Dear Roomie (Rookie Rebels #5) - Kate Meader Page 0,39

to see Coach Calhoun’s back leaving the locker room. He ran through the recent practice in his head. He’d acquitted himself well, might even have made a couple of the guys look like idiots, then spent extra time completing drills solo after everyone had come off the ice.

“What’ve you done, Duracell?” Theo Kershaw grinned the smile that launched a thousand Insta comments.

“Duracell?”

“Yeah, you’re like the Energizer buddy out there, but Duracell works better because of your name. Lots of energy to work off.”

“Needs a woman,” Erik Jorgenson said as he pulled at his pads. “If you had a woman to go home to nap with, you wouldn’t need to spend so much time doing extra, unnecessary drills.”

Reid had a woman. Or, he had a roommate who was hotter than the hinges of hell, which for a man who went sex-free during the season, was probably one of the worst ideas in the history of bad ideas.

Skimpy. White. Panties.

So now he was reduced to extra drills and long runs and cold showers for the duration of Kennedy’s stay with him. He had given her leave to treat his home as hers, and it would likely come back to bite him—or his dick—later.

He headed toward Coach’s office and knocked on the door. “Coach?”

“Come in.”

Coach Calhoun was a bear of a man, the kind of guy who didn’t suffer fools but had figured out how to be gruff without the asshole quotient. He was quick-tempered and hard to please, but as long as you put in the work, he left you alone.

“Good work out there today, Durand.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

“So did you ever play center coming up?”

“For a short while. I prefer the wing because I get more chances to score.”

Coach nodded thoughtfully. “A lot of guys do, but you’ve got a bit more going on. You’re a workhorse out there. Moving around a lot, never idle, figuring out the plays so you’re in the right place at the right time. That’s center instinct.”

Reid had enjoyed his brief time as center at college level, but Henri had encouraged—more like demanded—that he push for the switch because wingers usually scored more goals and generally didn’t need to be as strong on defense. Reid had downplayed his proficiency in the center of the rink and focused on his winger attributes. His favorite players had always been the centers, though. Gretzky, St. James, DuPre.

“Thing is, I have a problem here,” Coach went on when Reid didn’t say anything. “We’re kind of short on center talent. Jones’s arm is still not in the place it needs to be and Hunt might have to take time out for ankle surgery. Bond’s reliable but I need another player. I think you would work well on the front line with Foreman and Petrov.”

The dynamic duo, best friends forever, pinkie swears and all that. Reid wasn’t sure he wanted to be the meat in their winger sandwich.

Or maybe he wasn’t sure he was good enough.

“They have a bond already and I might interfere with their dynamic. Plus I like having the opportunity to score.” On the wing, that was all he needed to think about. One-track mind that ended in the net.

“Or you might make them stronger. Some of the legendary goal scorers have played center. Think Gretzy, Crosby, St. James. A guy with your work ethic is capable of filling a lot of holes for us. At practice tomorrow, I’d like to put you at center and see if it works. If it doesn’t, so what. We tried.”

Reid couldn’t say no to that. He had no control here, and sometimes … that was good. Sometimes it was better to have someone take charge and just put him where he needed to be. It was a small thing, but perhaps it would lead to a big thing. A bubble of excitement tickled his chest at the idea he might contribute in a way that no one had understood before. That someone might need him.

“You’re the coach, Coach.”

“That I am.” He turned to his computer, which meant Reid was dismissed.

Heading back to the locker room, he became alert to the sound of laughter and commotion and … barking?

Bucky!

Inside he found his dog holding court, surrounded by players who were acting as if royalty had come to visit. Kennedy sat on the bench in front of his cubby, the spot Reid had just vacated, alongside Mia with her Pom.

“Oh, there’s Daddy!” Kennedy smiled and Reid’s chest tightened. Bucky spotted him and bounded the short distance