Chapter 20
Damon
The GPS directions take us to the arena on the edge of campus. This is where we’ll meet the coach, the guys who will be going through this with me, and the guys who will be hosting us.
“I have a hotel room for the night if you’d prefer to stay with me.” Dad opens his door and glances my way.
“Come in and meet the coach. We have a tour in the morning you can join us for.” It’s an olive branch. If Mom were alive, she would have been all over this. But if she were alive, none of this might have happened.
I’d probably be at the USHL impressing Boston colleges to pick me for their teams. What I wouldn’t have is Evan. My gut clenches at the thought. I glance at my dad. He’s been a lot more understanding about the whole Chase hit and run than I thought he would be.
There were more than a few moments in the past hours I thought about getting his take on the stalker texts.
I’m certain whoever it is, they’re waiting to escalate.
Maybe they didn’t give her the rose, but those texts were threatening.
I’m worried about what will happen this week while I’m away, but I know Cam and Hawk have her.
Evan will be safe. They’ll make sure of it.
Dad falls into step beside me as we enter the arena. It’s empty of fans. Only a small cluster of guys sits in the bleachers. We move toward them.
Coach Mitchell stands with his back to the glass behind the players’ benches, chatting with students and guests. Everyone turns to watch us approach. I recognize a couple of guys who went to hockey camps I attended.
Coach Mitchell grins and walks over to greet us. “Damon, so glad you could make it. And you must be Adam Storm.”
Dad takes his hand. “You can call me Adam. We’re excited to learn about the opportunity here.”
“Not as excited as we are to have the option of getting your son on our team.” Coach Mitchell puts his hand on my shoulder and leads me over to the group of guys. “Ivan will be your roommate for the week.”
Ivan lifts his hand and smirks at me.
“Beside him is Axel, Spencer, Logan, and Ryan. You’ll meet the rest of the team tomorrow.” Coach Mitchell turns to me. “These are our freshman players who agreed to host you guys for the week.”
I nod at them and look at the other two guys sitting there. They’re the more familiar players.
“Caleb Brown and Landon Pierce are here to spend the week getting to know our program.”
I’m familiar with their stats. Both of them might have made it into Juniors with a little push in the right direction.
I’ve seen them at camps. They have some bad habits, which probably kept them from going that last step.
Or maybe they’ve corrected those habits and just have parents who didn’t want their kid gone for a year or two.
It was a hard sell to my dad when I got in, so I imagine other parents might feel similarly.
My dad is introducing himself to their parents, who sit a few rows back.
The guys return my nod of acknowledgement.
“I’ve said this before, but I want to reiterate.
These guys aren’t your competition. These are potential teammates.
” Coach Mitchell leans back against the protective glass and looks at us.
“We’re waiting for one more and then we’ll be ready to talk a little about the program.
I won’t keep you too late since it’s a Friday night and you’ll want to get settled. ”
I take a seat next to Landon, and he glances at me with an assessing look. Yeah, we’re too used to looking at each other as competition. But we’re also used to being on teams for camp with people who the next day will be on the opposing team.
Coach Mitchell turns and smiles. “Ah, there he is. We have one more coming Monday.”
We all turn to look at the newcomer. Jackson Riordan.
I should have guessed he’d be part of this program. He’s almost as good as me, and as far as I can tell, he hasn’t committed to any program yet. Fuck. I watch him as he smiles at the coach and gets the same song and dance I got, with the exception he doesn’t have a parent with him.
At least with him here, Evan should be safe this week. Unless she’s right, and it isn’t just Jackson.
Jackson’s eyes meet mine. He narrows his but maintains the smile on his face as Coach introduces everyone again. Jackson nods at the three of us, but none of us say anything. Jackson takes the seat next to me. I keep my face blank, but my gut twists.
If he’s the one hunting my girl, we’re going to have serious problems. If he’s not hunting her now, he made her uncomfortable both in the past and present. Made her fearful. It doesn’t matter if he’s not the one stalking her. He made her afraid.
I focus on Coach as he tells us what our week will be like.
Classes with our host, practices, scrimmages, the opportunity to play with the whole team and figure out if we’ll fit in or stand out in a not good way.
This is what I’ve been looking for. A chance to level up again. To continue to grow as a player.
But now I’ll be able to find out more about who Jackson is as a person. He could be stalking my girl. Sending texts to her mother to out Evan in the middle of the night. This is my chance to pin down who Jackson is now.
We go and get our stuff from our parents’ cars and say goodbye until tomorrow morning for the campus tour. Dad gives me a half hug before climbing into the car and heading to the hotel. With Jackson here, the urge to tell my dad about Evan’s stalker has faded. He can’t hurt her from here.
We leave our hockey gear in lockers at the arena and bring our suitcases with us to the freshman hockey housing.
“We find our freshman players do better living in a house together with some of the sophomores. Similar to a fraternity, but with fewer parties.” Coach Mitchell leads us across campus to the dormitories.
This might be a problem if all freshmen are expected to live in the house. I’m not sure they’d let me have Evan live with me. But I keep my mind open. We can always pay for this house and an apartment for the four of us to actually stay in.
“There is a curfew, especially during the first year.” Coach Mitchell stops in front of the door and turns to look at us.
“It’s a suggestion. You won’t be punished if you stay out past curfew, but it’s definitely frowned upon and might determine whether you get play time during games.
We prioritize the game and your schooling.
If either slips because of you being out past curfew too often, then there will be some sanctions placed on you. ”
Coach Mitchell nods to Axel, who steps up to the door and puts his ID on the reader. The door unlocks with a click. We all follow him inside.
“I’ll expect to see you all after the campus tour tomorrow.
” Coach Mitchell looks at the four of us.
“Axel will show you around the house. There’s some basic gym equipment here.
You’ll get a pass for the athlete’s gym for the week for extra workouts.
Have a good night, and if you need anything, ask your host. If you need to speak to me, my number is in your email. ”
He claps Ivan on the shoulder and then leaves us alone with the freshmen players.
“I drew the short straw so...” Axel smiles and gestures to the living space we’ve entered. “I get to give the tour.”
The house is three stories with a living area, a quiet room for studying, a kitchen, and dining room. The refrigerator is maintained by the campus food services. There’s always food available and usually some premade foods to heat up. We’ll see the other meal options on the tour tomorrow.
There are a couple rooms on the first floor. Both are upperclassmen who act as resident advisors for the house. When we head upstairs, Axel shows us his room that he usually shares with a sophomore.
“My roommate has a girlfriend who has an apartment off campus. He’s going to stay with her this week.” Axel glances at Jackson. “You’ll be rooming with me, so you’ll be getting a bed.”
“Are there singles?” I ask. I’m not sure how I’ll deal sharing a space with another player. Yes, I share Evan, but that’s with my friends.
“Yeah, a few.” Axel nods toward the third floor. “Every bedroom has its own bathroom. You’re responsible for keeping it clean. There’s a laundry on every floor. Use them. We don’t need the house to smell like someone’s feet.”
There are a few chuckles as Axel leads us back to the living space that has multiple sets of seating areas kind of like a hotel lobby.
We take a seat and Axel discusses the sleeping arrangements. I’m with Ivan, who grins at me. He reminds me of Cam. A few times he interrupted with suggestions for parties, frats, and girls.
“Get your rest tonight. Tomorrow is going to be grueling. You’re all professionals or you wouldn’t be here, so act like it.
Every step of this is an audition for a spot on the team.
You’ve already made it to this part. You just have to prove you’ll fit in with where Coach wants to take us next year.
” Axel stands, and so do the other players.
We grab our things and follow our host. Ivan glances over his shoulder at me as I follow him up the stairs to his room. He shows me where to drop my stuff and gestures to the made bed.
“They doubled up our roommates in a spare room so we could host and you wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor.” Ivan smirks and sits in his office chair.
“Nice.” The bed is what I would expect in a dorm room. Extra-long twin. Basic mattress.
“Coach was surprised you were still an option.” Ivan isn’t at all subtle, which I can appreciate. “You got mental problems?”
I chuckle, not willing to give this guy anything. “Doesn’t everyone?”
He smiles as he tosses a ball up and catches it. “No, really. Last we heard, you were off to the USHL.”
“Yeah, got in an accident on my motorcycle.” I rub my leg but it doesn’t ache as bad as it did. “Dad realized I wasn’t godlike and might actually be mortal and decided he wanted me to stay home.”
He catches the ball and looks at me in horror. “Fuck, parents suck.”
I consider how Dad hasn’t made any changes to our living arrangement after finding out about me and Evan. Yet. He even talked Heather out of leaving. Though that might have been more for him. “He’s not that bad.”
I don’t know if they’ll decide to move Evan from the room next to mine. They have a whole week to fuck with my life while I’m gone. The guys will tell me if they do. I don’t know if Evan will try to stay in touch. We left things so fucking broken.
My dad was okay about the Chase thing, but it doesn’t make what she did any easier. The things I’ve told her were shared in confidentiality. She knew that. But I basically hung her out to dry, pushed her until she’d spilled everything.
“We’re going out tomorrow night. There’s a frat party. Some of the guys on the team are members. Delta Psi Lambda, you heard of them?” Ivan stretches and drops the ball on his desk before getting up.
I smirk, thinking of Cam’s declarations at the end of summer. “My friend wants to join them.”
“He into hockey?”
I nod. “He’s my teammate.”
Ivan smiles. “He should try out too.”
“Maybe. I don’t think he wants the stress of playing D1 sports in school.”
“It’s not all bad. The puck bunnies are worth it.” Ivan looks me over. “The girls are going to love you.”
“I have a girlfriend.” I run my hand through my hair. What we are right now isn’t up for debate. She’s mine. We need to figure out our shit, but there’s no way I’d let her move on to someone new.
“High school love never lasts, man.”