Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE
NASH
It’s happening again.
My teammates hate me. Coach Harrison’s suicide drill has the desired result, and people start going down like flies.
Davis is the first one to vomit all over the blue line after his fifteenth run. “Fuck.” He groans, sputtering with his hands on his bent knees and his head between his thighs. “Now I’ll have to clean everyone’s vomit. Thanks for this, asshat.”
I flinch at his death glare. I could point out that Colsen was the one who started the fight that got us all punished. But it’s more than clear that the team is blaming me.
Maybe I should be mad at my teammates, but it isn’t hard to understand why I’m the scapegoat. These guys have been playing with Colsen for years. I’m the new guy. So it’s obvious that in a fight they’ll back the one who’s still a stranger.
“If you’re sick, try to do it in the trash cans.” Coach Harrison is smiling like a lunatic as he points out the trash cans he had his assistant coach line up in the middle of the rink. “We don’t want to leave too much of a mess for Davis to clean.”
Some of the guys chuckle under their breath, but it’s only a matter of time before more people begin to feel sick.
This would be a strenuous drill even if it didn’t come when we were almost at the end of today’s practice.
Everyone was already getting tired, and skating back and forth at high speed was the last thing we needed.
“Jeez, watch out.” Someone rams into me, sending me crashing against one of the trash cans.
I go down like a sack of potatoes and smack my face on the ice.
I don’t know who has ever experienced falling face first on ice, but I don’t recommend it. I give it zero stars.
For a second, I can barely move as pain shoots from the bottom of my chin all the way up my skull.
My teeth hurt too, and I hope I haven’t cracked or loosened any with the impact.
When the pain goes down to the point that I can at least breathe, I scramble to my knees. That’s when I see my teammates’ skates.
Most of the guys are standing in a circle, looking at me.
The pain is so intense that I don’t even attempt to look up at their faces. Thankfully, my helmet protected my head, but it’s my mouth that hurts the most.
The metallic flavor I taste tells me that the liquid filling my mouth is mostly blood.
I spit and blood mixed with saliva lands on the ice in front of me. My tongue hurts like hell, so my guess is that I bit my tongue when I fell.
“Jesus Fuck. You’re bleeding.” Tucker’s voice reaches me from behind me.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Before I can turn to glare at him, I hear him hurl.
My teammates scatter as a chorus of disgusted groans echo in the ice rink.
When I turn around, Tucker is still retching all over his skates.
“Prescott!” Coach barks, skating toward us but stopping at a safe distance. “I thought I just said to puke in the fucking trash cans.”
Tucker tries to apologize in between puking bouts.
“Goddam,” Coach’s nose twitches as the acrid smell of vomit begins to fill the air. “I’ve always thought you were one of the fittest guys on the team. I guess I was wrong.”
Tucker wipes his mouth with the back of his glove, his chest still rising and falling with each labored breath as he tries to compose himself.
“I doubt he puked because of the drill.” Mack intervenes, pointing at the blood that came out of my mouth. “Tucker is really sensitive to blood. He can’t take it. Even a paper cut has him turning as white as a ghost.”
“I swear to God,” Coach shakes his head. “You snowflakes never cease to surprise me. Grow a fucking pair, Prescott.”
Coach Harrison looks around at my teammates. They’re mostly trying to catch their breath.
“Ok. I guess we can call it a day. You should all thank your teammates for making such a mess that continuing to skate would be a little hazardous. Davis, you were the first who puked. You get the honor of helping the maintenance team with cleanup. Thomas,” he says to Colsen.
“Since you started the fight that caused the extra drill, you can help your teammate.”
Colsen’s expression is dark, but he doesn’t argue with the punishment. “Yes, sir.”
“And you.” Coach looks at me with a mixture of anger and disgust on his face. “Go and get that cut checked out by the team’s doctor. And the fact that you might need a couple of stitches is the only reason why I’m not making you join the cleaning crew. Am I being clear”
“Yes, sir.” I manage to say around another mouthful of blood.
Coach looks at Tucker and Mack. “You two go with him. And Belkin, Thomas, whatever the problem is between the two of you, I expect you to sort it out before Friday’s game.
I won’t tolerate my players fighting with each other during games or practice.
You don’t have to be best friends in your personal life, but pull another of these stunts on my ice and I promise you, you’re going to wish you had never seen a puck. Now get out of my face.”
After a quick stop in the locker room to swap our skates for regular shoes, we start down the hallway that leads to the therapy room in the practice rink building.
I can practically feel my teammates’ stares burning holes in the sides of my head, so I stop walking. “What?” I bark. “You two are mad at me too?”
TUCKER
“Maybe Col’s way of addressing the problem was a little intense and he could have definitely picked his timing a lot better, but I’m on the same page as him.
” I bite out, my gaze focused on Nash’s chest because if I see the blood that’s starting to congeal on his lower face, I’m gonna be sick all over again.
“Are you for real?” Nash raises his voice. “Are you mad that I’m walking out of this twisted competition to date Taryn? I seriously don’t get you guys. If anything, you should be happy to have only each other to worry about. But if you ask me, you’re both fools.”
The last expletive makes me win my reluctance to look the asshole in the eye. “Really? And why is that?”
Nash rolls his eyes. “If I have to explain it to you, you’re even slower than I thought. If fighting for the same girl’s attention with your best friend wasn’t stupid enough, are you really going to risk being benched and getting her kicked out of camp for a fifty-fifty shot at being with her?”
“Taryn is worth it.” I snap. “And we decided that she doesn’t have to choose between me and Col. Not that it’s any of your business, Belkin.”
His head rears back as if I had hit him. “She doesn’t have to choose? What does that even mean? Are you going to what? Share her?”
“We’re both going to be with her. We talked about it and she’s happy.” I shrug.
That tidbit of information seems to make Nash more agitated rather than calming him down.
“So this is what you were doing in that office at the club on the night of your birthday party? You were tag teaming her? What’s gonna happen when you get bored with threesomes?
If you really cared about Taryn, you wouldn’t offer a threesome deal.
You’d walk away and let her have a shot at making the team. ”
It hits me that maybe we’ve all underestimated Nash and his feelings for Taryn. Maybe he isn’t walking away just because he’s jealous and he doesn’t want to get in trouble with Coach. Maybe he’s distancing himself because he cares.
If you love someone, set them free.
I’ve heard that saying many times. But I don’t like it. You set someone free if that’s what they want. But Taryn didn’t want that. She was prepared to walk away if that was what Colsen and I wanted.
“Look,” the fury of a few moments ago dissipates. “We spoke to her. Each of us was completely honest. She didn’t want to break things off, but she would have for our sake. And we felt the same way.”
Nash barks out a sardonic laugh, but winces in pain and presses the spot under his chin with the heel of his hand.
Thank fuck the bleeding has stopped, or since I lost the contents of my stomach on the ice, I would pass out if I saw more blood.
“So what are you gonna do? You both keep dating her and hope you don’t get caught?”
I clench my fists. “For now. Like Col said, once camp is over, we’ll be back living at the Gamma house. And Taryn will find a place in town. It’ll be easier to keep things private.”
Nash’s scowl doesn’t budge. “So she’s gonna be your dirty little secret?
Star Cove is a small town. You won’t be able to take her out on a date without getting caught.
Everyone knows the Cove Knights, and soon everyone will know the Shooting Stars.
They already do if people are watching the reality show. ”
I hadn’t thought about all that. “Maybe we’ll have to sacrifice until the end of the season.
By then we’ll be headed to our NHL teams so even if Taryn stayed with the Shooting Stars for another year, it wouldn’t matter.
The no fraternization clause applies to the Cove Knights, not to every hockey player in the country. ”
My words hit their intended target. Nash looks deep in thought for a few seconds, and we walk to the doctor’s office in silence.
The door is closed. It looks like there’s another patient before us.
“Think about it, Belkin.” I make sure to keep my voice low.
“And what?” He looks at me as if I were insane. “Be one of her brother husbands?”
I chuckle at his bewildered expression. “You make it sound like a cult. And maybe you’re right. Taryn is a goddess, if you ask me. But no, seriously. For some reason, she cares about you. And when you aren’t hell-bent on being a possessive douche, you’re more than alright.”
“Gee, thanks.” He snorts, wincing again and touching the bottom of his chin. “I don’t get it, Tucker. You should be happy that if I’m out of the picture.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m happy if Taryn is happy. So take a good look in the mirror and decide if she’s worth fighting for. If not, you don’t get the right to be mad at her or to make her feel bad for choosing us.”