<>hayes pov<>
i walked into the arena with tanner.
after our last scrimmage of the preseason, i dont see the season going well, we won 2 of 4 games just barely.
now we have team building week.
i walked into the meeting room and saw a bunch of stuff.
from canvases & paint to board games, bandanas, & a pile of junk.
"oh my." i whispered to myself.
i signed up to play hockey, not to have a bestie day with the guys.
we all moved from home at 17, 18, and 19 years old to play hockey in this small ass town in the middle of nowhere texas.
i found an empty chair and started talking to some of the guys near me.
"dude what are we doing?" i asked.
"you're the captain, i figured you would know." chipper said.
tommer laughed, "why are there paints over there? im not a fucking artist."
"dude this doesn't look like hockey. i didn't move to texas to have arts & crafts time." shep said.
"okay guys."
we all turned to see coach lexington, standing in the front of the room.
"im sure after a rough week of scrimmages & traveling & being new to this texas weather, you guys want a calm week. so welcome to team week. we will be having team building activities like a blindfolded maze, a scavenger hunt, board games, eat food, but today we will be having a painting class." he announced.
i wanted to roll my eyes but i dont want to get on his bad side.
"sunny is supposed to be here but i guess shes running a little late. im going to go find her, everyone go ahead and grab a canvas, paints and easel."
we all got up and walked over to the table, filled with art supplies.
when i returned back to my table, the door opened and in she walked.
the girl from the game.
my mouth hung open, in shock.
she strutted in wearing floral pants, a coral tank top, & birkenstocks, her hair in braids with a headband.
"um, is she his daughter?" a teammate whispered to me.
"lord i hope not." i said.
i took a seat and she hugged coach.
oh my.
i cant be in love with the coaches daughter.
they stood and watched us until everyone was seated again.
"this is my daughter, sunny."
coach lexingtons, the owner of the dalmatians and head coachs, daughter.
not only a coachs daughter but also the owners daughter.
"hey yall."
oh the southern accent.
"i have to go make some plans, but ill be in my office across the way if you guys need me. the coaches & i will be checking in periodically."
coach turned and looked at her, "you good?"
"i got this." they high fived before he left.
she turned and looked at the group of us.
just us & 2 media workers who are getting content for the team's social media.
"so before we dive into this, we're going to have a good little first day of school moment and you'll tell me your nickname, because the papers have your names on them but i know yall have nicknames, and something cool about you, but dont be like im from minnesota because half of yall are."
we went around the room, staying our names and we laughed at some of our interesting facts about ourselves.
"im hayes morgan, the boys call me morgy and im allergic to cats."
she gave me full eye contact while i was speaking and i could look into those blue eyes for days.
when her eyes let me and moved onto my teammates, i felt empty.
"great, now whose ready to get started?" she asked.
"wait, tell us something about yourself." tommer said.
"oh thats my bad. im sunny, im coach lexingtons oldest and ive been doing art my whole life."
"nope we need something interesting. same rules." i said.
"what else do you want to know?"
i smirked, "something fun."
"i won the state art contest last year."
"see, thats cool." i said and the boys started clapping.
this girls about to tecah us something im not interested in, but fuck it.
paint me happy sunny lexington.
her name fits her perfectly.
she laughed, "okay okay, thank you. were going to get started now. so you guys are all at host homes so we are painting a piece for your billet families. something that they can keep hung up forever and the idea is that we do this in the coming years for the families to keep."
"what if theirs 2 of us at the same house? can we rock paper scissors on who has to do it?" reed asked.
she sighed, "bro were 3 minutes into this and you're already making me want to quit. you have too, its called team building for a reason. just act like you want to be here, please." she joked.
i could tell she was over this already, but shes funny.
she showed us what to do, by demonstrating on her own canvas, plus the vase & flowers we are painting was already sketched out on the canvas, we just had to fill in the lines with paint.
she was walking around towards the end, making sure we didn't need anything.
she gasped, "have you painted before?" she asked chipper.
"no."
"dude thats so good. oh my god, i think we found your hidden talent!"
chipper smiled and laughed.
"thank you."
she walked to the next table, where izzy & shep are.
i could see sheps canvas, well im sure the whole team can due to where he is sitting.
she stood behind him with her mouth open.
he turned and looked at her, "do you have a question?"
"i have several questions actually." she said with a slight laugh making the team chuckle. "but i dont know where to start so im just going to walk away."
she shook her head and walked to the next table, helping them out.
as she walked to me i wanted to mess up my canvas or ask her a million questions just so i could hear her talk.
she took one look at my plate and grabbed it. "did you eat your yellow paint?"
"no." i shook my head.
she looked at the plate and then at me, "so where is it?" she asked, walking away.
her eyes. they're not just blue, they are a piercing blue.
"where are you taking that?"
"to get you more yellow paint. we're painting a sunflower next." she clarified.
she returned with more yellow paint, "thank you."
"what happened to your yellow paint?" she asked again.
"i ran out of green so i mixed."
"you could of asked." she said.
"i was scared." i admitted and the guys made the oh sound.
she rolled her eyes, "are you scared of my dad? because im not him so theres no reason to be scared to ask for paint."
she moved on to the next table as my teammates laughed.
she struts around the room in her floral pants with no shoes on.
godly.
she seemed to dismiss my teammates eyes on her as she helped them out with their canvases.
for the rest of class she kept the guys attention with her jokes and funny personality.
we left our canvases in the room and coach said we could have 30 minutes of games on the ice with no gear on.
he's introduced a few games to us that we like.
as i walked from the bench back to my lockerroom to put my phone up that was in my pocket, i noticed sunny walking down the hallway.
shes leaving.
i wonder of she can skate & play hockey.
"thank you sunny." i said.
she turned around, "you're welcome hayes, have fun at practice this week & welcome to texas."
she said before walking off.
she knows my name, well she remembers my name.
she just met 22 hockey players, yet she remembers my name.
i wanted to somehow keep the conversation going but i dont know where her dad is and i dont know what to say.
im sure ill see her again, but i want her now.
i want my teammates eyes off her.
i want her laughter to be from something i said.
and i want to hear her southern accent more.
oh sunny lexington,
not even a month here and my focus is shifting from hockey to the coaches daughter.