Drake swings his leg to the right, his pad blocking the shot. Preston, quick on the ice, swoops in to retrieve the puck, balancing it on the edge of his stick before tapping it just enough to place it perfectly between Drake’s legs. Even with quick reflexes, Drake closes his thighs, about to drop to the ice, but Preston’s skill is effortless. The puck sails past Drake’s skate, and Coach Bryant blows the whistle.
Before we can celebrate our minor victory, Coach Bryant calls out, “Red puck,” pointing at the puck in the face-off circle to my right.
We repeat the same process several times, switching between the colored pucks. Sweat slides down my forehead and falls into my eyes. I blink a few times to clear my vision. My muscles burn from the pain, but I block it out and slap the puck with my stick.
Coach Bryant blows his whistle after we run through all the practice pucks. The next three-man team skates onto the ice to take our places.
“Hit the showers,” Coach Bryant says to us. I turn to skate off the ice, and he adds, “Tucker and Trent hang back for a second. I need to talk to you two.”
Preston exits the rink as the other players take their places on the ice. Coach blows his whistle, telling them to begin as he slips between Tucker and me. He rests his hand on each of our shoulders.
“One more game, and you’ll be back on the ice with the team,” he tells us.
I remove my mouthguard. “I’m ready, Coach. We both are.”
“Look, I know something is going on with you guys. If you need to talk, you can come to me. I’m here for you no matter what.”
I raise a curious eyebrow at him. “Nothing is going on with us.”
Does he think we’re on drugs or something? He’s never acted this way with us before.
He cocks his head at Tucker. “Are you sure? Because I can usually count on you two, and lately?—”
“I need help with a class,” Tucker confesses because it’s true.
Coach nods. “Do you need a tutor? If you do, I can have Dean Whittaker arrange one for you.”
He shakes his head. “Nah, I can figure it out. I need to spend more time studying.”
Our suspension has already raised suspicions within the league. Everyone wants to know why the Kane twins are out for “academic” reasons. People can speculate as much as they want because we’ll be back in the game next weekend.
Coach squeezes our shoulders. “Hit the showers, boys.”
We skate off the ice and head toward the locker room.
“You better have a plan,” I say to Tucker.
“You know me.” He takes out his mouthguard and grins. “I got it covered, baby bro.”
Tucker is two minutes older than me and never lets me forget it.
“Then act like it. I’m sick of cleaning up your messes.”
Once inside the locker room, Preston stops by our lockers with a towel around his waist, his hair wet from the shower. “You guys heading over to the carnival later? A few of us are going.”
I shrug. “Depends. Who’s going?”
“Bex wants to go. I think she’s bringing her friend, Taylor.”
Even though he refuses to admit it, Drake has a massive crush on Taylor Bradshaw. Bex Bryant is Coach Bryant’s only daughter and a basketball player at Strickland University. Taylor is her roommate and teammate.
A smirk crosses Tucker’s lips.“Is she bringing anyone for me?”
Preston opens his locker and drops his towel over the top of it. “Doubt it. You’ll have your pick of girls in the Quad.”
I already have my sights on one girl in particular. Last weekend, I told Jemma I wanted another kiss from her and plan to make good on that promise.
Chapter Eight
