“Everyone wants a Stanley Cup, I think.”
I grin, loving how much he’s absorbing about hockey. “Correct. It’s the highest team achievement as far as most are concerned. However, unless Chicago can get their ass together next season and begin clawing their way to the top again, it’s just not going to happen. It’s been nine years since Chicago’s won. Nine years since we’ve even made it to the championship.”
“Wow.”
“It’s like a dark cloud formed over the team in 2017 and we haven’t been able to break free. We went from the top of the heap to the very bottom of the division. I’ve only been here for two non-consecutive seasons and that’s enough time to see that the team just isn’t gelling the way it should. I don’t know what needs to happen, but we’re a long way from what a championship team looks like.”
“I’ve heard gelling before. It means working together?”
I grin, my arms tightening a little. We haven’t moved from within the entryway, nor from each other’s arms as we talk.
“Yeah, it means that we find a rhythm that works really well together. If you think about poles on a magnet. In some orientations, they’re perfect pairs. But if you turn the sides of one around, they push apart, no matter how much you try to force them together.Notgelling is like the opposing ends of amagnet. They’re just not working, no matter how much you try to make it happen.”
“So you need a different magnet?”
“Uh… The magnet analogy works best when you’re talking about why people aren’t gelling. It doesn’t work quite as well when we explain why people do. I think it can be viewed as different personalities in general. Some people just click, right? Like you know right away that they’re your kind of person. On the ice, it can be the same way. Whether it’s personality, play style, or something else. Maybe just a vibe.”
“So swapping out still works in this scenario as an answer, then,” Arush points out.
“Yeah, okay. That’s fair. That’s easier said than done, though. It’s not just gelling. It’s skill, availability, pay. All kinds of things factor into it. You can have the twenty best players in the league on one team and they still might not win because they don’t work well as a single unit.”
“Huh.”
“I’m kind of hoping I’ll be traded again at the end of the season,” I confide. These words haven’t left my mouth before. I’ve barely allowed myself to think them.
“And go where? A winning team?”
A smile spreads across my face. “I mean, we all want to be members of a winning team, right? Honestly, I just don’t feel like Chicago is a good fit for me. Coming from Arizona, where the team is ateam, I can see and feel the stark contrast. I’d love to go back to Arizona, of course, but honestly, I’ll be happy anywhere that has that team feeling.”
“You move a lot,” Arush notes.
“I have the last few years, yeah.”
“Do you like that or not?”
I shrug. “It doesn’t actually matter much whether I like it. Habitually, I spend so much time attending to hockeycommitments that I rarely see the places I’ve lived in. During the offseason, I visit family and friends, so I’m not home much then either.”
He nods. “I’m glad you’re home now.”
I press my face into his neck. “I am too.”
“Even if it’s for a short while.”
“I’m not leaving the building tomorrow at all. Just me and you. All day.”
“I like that.”
Me too.
Eventually, we make it out of the hall and I unpack my suitcase while Arush sits on the edge of the bed and talks to me about what Ellie and Paul had to say this morning as they had tea together. He follows me into the bathroom and continues to talk to me while I take a shower. I’m not sure either of us even noticed my nakedness until I’m in the closet dressing. Then there’s a moment of silence when we both realize that I’m standing there with a towel around my waist.
Arush’s cheeks flush as he stares at me. I think he’s trying to keep his eyes on mine, but they keep drifting downward. He licks his lips and then backs out of the room.
I grin and quickly get into a fresh suit. There’s no point dressing comfortably to meet my friends when we’ll be heading for the arena directly from dinner.
All too soon, it’s time to go and I have Arush in my arms again. “I’ll be home soon,” I promise.
He nods. “I know.”
