Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
H e’s Giving Me Whiplash
Charlotte
I walk back into the room I’m sharing with Ruby and close the door. My back falls flat against the door and I sigh and laugh.
“You good?” Ruby asks, watching me with confusion.
“OMG, Finn was in the kitchen,” I whisper. “Macklin and Cade were too, but then they left and it was just me and him. He smells so good, Ruby.”
Her eyes bug out. “Please tell me nothing happened.”
“Of course nothing happened, but my heart was seriously hammering in my chest. He is so hot. What am I going to do? And worst of all I get the vibe I did something to tick him off.”
“Nah, I doubt it. He’s the quiet, brooding type. It’s just his personality,” Ruby assures. “But it was hot how he told Raph to go away.”
“It was such a turn-on. I’m so screwed, Ruby.” I bite my lip, and then face-plant on the bed we are sharing.
“Everything will be fine,” she assures.
I lift my head, my hair falling in my face. “How do you figure? My heart was pounding when he got close to me. I couldn’t stop picturing his head between my legs in the kitchen right now,” I say, clearly panicking.
“You’re drunk.” She rolls her eyes, laughing. “Get some rest. When you’re sober, you will be in better control of your hormones.”
I yawn. “My hormones want to jump his hot body.”
“Sleep,” she urges. “Your hormones cannot jump him tonight.”
I stretch and get into bed, keeping to one side. My phone pings.
Raph’s name lights up the screen. “Fucking hell.”
“Who is it?” Ruby asks. She’s sitting on the desk chair beside the desk with the lamp on.
“Raph. He’s asking who Finn is to me,” I reply.
“Tell him he’s the new man in charge of delivering your orgasms,” she says.
“Okay.” I pretend I’m typing.
She flies out of her chair and grabs my phone.
“OMG, I was kidding.” I laugh.
“You’re mean,” she says, pulling away.
“I’m not answering him,” I say, placing my phone on the bedside table.
“Probably the smarter choice,” she confirms.
I yawn again, feeling my eyes grow heavy, and before I know it, I’m out like a light.
My alarm wakes me at 5:30 a.m. I wake with a startle. I slept like the dead until about three then I had to pee, and when I got back into bed, I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning. My stomach grumbles as I sit up and wait for my grogginess to clear.
“Why do you have to wake up so early?” Ruby complains beside me.
“Sorry, I’ll try to be quiet,” I whisper.
I leave the bedroom to go to the bathroom next to our room. I decide to take a quick shower to freshen up.
When I leave the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, Macklin, Hayden, and Finn are in the family room. They turn their heads.
“Mornin’.” I wave, moving fast to get back in my room.
“It is a fine morning,” Macklin declares. “I can get used to waking up and finding chicks walking around the house in towels.”
“As if that doesn’t happen already,” Hayden reminds. “Besides, those two are not to be considered chicks, you hear me?” I can hear Hayden’s warning tone through the door.
A part of me is relieved he feels that way. It will make it easier for me to do my job.
I quickly get dressed in a pair of light-washed jean shorts and light-pink cropped tee. Then I brush out my hair, apply deodorant, and put on some mascara and lip gloss. I head to the kitchen, taking a deep breath. This is a new day and I have a job to do. I yawn again. The guys are scrambling to get their protein shakes made. I open the fridge and take out the bread Ruby and I bought last night. I slap a piece of cheddar cheese on it and begin to stuff it in my mouth, since I don’t want to be late for the team’s early skate.
I pause when I feel the guys watching me.
“What?” I ask on a mouthful of sandwich. “I’m hungry after drinking last night.”
“Is that all you’re having for breakfast?” Cade asks.
“Yeah,” I answer, but I’m confused by the question.
“You need a lot more protein,” Finn mumbles, working the blender. “You’re an athlete. Bread and cheese won’t cut it.”
“You guys are drinking your breakfast,” I point out, as if they hadn’t noticed.
“That’s for pre-skate,” Macklin says. “We have a larger meal after.” “Gotcha. Well, I’m used to eating like this. It’s low budget and works for me,” I assure, finishing the slice of bread.
“Pour her a cup of the protein shake,” Hayden says. Finn listens and passes me a cup, but he barely looks at me and it feels wrong.
“Thanks,” I say. I take a taste.
“What do you think?” Cade asks.
“It tastes like I’m drinking powder, but it’s not terrible,” I reply.
“You get used to it,” Macklin says.
I nod. “Thanks, guys I’ll see you at the arena,” I say to them. I turn to leave the kitchen.
“Charlie, I didn’t see a car on the driveway,” Hayden says, following me.
“’Cause I don’t have one,” I clarify.
“You should get a ride with one of us. There is plenty of space,” he invites.
“Thanks,” I say. I still head to my room to prep my school bag. When I leave, the guys are all heading out the door. They have three cars on the driveway, and I don’t know who I should follow.
I’m about to get into car number two when Macklin jumps in front of me and hops into the back seat. “You might as well drive with Finn,” he says, giving me a weird smirk.
“Ookaayyy.” I walk over to Finn’s car. “Is it okay if I ride with you?”
He nods but he doesn’t speak. I get into the front seat and buckle up. Finn drives and there is an awkward silence in the car.
“Did I do something to offend you?” I ask, knowing it’s an awkward thing to ask.
“Nope,” he snips.
The car falls silent again and this short ride feels like it’s taking forever.
When we arrive to the sports complex, I can’t get out of the car fast enough.
“Thanks,” I say to Finn in my friendliest fake tone. I walk away, wondering what crawled up his butt this morning. He’s giving me whiplash. He goes from defending me to Raph to ignoring me in the blink of an eye.
I head inside and say good morning to the coaches. I run over some of my ideas with Coach Bailey. She informs me Coach Jacob doesn’t give a shit about social media. All he cares about is grooming champions. I heed her advice.
I watch morning skate, trying to get a feel for what the guys are like. They are a playful bunch, but they are also serious about their sport. Coach Jacob works them hard, running drills on the ice. After practice, I ask the guys to stay on the ice. I’m thankful I packed a Riverside U hoodie in my backpack this morning, but I need to remember to wear long pants for these morning skates because even though the temperature outside is hot and humid, the arena is freezing.
“Guys, I need you all to hold up,” I call, walking on to the ice.
“Can you not skate?” one of the guys asks. I don’t remember his name.
“Not exactly,” I answer, almost losing my balance. The last thing I need is to fall on my ass in front of them. “Don’t worry, I’m a fast learner and I have crazy good balance.”
Some of the guys begin to mutter to each other, and I am thinking it’s good I can’t hear what they are saying.
“We’re going to do a little dance. I’ll teach you the moves first and then we’ll record.” “I’d definitely like to see your moves, baby,” a player I don’t know mutters.
Off to the side, Coach Bailey skates over. “Seth, that was uncalled for. Ms. Morgan is an employee of this team and she deserves the same respect as your teammates and coaches.”
Seth’s lips turn down. “Sorry, Coach Bailey.”
“It’s not me who you should be apologizing to.” She cocks her right brow, staring the guy down.
Seth looks at me. “Sorry, but you’re hot.” He shrugs with a mischievous smile.
The guys break into laughter and the guy standing beside Seth punches him in the shoulder.
“Okay, I have classes so we don’t have much time,” I redirect, hoping to get their attention and pass this awkward moment. I expected players to hit on me. I know quite a few guys on the basketball team and they are shameless flirts. I always keep them in the friend zone though. My intention was to get to know the team well so I’d be ready when I got hired, but clearly my plan wasn’t foolproof.
The guys are lined up, watching me like I have all the answers. Or maybe they are just following suit because they don’t have a choice.
“We are going to do a part of the macarena,” I begin.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” a guy blurts.
“Tyler,” Coach Bailey chides. “I’m getting tired here. Follow what Charlie wants or you guys are going outside to run laps.”
What follows is a low muttering of expletives from each of the guys. Seth punches Tyler in the shoulder and tells him to behave.
“Okay, eyes on me,” I instruct. I could swear one of the guys mutters, “Anything you want, baby,” but I act like I don’t hear it. Instead, I begin to move, hoping I don’t slip on my ass and make a fool of myself. “Stick one hand out, then the other, shake your hips like this,” I order, swaying my hips. “Smile and give me your best booty shake,” I shout and shake my ass. I know some of these guys are going to be checking me out, but I figure a dance is a good way to break the ice between me and them. “Okay, now we repeat,” I say. I am met with some groans, but at least they listen, and we run through the dance again. “Now I am going to be taping you guys. Shake your booties as much as you can, give me your winning smiles, and just have fun with this.”
I set up the camera and test it for a moment. When everything looks good, I say, “On the count of three. Please watch my fingers because I need all of you moving in sync.”
They do as they’re told and they look completely adorable. They are playful and smiling. They are a good-looking group of guys, and I think we are going to hit nice numbers with this video, which is a good start.
Once we are done, I dismiss the guys. Coach Bailey walks off the ice with me.
“That went well,” she says.
“Really? It feels like it went awful. I heard their comments,” I reply.
“You’re a pretty girl and they are young men. They will come to respect you. Keep up the good work.”
Her words of encouragement are exactly what I need because I feel like a fish out of water. I am learning about hockey but I am a beginner, and I don’t want it to show.
I go to check the game schedule to see they start in a few weeks, which means I have time to build some rapport with them. I go over to my bag and drink some water. Then I head into the players’ lounge because I want to post this video this morning. I want to compare my morning and afternoon posts to see if timing has an impact.
Once I post the video, I stick around the lounge to do a little more research. I watch some college hockey TikToks and read the rules of the game. I also continue to check out the guys’ social accounts.
When some guys begin to pour into the room; I take it as my cue to leave.
“Wait up,” Tyler says to me. I remember his name because of his mischievous personality. “You should stay and hang out with us.”
“Yeah,” Seth agrees.
“I don’t have much time,” I state.
“We’re about to play some bubble hockey,” he shares.
More guys pile into the room.
“Bubble hockey?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He points to a table that has miniature hockey players attached to it. He begins to explain to me how it works.
“Why don’t you guys play a game,” I suggest. “I’ll watch.”
“Do you like to watch, baby?” Tyler teases.
I shake my head and laugh. This guy is clearly a clown. Or at least likes to come across that way.
When I turn around to see who is in the lounge, I spot Finn checking something on his laptop. Our gazes connect but his eyes narrow, and I swear he gives me a dirty look. Fuck.
I turn back to the guys and prep my video.
“Who’s better at this game?” I ask as they play. They are both so cocky they both say they are the best. I get it on video as they begin to tell stories about kicking each other’s asses. “I’m assuming you’re good with me posting that encounter?”
They both shrug and nod.
“Cool. Okay, I better get going.” I wave and say goodbye, and then I am out of there. When I get outside, I take a deep breath of fresh air and I realize how wound up I am inside. I want to succeed; this job is important to me. Professor Burton’s assistant, Ryan, told me to be creative. I am taking risks now that I hope will pay off. I’m just worried I somehow managed to piss off the captain. That is one mess I don’t know how to fix, especially since I am working for the team and living in the same house as Finn.