Chapter 30
MAC
“Holy shit, is that Roman Hammerstein?” Steele asks as we take our seats on the bench.
“Forrest-Hammer now, but yeah.” That I don’t sound like I huffed helium is a miracle.
“Did you know he was coming?” Lovett’s knee is going a mile a minute, just like mine.
“I did not.” Fee, who is seated next to her younger sister, with Cammie on her other side, assured me she was coming tonight, but she failed to warn me her brother-in-law would also be here.
“Scouts in the row behind him.” Stiles chews on his mouth guard.
It’s a habit we all have. The hockey equivalent of a soother.
“No fucking way.” Steele rolls his head on his shoulders. “I hope I get decent ice time. Or maybe I hope I don’t. That’s some real fucking pressure.”
Roman stands and turns to shake the scouts’ hands. I’m sure Roman has regular conversations with those guys, being a coach for the Hockey Academy.
I send a prayer to the hockey gods that all my extra time on the ice pays off tonight.
“You got this, man. You’ve been owning the ice lately,” Stiles assures me.
“I got this,” I repeat. My passing accuracy has improved, and I’m not eating ice when I hit the crease like I was earlier in the season.
I channel my positive energy into playing smart and clean.
And it works. Fee being here to cheer me on, wearing my hoodie, is an ego boost. She’s here because she cares and she believes in me.
It’s not about who I know, or what my future career might look like.
Fee isn’t starstruck by pro hockey players; she’s genuinely impressed with the tenacity, effort, and dedication it takes to play for my school team.
During the first period, I manage an assist, and another in the third. Tilton wins the game 3-1, and my team is riding the high as we head for the locker room.
“We are definitely celebrating the hell out of this win.” Steele claps me on the back, then shouts, “Party at my place!”
“Is there ever a weekend we don’t have to clean up after fifty people?” Stiles grumbles, but even he’s smiling.
“Nice goal tonight,” I praise.
“Thanks for passing it to me.”
The mood is buoyant as we change out of our gear and head for the showers.
“Shit, Stiles, did you get hit with a puck?” Lovett asks.
Stiles frowns and looks down, running his hand over his pec. “Oh, no. I was shooting the puck in the driveway and it ricocheted.”
“Good thing it didn’t hit your pretty face,” Steele comments.
“Yeah, my dad paid a lot of money for my straight teeth.”
We shower, change into our dress clothes, and leave the locker room.
Fee is waiting in the lobby, along with Cammie and Tally. Roman is close by, with Callie at his side, talking to one of the scouts.
Chase scoops Cammie up, and Fee rushes over and throws her arms around me. “You were great tonight!” She kisses my neck.
“I play better when you're watching me.” I give her a squeeze but avoid putting my lips on her because Roman might be nice, but he still scares the shit out of me.
“Mac!” Callie rushes over to greet me with a hug.
“Hey, Calls, thanks for coming to my game.”
Fee rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling.
“Lexi is on an away series, and Hammer and Hollis are taking care of Ariel, Roman said he was coming, and that I could have all the best snacks, plus I might want to come to Tilton because they have an amazing girls’ hockey team.”
“You’re not even in high school yet,” Fee points out.
“It’s never too early to start planning for your future. Plus, Mac has come to see me play, and I’ve never seen him play, so I wanted us to be even.” She beams up at me.
Fee links our arms. “It was a good game, wasn’t it?”
“It really was! I had so much fun. Dred and Connor had some kind of dinner thing with Connor’s family tonight, which he said he would have missed if he could because I’m more fun to hang out with than his dad.
But he couldn’t get out of it.” Callie shrugs.
“So I ended up coming to the game and I’m glad I did.
You had two great assists! Roman says you have a lot of talent. ”
“That’s because he does.” Roman settles his hands on Callie’s shoulders. “You were great out there tonight, Mac. You knew when to pass and when to play. It’s clear you spend a lot of time with your teammates on and off the ice.”
“Thank you, sir, it was a real honor to learn from you last week.”
“You can just call me Roman.” He winks at Fee. “And honestly, it was my pleasure. The summer program at the Hockey Academy could be a good bridge for you. Have you considered submitting an application?”
“Yes, yeah.” I try to keep my voice steady. “I’m proofing my essay this week.”
“Great. Happy to hear that.”
Roman introduces me, Chase, Gage, and Brody to the scouts.
They show interest in all of us, but it’s no surprise when they have the most questions for Brody.
I don’t know what I feel more for him: empathy or envy.
He’s wildly talented with Kodiak Bowman-level skills.
But his brother has such an illustrious career, and a past that doesn’t always stay where it should.
It would be impossible not to feel like he’s in his brother’s shadow all the time, or face the pressure people might put on him to be as good, or better.
We head back to the house with the rest of our teammates to celebrate. I get pulled into a conversation with a few of the older guys on the team, and Fee kisses me on the cheek and tells me she’s going to check on Enid and Tally, and she’ll find me in a bit.
“Dude, how cool that your girlfriend’s stepdad came to our game.” Beans is the fourth person to mention this.
“Roman is her brother-in-law, but yeah, it’s nice that he came out to spend some time with her,” I say pointedly.
“Right. Yeah. It must be nice for you and Brody to have an in with these guys.” His jealousy is written all over his face.
I don’t blame Fee for making a quick exit.
Getting dragged into hockey conversations about future prospects, especially when her sister is a coach, must get annoying.
And it’s wildly transparent when one of the guys who barely talks to me off the ice is suddenly my best friend.
Eventually I extract myself from the conversation and go in search of Fee.
I find her in the kitchen—it’s often where she hangs out at these parties, standing with our friends.
Brody is tucked into the corner with Cammie and Chase on one side and Tally and Enid on the other, like his bodyguards.
Fee’s back is to me, but she extends her hand toward me without turning around, like she already knows I’m there.
I slip an arm around her waist and burrow through her hair to kiss her neck. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Her hand covers mine.
Brody dips his chin. “Finally managed to escape Beans, huh?”
“It must be irritating when they glom on after Tristan shows up at a game or practice,” I reply.
Brody shrugs. “No more than it is for Fee and Tally.”
“At least until I started dating one of my dad’s players,” Tally replies cheekily.
“Your patience paid off.” Fee shifts so she’s tucked into my side, under my arm.
“I’m not dating you for your connections,” I blurt.
“We all know you’re dating Fee because you’ve been low-key crushing on her since you met her,” Gage interjects.
“You mean we’ve been low-key crushing on each other,” Fee corrects. She kisses the edge of my jaw and pats my chest. “And I know. You’ve always been cool about who my sister is and who she’s married to.”
“It makes sense in a way, though.” Gage runs a hand through his hair.
“That you’d hang out with a bunch of people who have similar experiences and understand the position you’re always in.
And these parties, while sometimes annoying for the three of you, also make it easy to suss out when people aren’t genuine.
It kind of feels like training for the future, and like it creates tighter friendship bonds. ”
We all stare at him like he’s suddenly sprouted two heads.
“That was very insightful, Gage,” Enid says.
Gage nods, like he knows this. “We’re all pushing towards the same goal: do the thing we love the most as a career, but not all of us will make it. Might as well be surrounded by like-minded people who will have your back when it gets hard and understand the challenges that come with this.”
Gage slides his phone out of his pocket. “Shit. I gotta take this. My sister is going through it right now with her boyfriend.” He holds the phone in front of him and signs as he heads for the stairs.
“Is it just me or did party Gage just leave the building and become introspective, protective older-brother Gage?” Cammie asks.
“That’s how it appears,” Brody confirms.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Enid says.
“How do you mean?” I ask.
“He picks up lunch from the café for his sister at least once a week.”
Tally presses her hand to her heart. “I knew Gage was a secret softie. He has that golden retriever energy.”
Brody leans forward, brow quirked. “Don’t let Flip hear you, or Gage will end up in a shallow grave.”
Tally smirks. “I think we all know I prefer older, reformed bad boys.”
“Truth.” Fee grins. “I honestly think Gage might just turn into actual boyfriend material this year.”
“Kind of like Flip?” Enid asks.
“Yeah.” Tally bites her lip and twirls a lock of hair around her finger. “Exactly.”