“I appreciate the apology, Brody. We’re both mature enough to recognize there was a lot happening that night. Emotions are always magnified when intimacy is involved. I know we didn’t have sex but?—”
“We may as well have,” I finish for her. A faint blush sits on her cheeks, and she gives me a nod.
“Exactly. Tensions were high. You were worried about your player. It sucked in the moment, but I’m not mad. Not anymore. That was a lifetime ago.”
“It was.” I nod. “But you can still be mad at me. For what it’s worth, I’m still mad at myself. And I’m going to work to earn your trust back.”
Hannah’s lips twitch. She leans back, getting comfortable with one leg draped over the other. “Tell me about your daughter.”
A switch in conversation. Good. This is good. Easier to process, easier to talk about.
“Olivia. She’s fourteen, and she skates every day but Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.” I pause, wanting to ask Hannah how she’s been. If she came to any of the games last season and if I could’ve spotted her when I glanced out in the crowd. I never let myself look. “Two hours every afternoon,except for Fridays and Sundays when she puts in four hours.” I rub my hands over my joggers and clear my throat. “You don’t have to agree to this. Spending hours skating with a teenager is?—”
“I spend hours skating as it is. Adding someone else to the mix would make it more fun. Does Olivia do the short program? Pairs?”
“Short program. She has the Potomac Memorial Open on her calendar, which is in?—”
“Virginia, next August. This is a regional event. The next level is sectional championships, then the U.S. Championships.” She takes a bite of her pizza. “I’m guessing she’s a Novice? A Junior? Wait. Maybe she’s an Intermediate? Is the Potomac Memorial her first big event?”
“No. She’s done…” I fumble with my phone, scrolling through the photos I have of Olivia in her skating outfits. Her on the ice, head dropped back and caught mid-spin. There are so many questions. “She did the Cranberry Open last year as an Intermediate.”
“Good for her. I like people who are ambitious and not afraid to dream big.” She smiles and takes my phone from me, zooming in on the photo. “She has good footwork.”
“You can tell that from a picture?”
“I’ve been doing this for twenty years, Brody. Could you tell if a guy has good footwork from a photo?”
“Yeah,” I admit, and her smile grows. “Easily.”
“Look at us. We’re two peas in a pod.” Hannah hands back my phone and finishes her pizza. “I’m more than happy to coach Olivia. It’ll be a learning curve as far as instructional foundations go, but I’m willing to put in the work to get it right.”
“I’ve been coaching for over a decade. Sometimes I still can’t get it right.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“Life is bleak, then you die.”
Her laugh is loud and bright. It’s a full-body thing, with a scrunched nose and little wrinkles around her eyes. Whatever higher power I’ve been bartering with to make sure I’m not still attracted to her really saidfuck you, because even with the snort she lets out, she’s absolutely fucking beautiful.
“One way to look at it.” She chuckles again. “Since we’re on the topic of coaching, I wanted to run an idea by you.”
“Okay.” I lean forward. “What’s up?”
“Skating has lost its magic for me.” Her smile fades. Her unhappiness is a punch to the gut. “It’s a chore these days, not something I love. I met up with Grant the other night, and he threw out a suggestion I think might help me. I was wondering if you would help me approach skating in a new way.”
“I’m not following.”
“Couldyoucoachme? Run drills with me? I want to spend less time on Axels and jumps and more time going back to the basics of skating. The Stars are consistently one of the best teams in the league. Their fundamentals are good, and that’s because you’re the one coaching them.”
“Wait a second.” I frown, confused as hell. “I don’t know shit about figure skating. That’s why I’m hiring you to work with Olivia.”
“You know everything aboutskating. I’ve seen your old tapes. You used to fly across the ice. Your edge work was incredible.”
“Not so much now. I’m old and slow.” I touch the collection of friendship bracelets on my wrist. I wear them all the time, liking that I have Olivia with me wherever I go. Making her happy is my biggest priority. It’s myonlypriority, and while I’m not sure how I’m supposed to help Hannah, I’ll do it if it means Olivia gets what she wants. “I’m not sure what kind of coaching I can give you. Between practices and traveling forgames and different time zones and being a parent, my free time is extremely limited.”
“Could you do two hours a week?”
I don’t know if I have two hours anywhere in my days to add in more to my workload, but all I can hear is the plea in Hannah’s voice. The desperate weight of her gaze and how she scoots to the edge of her chair, waiting with anticipation.
