Challenge Accepted

3, and your name is?

BOSSY

"You asking around about me or something? How'd know I like a good mosh pit?" He grins down at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

I want to take a step back to put some space between us, but I'm not about to look intimidated.

"Don't flatter yourself, I don't ask around about anyone." I shoot back. "The way you handle yourself on the ice, it's exactly the same way one would handle themselves in a mosh pit."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

I roll my eyes with a scoff and turn my back on him. Why should I even waste my time on him?

But I hear him following close behind me.

"Come on, don't back down now." He says as he blocks me from going any further. "You started this so now finish it."

"Finish what?"

"Finish talking about how much you hate the new enforcer. Come on, give it to me."

This guy is just looking for a fight. He wants me to get mad at him, he wants to get on my nerves. The same way he keeps going for Fulton. He knows that we're the two that are going to fight back.

So I'm just going to lay out the facts.

"You have no idea what you're doing out there. I've watched you play once and I can see it clear as day. Once that puck drops there's not one thought that goes through your brain. You roam around on the ice, aimlessly, with absolutely no strategy just looking for something to hit, getting in everyone's way." I explain, holding a scowl on my face the entire time.

"Guess what, that's my job as an enforcer." He counters.

"Including your own teams. Give any NFL player a stick and some skates and they can do what you do-"

"But can they do it while putting on a show?" He takes my own stick from me and props it up to his mouth like a microphone.

It takes everything in me to stay calm and not break the stick over his head. But I can't lose my temper this early. He'd only love that. This is all just some big game to him.

I yank my stick from his grip.

"Put on a show, huh? Let me remind you that while we're in California, we're there for the Goodwill Games. That's a long way from the movies and the music videos in Hollywood."

He nods with a cheeky laugh. "Whatever you say, babe."

Babe?

Screw holding my temper.

Before he even has a second to blink, I have him pinned up against the boards with my hockey stick across his chest. His eyes are almost popping out of his head from the shock of the sudden force.

No one ever expects me to be this strong.

It's the beauty of having a temper. With it comes the ability to break bones.

I press the stick down on his chest even harder to make sure the message is clear.

"Don't call me babe."

I can see the initial shock wear off and his face falls into that annoying smirk again, so before he can say one more obnoxious word, I spin around and go to find Connie.

If she thought I was ranting earlier, just wait until she hears me now.

***

After the break, Coach has us back on the ice and seems pretty enthusiastic about a team building exercise he has planned for us.

We all get pretty scared when he asks Dwayne to get his rope from his duffel bag.

What is that guy doing carrying around rope anyway?

Coach then ties the entire group together in the middle of the rink. The only time I like being in contact with people is when I'm slamming them to the ground and now here I am with Four Eyes Averman breathing down my neck.

"This is a sick joke!" I mutter. "Four Eyes, do you mind breathing with your mouth closed? You're creating a draft."

"I have asthma!" Averman exclaims.

"Ughhhhh I smell something." Guy scrunches up his nose.

And then the smell hits us all. "Goldberg!" We all shout at him.

The goalie rolls his eyes. "It wasn't me."

"I'll bet." I reach over and hit him on the back of the head.

"No, it was me!" The enforcer from hell raises his fists in the air like he deserves some kind of medal.

He's disgusting.

Coach shuts us all up with his whistle.

"I don't know how to make this any clearer. You are a team. And to win this thing, you have to work as one. Now as one, skate!"

Instantly, we all go to skate and just as quickly, the whole team comes tumbling down.

Coach scoffs. "Everyone goes their own way, everyone falls down. Now get up and try it again."

We scramble back into formation and this time, I'm not in the mood to fall down again, so I decide to take control.

"Okay, everyone skate to your right, now!" I demand.

People start shuffling and I think we're about to get somewhere until the loud mouth himself decides to challenge me.

"Who made you boss?" He nudges my shoulder.

"Me! I made me boss. I'm always the boss. That's how I got my name." I answer quickly and irritably.

"And your name is?"

He stares at me with a suggestive grin on his face.

I want to fall into a hole.

I look around at my teammates and they're all holding back giggles and trying to hide their smiles once they've realized what's going on. It's usually me humiliating them, they love that the shoe's on the other foot now.

"Oooooooohhhh" I hear Averman and Goldberg humming.

I turn my glare back to the enforcer, who's still waiting for an answer.

"Bossy." I reluctantly tell him.

He chuckles to himself and nods. "I like it."

The whole team isn't even hiding their fondness for the situation at hand anymore. All the guys are wiggling their brows at me and humming under their breathes. Connie and Julie are both smiling with their mouths open, shocked at how forward this new guy is being.

To break the silence, the Chicago enforcer announces, "Now all of you, to your left, go!"

He starts tugging the team in his direction. There is no way in hell after that stunt that I'm letting this guy win.

"No, right!" I shout over him, pulling as hard as I can the opposite way, yanking Averman and Ken along with me. The enforcer continues to pull from his side and once again, down we go.

Coach reveals that we're not being untied until we find a way to work together.

So that's what we do.

It takes a while, but eventually we put all the bickering aside and start communicating with each other. Everyone decides collectively to not listen to me or Portman, we'll only clash for power.

One day in and this guy has already got my team working against me?

Me and him are not going to be allies.