Take Your Mind Off Her

Take Your Mind Off Her
Chapter 141 

Jett’s POV

I rolled my eyes at Logan’s comment, pushing my half-empty plate forward, before getting up and moving to meet the coach outside. 

I could feel a few of my teammates' eyes on me as I walked toward the door—alright, maybe it wasn’t ‘a few.’ I felt one particular stare burning into my back and turned to find Logan also watching me. 

I suppose everyone wanted to know why the coach called. 

I took a turn down the hallway, as it seemed the coach didn’t want to talk near the dining area, as he too knew there were a lot of other people waiting to eavesdrop.

Neither of us spoke as we walked. The hallway outside the dining area was colder than expected, though I didn’t know why. 

Coach Becker didn’t seem to mind. He walked ahead calmly, one hand tucked in his pocket, while the other carried his tablet loosely at his side. Probably one he had taken from his bag before singling me out.

Tsk. I already didn’t like him. 

Most coaches I’d dealt with barked orders within seconds of meeting a team, trying to establish dominance and gain respect immediately. Again, Becker didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t seem interested in doing any of that. 

If anything, he looked almost relaxed. 

That somehow felt worse… and uneasy. 

People who stayed calm all the time usually had something underneath it. 

Something dangerous. 

I mean, take me, for example. 

My jaw tightened slightly as I followed him into a corner near the overlooking section of the rink. Large glass windows stretched along the wall, giving a clear view of the ice. Some of the players who were done with their meal were already hanging around the rink, though I wasn’t certain they were allowed to practice since we had just eaten.

“I guess everyone is curious to know why I called the captain,” he said the moment he stopped, not even looking up from the tablet in his hands. 

My eyes narrowed slightly. 

“I suppose they can figure it out on their own,” I replied, looking him up and down. 

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I suppose they can.” 

I leaned back against the wall, folding my arms across my chest. “So are you going to get to the point of this, or are you going to keep me here for another two minutes?” 

That finally made him look up at me properly. For a second, silence stretched between us. And then, he huffed out a quiet laugh through his nose before holding the tablet out toward me. 

“Here,” he said. “Training schedule.”

I took it from him carefully, my eyes scanning over the screen. A list of locations immediately filled my vision.

Berlin. Munich. Hamburg. Frankfurt.

My brows furrowed deeper the longer I scrolled, my jaw ticking before I spoke. “What’s this?”

“Our practice schedule for the month.” Becker crossed his arms loosely. “You’ll rotate between training facilities depending on the week.”

I looked back down at the tablet. There were dates, hotel names, rink reservations, media sessions, and even public fucking appearances already booked for the team.

I let out a quiet scoff. “You’re moving us around this much before the game?”

“It’s standard.”

“No,” I corrected flatly, handing the tablet back to him with a half-annoyed, half-bored look. “It’s distracting.”

Becker took the tablet without reacting.

“The games are in a month,” I continued, trying and failing to hide the bite in my tone. “We should be staying in one place and focusing on practice.”

“We will practice.”

“You know what I mean.”

His expression remained annoyingly unreadable. “You’re not in college hockey anymore, Jett.”

Something about the way he said it immediately irritated me.

“This isn’t some tightly monitored school league where players get escorted from the rink to dorms every night,” Becker continued. “You guys are grown-ups now. Professionals. Adults.”

I stared at him quietly.

“You’re free to move around the country when you’re off the ice.”

“That sounds irresponsible.”

A small smirk appeared on his face again. “You sound old and grumpy.”

I felt my temples pulse slightly. “I sound realistic.”

“And I sound experienced.” He tilted his head slightly. “Relax, Captain. Your team won’t spontaneously combust because they visited another city.”

I didn’t return his amusement. Because unlike him, I knew exactly how dangerous distractions could become.

Yeah… I didn’t like this guy one bit. He was way too calm and carefree about this. 

"I'm not at all in support of this,” I told him. 

Becker studied me for a moment before sighing softly and placing both hands on my shoulders, earning a glare from me. “You take too much onto your shoulders.” 

“And you don’t take it seriously enough.” I narrowed my eyes on him. 

His eyes sharpened slightly at that, though the calm expression never fully left his face. 

A smirk pulled at my lips. 

Interesting. 

Maybe I’d struck something after all. 

“But I suppose I could ignore all that.” I blinked, pushing myself off the wall and making him take a step back. “I’m willing to give this idea of yours a chance.” 

Only because I didn’t have the strength to put up a fight, of course. I had other things weighing on my mind, so now I had to play along. 

Becker let out a scoff. “Like I would’ve let you stop me.” 

I tilted my head slightly. “Oh trust me, I can. But I won’t.” 

He let out a breathless laugh before turning to leave. “Whatever you say, kid.” 

I watched him, my eyes never leaving his bag as he walked away. As soon as he took a corner, I pulled out my phone and called Black. 

Sometimes I really found it hard to concentrate on this practice because I still couldn’t find her, and then sometimes I channeled all my anger into the fucking game, and I ended up bruising a few guys but winning all the same. 

Fuck, I’m so ruined. 

I walked toward the large glass window overlooking the rink, with my phone pressed to my ear as I waited for Black to answer. 

He finally did on the third ring. 

“Any updates?” I didn’t even wait for him to say anything before throwing the question at him. 

He paused for a moment, but I didn’t bother explaining further. He obviously knew what I meant. He sighed. “Unfortunately, no. We’re still looking.” 

My fist tightened into a ball as I felt something also tighten in my chest. “Find her Black.” I couldn’t stop myself from grinding the words out. “Fucking find her! I know you’re better than this, so why’s it taking you so fucking long?" 

“I’m trying, Jett.” Black sounded like he was equally frustrated. “I’m doing my best, and I will find her. But I suggest you take your mind off her for a while; maybe that’ll give me a bit of luck or however it works.” 

My grip tightened slightly around my phone as my nose flared. “You beating yourself up like this won’t make her magically appear, so I suggest you try to relax and take your mind off her and let me do my job.” 

"Oh, you know that’s not possible—”

“I know. But you can at least try, man. I know you can.” 

I took in a deep breath, my eyes following the players that were on the ice, before flicking to the ones putting on their skates. “Promise me you’ll keep looking for her and not lose hope or something.” 

He sighed once again. “Yeah. I promise.” 

I parted my lips to say something, but I ended up ending the call. 

All that had been on my mind these past few days was finding Kim and winning this fucking game.

My hand slowly slid off the glass window. I guess I have to only focus on one now. 

Who knows? Maybe Black was right.

Maybe if I try to stop thinking about her, then maybe she will show up. 

With that, I turned and headed down for practice—something to take my mind off her. And something to take out my anger and frustration. 

But it wasn’t working; if anything, it made me even more angry. 

So that evening… after my practice games… I headed to the bar.