Page 55 (1/2)

“Fuck this practice, man,” Dane says as he laces up his skates

We got in froive us today off But here we are, putting in both a practice and a weight-lifting session

Dane’s face is drawn and he has purple circles under his eyes He looks exhausted, and I don’t think it’s from our road trip

“Hey, you good?” I ask him

“Yep”

He meets my eyes and nods Dane is secretive I don’t think anyone but Alexei knows anything about his personal life, and Alexei has never said anything beyond tellingon I don’t pry, but I try to let Dane know I’m here if he ever needs a friend

“I need some pussy,” Pike says as we ht?”

“I ston Bryant “If I can get a nap first”

“Yeah, get your rest, princess,” Pike says “Anyone else?”

No one speaks up, and Pike scoffs

“Boys, we’re in the city of sin Quit acting like a bunch of grandmas”

Everyone ignores hi We all work our asses off to stay strong and focused, and a lot of us are past the partying phase in life I like going out occasionally, but not all the time like Pike does

After skating a few laps, we start doing drills Coach hasn’t let up since we started winningus even harder We’re now on the receiving end of national newsmore interviews than I’ve ever had to do I don’t really ether for our team

“Pike Morgan!” an intern orks in the front office calls out “I need to see Pike Morgan, Coach”

The intern’s naraduate with a degree in sports ement We all uy He’s standing on the concrete area at the end of the rink with a woman who doesn’t look much older than he is

“During practice?” Coach calls out to Shawn, throwing his arms in the air

“Sorry, Coach,” Shawn says

“Morgan, get your ass over there!” Coach yells “The rest of you, you can either put oddamn day The choice is yours”

Coach is extra surly today The rest of the tiuy Especially now that we’re not the worst tea fired right after relocating his faas