Chapter 55
Nick
Nerves fire off inside of me. Why the hell is Coach calling me?
The worst-case scenario pops into my head. He’s probably calling me to kick me off the team for good.
Dread drags through my gut.
“You should probably answer it,” Poppy says softly.
I swallow back the anxious feeling bubbling up inside of me. “Yeah, you’re right.”
She moves off my lap and starts to stand up to leave, but I grab her hand.
“Stay with me?” I ask.
She nods, her expression warms. She sits back on the bed and holds my hand.
I could be getting the worst news of my life. I don’t want to be alone.
I take a breath and answer my phone.
“Hey, Coach.”
“St. George. Hello. Sorry to call you out of the blue like this.”
His tone is stern and even, like it always is when he speaks. I have no idea where this is gonna go.
He clears his throat. “I have some news about your standing on the team.”
My stomach falls to my feet. Shit. Here we go.
“Your suspension has been lifted.”
I don’t say anything. I can’t. I’m too shocked.
Poppy squeezes my hand. When I look at her, her eyes are big with shock.
“Coach, are you serious? I’m not suspended anymore? I can play on the team again?”
“I’m dead serious, St. George. The team and the school have been bombarded with support for you.
It’s been…” He huffs out a breath. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my career.
In my life, honestly. The support you’re getting for what you did is mind-blowing.
The school and the team are experiencing quite the backlash for your suspension. I’m guessing you’ve seen it?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s crazy,” I say, still struggling to process the whiplash of the last eighteen hours.
“I had a meeting with the dean earlier today, and we realized that we acted a bit too harshly,” Coach Sawyer says. “No more suspension. You’re free to play at our next game on Monday.”
I grin and let out a laugh of pure disbelief. “This is awesome. So awesome. Thank you, Coach.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m the one who suspended you, remember?”
I smile at the hint of joking in his tone.
He clears his throat again. “In all seriousness, I’m sorry, St. George. After you told me off, I thought long and hard about what you said. You were right. I would have done the same thing to protect the person I love. I’m sorry I reacted the way I did.”
“It’s okay. You were getting a lot of heat too, so I understand why you were upset.”
“I still shouldn’t have come down on you so hard. I should have defended you as my player. I really regret that.” He sighs. “Especially when I woke up this morning to emails from your teammates refusing to play while you were suspended. That’s when I knew I really messed up.”
I feel myself soften. Yeah, it sucked to have Coach Sawyer go against me. But he’s realized that he was wrong and he’s trying to make it right now.
“We all make mistakes,” I say.
“I know I’ve told you that you’re a great hockey player, St. George, but you’re also a fine young man. I’m proud to have you on my team.”
Emotion courses through me. “Thank you, Coach.”
We say goodbye, and I hang up. I turn to Poppy. “Holy shit. No more suspension. I’m back on the team!”
She squeals and jumps into my lap. I grab her face and kiss her.
“Looks like that backlash hit the team and the school pretty hard,” I say. “Coach said it made them rethink things, and they realized they were wrong to suspend me.”
“You should text your family and tell them,” Poppy says.
“Oh, yeah, good idea.”
I fire off a quick message to my family group chat, then turn back to Poppy, kissing her hard.
When we break apart, she’s panting, and her cheeks are flushed.
“I can’t wait to cheer you on at your next game,” she says.
“I can’t wait to score another goal for you, wild girl.”
She beams. I kiss her again, feeling like the happiest, luckiest guy in the world.
Sweat drips into my eyes as I catch my breath.
I push up my helmet and wipe my face, then get in position for face-off.
It’s my first game since I was suspended, and even though I never had to sit out a game, it was still wild. Seeing all the media attention and fan support I got still blows me away.
I glance out at the stands, which are packed. Hockey games at Hollis U are always pretty well attended, but there’s not an empty seat in the crowd tonight.
News of my suspension being cancelled made the rounds on social media and local news. Tons of people showed up to support me and the team tonight, and it means everything.
Coach said there are scouts here tonight too, to watch me play. A wave of nerves courses through me. I want to play my best, but I can’t let myself think too much about the scouts. I’ll psych myself out.
So I do the one thing that always calms me in the middle of a game. I look over at Poppy in the stands, wearing my jersey, cheering me on.
It’s a second before she notices me. She grins wide. I wink at her. The nerves inside of me settle. I’m ready.
The ref drops the puck, and I manage to grab it and pass it over to Blake, who takes off across the ice.
I sprint ahead and try to get in a good position so he can pass the puck to me if he can’t get a clean shot.
A defenseman from the opposing team is all over him, so he shoots it over to me, just like I anticipated.
I notice another defenseman gunning for me, so I smack the puck at the net. Their goalie is a half-second too late with his stick blocking it, and it sails right in.
I pump my fist and holler. My teammates surrounded me, smacking my helmet and shoulder in celebration.
“You should get suspended more often,” Blake jokes. “You’re on fire tonight.”
I laugh. “Very funny.” I glance over at Poppy, who’s on her feet, screaming and smiling for me. “That’s not why I’m playing so well, though,” I say.
I skate over to her. She smiles, her eyes bright and warm. My heart feels like it’s about to burst. I love her so damn much. I can’t believe this amazing woman is my girlfriend.
I wink at her. “Told you I’d score a goal for you, wild girl.”
“You’re so cocky,” she teases.
“Yeah, but you love it.”
Her cheeks flush, and her smile grows. “I absolutely do.”