Chapter 17 Parker
“You need to learn how to drive,” Cammie said. She was sitting in the passenger seat of my truck, her eyes glued to her phone. I had no idea how she could judge my driving when she wasn’t even looking at the road.
“I can drive just fine.”
“Tell that to the old lady who had to jump out of the way as you swerved round the corner back there.”
“There was no old lady!”
“Well, we were lucky then, because you would have taken her out for sure.” She lifted one disapproving eyebrow before returning her attention to her phone. “I miss Reed and Grayson. They were much more sensible behind the wheel.”
All I could do was grunt. I was so sick of everyone missing my older brothers and being constantly reminded of how I’d never live up to them. I thought this year would be different. But even in the comfort of my own car, I was still being compared to them.
“Yeah, well, they’re not here. And if you’re going to complain so much, next time you can walk to the rink.”
“Or maybe I’ll just get my license,” she replied smugly.
I wasn’t going to hold my breath. Cammie was too used to being a passenger princess. It was probably better than her being able to drive though. I dreaded the day I had to share this truck with her.
“You’re not going to get your license,” I replied. “You don’t have the time.”
“Yes, well, if you keep this up, I’ll make time.” Her focus fell back to her phone, but she wasn’t quiet for long. “So, tell me more about your new girlfriend.”
“Mackenzie’s not my girlfriend.” I knew my sister was just trying to annoy me. She wasn’t even being subtle about it. But it was still working.
“You don’t get out of bed early for anyone.”
“I’m helping her train. That’s it.” To be honest, I was almost as surprised as Cammie that this was happening. Heading to the rink first thing on a Monday morning to give our new goalie some extra practice was the last thing I wanted to do. And yet here I was.
“I don’t see you getting up before sunrise to train with any other players. You must really like her.”
“I’m not doing it for her.” I was doing it for the team.
“I didn’t say you were doing it for her. You’re doing it for a hook up.”
“I could think of nothing worse.”
“Reed and Grayson agree with me.”
“What?” I turned to her, and she wiggled her phone in the air. “Tell me you’re not messaging them.”
“Of course I am,” she said with a wicked smirk. “We’ve been talking about you for days. Grayson even changed the name of our group chat, see?”
She held the phone in front of my face, and I took my eyes off the road just long enough to check the screen. The group chat was named Parker’s dating coaches, and the profile picture was a cute little monkey.
“I wonder how long it took Grayson to come up with that,” I scoffed.
“It’s changed a few times,” Cammie said. “This is my favorite though. Especially the picture. We all know how much you love Mom’s nickname for you, monkey.”
I let out a long sigh. It was too early for this shit.
“So, the boys think going after the coach’s daughter is a really bad idea,” Cammie continued. “But I say, a few red flags never stopped you chasing a girl before.”
“I don’t go after girls with red flags.”
“You’re like a bull, Parker. You see a red flag and charge.”
“Not with Mackenzie,” I replied. “Her dad pretty much told me he’d kill me if I even looked at her that way.”
“Oh, so she’s forbidden? That must be even more enticing for you.” Cammie’s eyes were sparkling with glee. She only got this much joy out of two things: skating and teasing her brothers.
Thankfully, we’d finally arrived at the rink, and I didn’t have to spend long looking for a parking spot because there was barely anyone else here.
“You guys all need to mind your own business,” I said.
“Wow, touchy,” she gasped, but then she nodded. “You must really be a goner for this girl.” Before I could respond, she jumped out of the truck and slammed the door shut.
“I don’t like her!” I yelled from the driver’s seat, but Cammie was already opening the doors to the arena and disappearing inside.
With a sigh, I gathered my stuff. Cammie was training with her pairs skating partner this morning. They had the rink booked so the place was otherwise empty. I’d managed to talk her into letting Mackenzie and I practice down the far end of the ice.
I began to reconsider the whole thing though when I found Mackenzie waiting for me.
“You’re late.”
“Good morning to you too.” I set my bag down and started to take out my gear.
“I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.”
We were definitely off to a bad start. “Well, you must be nice and warmed up then.”
I got the feeling she wanted to throw her stick at my head.
“You said to meet when the rink opened. My parents think I’m working out with Jaz this morning. I don’t have long.”
“I had to drive my sister, and she was taking forever to get ready.” I shrugged. “We’ll just have to make do with the time we have.”
“You’re blaming your sister?”
“Yeah, and she’s right over there if you want to take it up with her.
” I nodded to the other side of the rink where Cammie was talking to her coach.
She looked like she was apologizing for being late.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her say sorry to anyone for anything.
Her coach might just be the one person Cammie respected, perhaps even liked.
“That’s your sister?” Mackenzie was looking between us like she was trying to spot the family resemblance.
It can’t have been hard. My siblings and I all had dark hair and the same blue eyes as our dad.
I supposed Cammie had taken after Mom in the height department, though she more than made up for her short stature with a big attitude.
“Yep, that’s Cammie.”
“She looks too nice to be related to you.”
“Ha!” I spluttered and shook my head. “Out of me and Cammie, I’m definitely the nice one.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I am. Although you might disagree with me after we start training together.”
“Weren’t you listening? I disagree with you now.”
“All I heard was you stalling. We’ve got work to do. Start with five hard laps. No coasting.”
I steeled myself for another cutting comeback or, worse, for her to launch her stick at me and storm off. But to my surprise, she set off, skating hard as she made her way around the perimeter of the rink.
I could have joined her, but I was still waking up.
I’d never been a morning person, plus I was still a little sore from the game.
My ego wasn’t the only thing that suffered.
I’d taken a couple of hard hits from the Sharks’ defensemen, and I probably should have spent Saturday night in a freezing ice bath instead of going out.
Mackenzie finished her laps without complaint before she started stretching in front of the net.
I’d been thinking a lot about how I could help her improve, and I’d picked out a couple of problem areas.
Fitness was an obvious one. She’d been exhausted by the end of the first period, and we’d need to build up her stamina over the next few weeks.
But there was one issue in particular I wanted to work on today.
“Okay” I skated over to her. “We’re going to work on cleaning up your rebounds. You stopped most shots no problem against the Sharks, but you didn’t clear the puck well enough. That’s why our toothless friend scored his first goal on Saturday.”
I was being brutally honest, and I expected to see Mackenzie glaring at me through her helmet. She wasn’t exactly the kind of girl who liked being told what to do. Especially not by me. But I was surprised to find her listening intently, so I powered on.
“Don’t just stop the puck; control it and redirect it away from the slot.”
Again, I was shocked when she didn’t tell me to go to hell and nodded instead. “Okay, let’s try it.”
She continued to surprise me as the session went on.
She was intently focused on clearing the puck after each save and, before long, Mackenzie was effectively using her stick to push the puck away from the net before instantly readying herself to face the next shot.
She was a fast learner. Either that, or I was a miracle worker. Probably the latter.
This might have been the longest period of time we’d ever spent in each other’s presence without an argument breaking out or tension boiling over. It didn’t feel right. It wasn’t us.
It also wasn’t very reflective of how intense the game against the Sharks was.
Mackenzie wasn’t used to the emotional rollercoaster of anxiety, frustration and adrenaline that flowed through you during a chaotic battle on the ice.
But those things were hard to replicate during an early morning practice.
The roar of the crowd, the proximity of other players, the snarky comments from opposing forwards.
An idea sparked in my mind, and I fought to withhold a smirk. Maybe there was one thing about the game I could replicate after all. God, she was going to kill me.
After the next save Mackenzie made, I swooped in to pounce on the rebound and scored before she could stop me.
“That was sloppy,” I said. “I know pretty girls think they can get away with anything, but you’re not that pretty.”
“What did you say?!” Her glare was back as she shot to her feet. Oh, how I’d missed it.
“I said you’re pretty, but not so pretty I’m going to pass up an opportunity to score such an easy rebound.”
“Don’t talk to me like that.”
“It’s okay, you make up for it in other areas.” I paused, bracing myself for the lasers she was about to shoot my way. “Like your ass. Have I ever told you how great it looks? Even in your goalie gear.”
She stiffened, and I could almost hear her teeth clenching from where I hovered at a safe distance.
“Yep, that thing is the stuff of legend,” I said as I gathered the puck again. She was stunned into silence and stood frozen in the net, so when I took my shot, it sailed right past her. “It’s the kind of ass that break hearts and ruins men’s lives.”
“Talk like that again and I’ll ruin your life.”
I grinned. I think I preferred this Mackenzie to the one who nodded and followed instructions. She looked like she wanted to murder me, and the way she scowled daggers in my direction made my whole body light up. It was like Christmas, if your tree was on fire and you were a pyromaniac.
“I’m serious,” I continued as I took another shot. “An ass like yours could start a war.” She was still distracted and let the puck hit the net once more. “Shame you can’t stop a puck to save your life.”
Mackenzie looked like her head was about to explode, but when she suddenly seemed to realize I’d just scored on her twice she readjusted her position in front of the net. “Do you have a death wish?”
Probably, but I continued.
“Shakespeare would have written sonnets about it.” I took shot after shot as I teased her, and she soon started making saves like I knew she could. “It makes guys forget what they’re talking about.”
“You’re going to regret this, Parker.”
“They even forget their name.”
“I knew training with you wouldn’t work.”
“All they know is that they’ve seen perfection, and they’ll never experience anything like it ever again.”
She finally yanked her catch glove off, pulled her helmet from her head and stormed toward me. “Are you trying to piss me off?”
I skated to meet her, grinning. She was pink in the face, covered in sweat, and her hair was as wild as her eyes. It was a seriously good look on her.
“Yes, I am.”
“Huh?”
“I’m trying to piss you off. Just like those guys from the game on Saturday. I doubt they’ll be the only jerks you encounter out here.”
“I’m looking at one right now.”
“Fair.” I smirked. “But you can’t afford to let stuff like that disrupt your game.”
Her eyes slowly started to dawn with realization. “All that was to teach me a lesson?”
“Obviously.” I shrugged. “Although, it was kind of fun.”
“Wait, so, you don’t think I’ve got a great butt?”
“Oh, no, I totally do. I just let my inside thoughts out.”
She whacked me on the arm with her blocker, but my resulting laughter only seemed to evoke more frustration in her eyes. But then there was a slight crack in her expression, and a moment later she started laughing too.
Something about her expression hit me square in the chest. She never smiled or laughed when I was around. The way her eyes were sparkling right now felt like discovering a rare hidden treasure. The thought stopped me short. Did I actually like making her laugh?
She shook her head at me but was still smiling. “You’re the worst.”
“I know. But you wouldn’t have me any other way, right?”
“I’d prefer you literally any other way.”
From her sharp tone to her piercing glare, there was no doubt in my mind this girl couldn’t stand me. So, why did her words make me smile? And why when our eyes met did everything else seem to fade away?
“You dropped me on purpose!” Reality came quickly hurtling back as we both turned to the sound of my sister shouting from the other side of the ice. She went up to her partner and shoved him in the chest.
He stumbled back slightly but then folded his arms and stood his ground. “Maybe you fell on purpose.”
“Ugh!” Cammie screeched before turning to skate off. Her coach was yelling after her.
“Told you I’m the nice one,” I said. “I think that might be her third partner this year.”
“I mean, I’d be pissed if a guy dropped me, too.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t take much to piss you off.”
“Not when it comes to you.”
We decided to end our session there because we still needed to get ready for school. As we went to leave the ice, Mackenzie turned to me. “Thanks for today. I feel like I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but it’s good to have something I can focus on.”
“Just calling it how I see it.”
“Max never said anything about my rebounds. I think he was just happy to have someone to shoot at.”
“Your brother?” I guessed.
She nodded. “He’s the reason I started playing hockey. Dad didn’t let me practice with a team or play in games, but Max used to practice against me all the time, right up until he went to college. He’s a forward; one of the best players in the state.”
“He plays for the Raiders with my brothers, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. If you can stop one of his shots, you can stop anyone’s.”
As she looked up at me, I could see she was genuinely grateful. It was another emotion I’d never seen her feel when it came to me. Another one I liked.
“Yeah, well.” I coughed to try and dislodge the tightness in my chest. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow morning.”
“Sure.” She nodded. “But you might need to rethink your coaching methods. No more checking out my ass.”
“I’m not making any promises,” I called after her as she turned and skated away.
Without glancing back, she stuck her middle finger up over her shoulder. All I could think was that I actually had a good feeling about getting out of bed early tomorrow.