Page 24 of Edging Coach
I swallowed. “Say it one more time, Sir.”
Confusion furrowed his brow, but only for a second.
And then, voice soft and sweet, he said it:
“Good boy, Jack.”
CHAPTER 8
DEVON
Sweat poured down my face as I tore down the ice for the fiftieth time.
Or so it felt like.
Tori taking us through video this morning had been a nightmare. Coach wanted us to see all our fuckups in glorious HD.So you’ll know why I’m going to work you so hard.
In that moment, I’d wanted to work himso hard.Like in a bed. Or against a wall. In the shower would be nice. All that steaming water and?—
“Devs! Pay attention, for fuck’s sake.” Gards smacked my arm. “Focus, right? That’s what Coach said. That we were all over the place and not focused on each other. Or the puck. Obviously.”
I blinked. “Right.”
“One more time. I want to see the D-men put some effort into it,” Crums, one of the assistant coaches, yelled at us. Well, shouted nicely. He was so polite he was almost Canadian.
Effort into it? Christ.My thighs burned. My arms ached. My head throbbed. I’d stayed up way too late last night. Firstedging Coach and then, after I’d let him come, staring at my blank phone screen and questioning all my life choices.
I tore down the ice again.
This time, we had the puck and were shooting it back and forth as we headed toward Saffron. He lowered himself into position.
I passed the puck to Gards.
It went wide, and he had to chase after it.
By the time he caught it, we’d flown past the net.
Goddammit.
Another miss.
Saffron grinned. “That was easy.”
Crums waved his hand. “Again.”
Right.
An hour later, as the hot water cascaded down my back, I tried to stretch my sore muscles. That had been the longest practice in the history of practices.Exaggerating much?Maybe. But certainly, one of the longest I’d ever endured.
I couldn’t stand under the spray all day—much as I wanted to. In the end I didn’t, though, and I got out and trudged to my locker with a towel around my waist.
After a team meeting, we reviewed film and discussed some strategies for our next game. Then, finally, the day was over.
“You did good out there.” Claus smacked me on the shoulder as we headed out of the facility. Our second line center was lookingwaytoo cheerful.
“But—”
“You worked your ass off.”
