11. Teagan

eleven

"Coach, this isn't going to work. The guys aren't even passing the puck to her," Royal tells Coach Johnson, Fin and Coulter nodding their agreement.

"Thanks, Mr. Obvious." I roll my eyes and skate past Royal, resetting my position for the next drill.

"That's why the three of you are going to spend time with Teagan and show the other guys that you've accepted her on our team."

"You want us to go on a date with her?" they all say at the same time; the only difference is one sounds happy, one sounds unsure, and one sounds angry about having to spend alone time with me.

Great, like it wasn't embarrassing enough before. Luckily, I'm the only one close enough to hear their conversation.

"No, not a date. Just spend some time with her, getting to know her, playing cards with her, or doing your homework together. That's all I'm asking. Once the other guys see that you've accepted her, they will, too."

I should feel relieved that I don't have to go on a date with them, but I don't.

"I've assigned her to share a room with you guys on all the away games." Coach Johnson continues, and I try not to let my jaw drop when he announces that I will be sharing a room with the three of them.

"You want her to sleep in the same hotel room with us?" Coulter's voice sounds as shocked as Royal's face looks. The only one who looks happy about this new turn of events is Fin.

"Don't worry, Coach, we'll take good care of Teagan."

"No funny stuff, Baxter." I hold back a giggle at the obviously fake look of shock on Fin's face at Coach's words.

I don't hear Fin's reply since it's finally my turn to run the next drill. I hesitate, waiting for the other three guys in line to join me. When no one moves, I start the drill by myself, skillfully handling the puck as I glide across the ice.

Fuck my teammates, I don't need them. I can run the drills on my own.

But I do need them. I must look pathetic running a drill by myself that normally four players would be running.

"Over here, Hayes," Coulter calls from my left side.

I glance up from the puck and notice Coulter, Fin, and Royal are all on the ice in position to run with me. Fin and Coulter wearing friendly smiles, while Royal has his standard scowl in place that I've come to love.

Such a grump. One of these days, I'm going to wipe that grumpy look off his face.

I pass the puck to Coulter before moving to the next designated spot for the drill, in front of Royal on defense.

"Don't watch my eyes. Watch my hands. See how they shift with the direction I'm going to pass it in," Royal instructs. His eyes stare straight ahead as his hands quickly rotate to the left. I shift my body to the left, my stick cutting off his pass, effectively stealing the puck from him. "Just like that."

His praise sends ripples of pleasure down my body. Who knew I had a praise kink? I've certainly never felt like this with anyone else when they were coaching my techniques.

"Whoa. Good job, Teagan. No one has ever been able to block and steal the puck away from Royal like you just did," Fin says loud enough for the rest of our teammates to hear his praise.

And just like that, the warm feeling I got from Royal is replaced by self-doubt. Did Royal let me steal the puck from him to impress our teammates?

As if he can read my mind, Royal skates up to me. "I mean it. That was all you. I just gave you a little guidance, the rest you did on your own." The sincerity in Royal"s voice and the look on his face puts any doubt I had about him out of my mind.

"Alright, let's run that drill again. Same teams." Coach Johnson blows his whistle to start the drill.

I cut across the ice, my sights set on Fin this time. His puck skills are almost as good as mine. Let's see how he reacts to a little trick I learned from my brothers.

I fake a shot to the right, then at the last second, I flip my skates to the left, effectively shaking Fin off my hip for an easy goal on Brady.

"Damn, did you see how she handled Royal and Fin?"

"How about how easily she scored on Brady."

I hear the comments from my teammates as I skate back to my place in line. I feel lighter than I've felt since the first day at tryouts, all thanks to Royal, Fin, and Coulter.

Surprisingly, the rest of the week's practices go better than expected, with most of my teammates finally accepting me as part of their team.

My next obstacle is our first game on Thursday night. It's a home game against Tech. Luckily, it isn't against Bayside or Clarkston.

I just have to make sure I have a good showing at the game since my whole family will be in attendance.