ordering each of us a milkshake, he broke the silence. He started by asking about how warmups with the other kids went, then began asking about the other players. What I thought they did right and then what I thought they did wrong.
