Jameson (Face-Off 4)

“Sorry, but I don’t have any control over playing time, and either does my dad. He mostly handles the managerial stuff, not so much the coaching aspect of the game.”

On occasion, he’ll voice his opinion about particular players or make suggestions to the coach, but he likes to stay out of those decisions as much as possible. Micromanaging is not really one of his strong suits.

If I didn’t know she was Girard Spencer’s wife, I would’ve thought she was a puck bunny. Her tits are falling out of a low-cut black top, and she’s sporting a pair of super tight matching leggings and six inch heels. No sane person would wear shoes like that into a cold rink where they have to climb stairs and maneuver thousands of crazy fans. Here, I am, in a jersey down to my knees and jeans, while Candace is decked out as if she’s about to hit the club after the game.

I am always out of my element with a woman like her because I have no idea how to make small talk about hair and makeup and normal things girls chat about. I prefer the company of men.

I try my best to focus on Candace without missing too much of the beginning of the game when someone steps in front of me, blocking my line of sight.

“Regan,” she says, and before I glance up, I already know the woman standing in front of me just from her voice alone.

Peeling away from Candace, I hold onto my armrest and push myself up to a standing. “Coach, how the hell are you?”

Charlotte Coachman i

s at least six inches taller than my five feet two inches. She wraps her arms around me, the scent of her sweet perfume filling my nostrils. Like me, Coach is a sporty girl who hangs out with all men. She gets me. Women like Candace do not understand girls like us. I’m so happy to see Coach that I can’t stop smiling.

She’s a real Amazon woman, standing before me in Alex Parker’s hockey jersey and jeans, and a black pea coat.

“I had no idea you would be here tonight.”

She shrugs her coat off her shoulders and lays it over her arm. “I didn’t expect to get here on time. Mickey’s trying to land a big client, and I’ve had my hands full all week. Alex doesn’t even know I’m here.”

I glance to my right to get a better view of the Flyers’ bench and spot Alex staring in our direction as if he’s drawn to her presence. In some ways, I find it cute. But I could never date a player again. I have no idea how Coach manages athletes all day long at work and also fell in love with Alex Parker, of all people.

We take our seats and Coach sits next to me, waving to Candace and some of the girls in the row behind us. Not one for the girly girls, Coach usually avoids this section so she can watch the game in peace. Candace and the girls aren’t bad as long as you don’t mind spending most of the game explaining simple penalties and narrating the game.

“So, I heard you and Alex are getting married.”

With her attention on Alex, Coach smiles at him before she turns her head to face me. “Yeah, we decided to get married on July fifteenth. It’s John Parker’s birthday. The day means a lot to Alex.”

“The middle of the summer. That’s going to be a hot day. Do you have a venue picked out yet?”

Coach shakes her head. “No. Since the day is so special to us, I want it to be perfect, but I have no idea where to look.”

“You can always have it here,” I say, joking.

Coach glances around the event center, her eyes traveling over the ice before making her way up to the ceiling. “That’s not a bad idea. Do you guys rent this place out for weddings?”

I chuckle. “No, unfortunately, we don’t, but I’m sure an exception could be made for you and Alex.”

“Really?” Her eyes widen in shock. “Do you think your dad could convince the owner to let us have our wedding here? That would be amazing.”

I was joking when I offered the Wells Fargo Center as a location for her wedding, but now that I can see how much it would mean to Coach, I have to ask if it’s even possible. “Let me check our event calendar when I go upstairs, and if there’s nothing on the schedule for that day, I will go beg and plead for you.”

Over the years, Coach and I have become close. We have so much in common and can just shoot the shit that it makes it easy for us to talk for hours. But I don’t know much about her, apart from her love of sports. I always wanted to get together, but with our busy schedules, it’s hard to line up a time to meet. Neither of us has a regular routine for girls our age.

“That would be great. Thanks, Regan. Alex would love it if we got married on his father’s birthday and in a hockey rink, of all places. How cool would that be?”

“Oh, you want to get married on the ice? In the middle of July?”

She shrugs. “Not like it matters how hot or cold it is outside.”

“That’s true. You’ll go from sweating your ass off to freezing in no time.”

“I like the cold,” she says, her eyes focused on Alex as he skates past us. “And I already know Alex loves it. How cool would that be to have the tables for the reception in the middle of the rink?”

I give her a sideways look, unsure of how to respond. “Wouldn’t people fall on their asses? Then we’d be liable if something happened to them.”