Out here on the ice, the only thing that mattered was Charlie’s ability to shoot on goal or keep the puck in play enough for one of her teammates to score. The Finnish players were ruthless, and though Canada had the lead, they were constantly on defense.
That was about to change.
Charlie rolled her neck as she waited behind the captain for the puck to drop. Captain Fensworth quickly won the faceoff and passed the puck to Charlie, who began driving the play forward to Finland’s net.
She passed swiftly to Tam, and with the Finnish goalie distracted by Charlie’s fake-out, Melissa was able to score again.
Cheers and hollers filled the stadium, and Charlie did a victory skate to her teammates. Two-goal lead was not bad against one of the better teams.
The rest of the game proceeded smoothly, and while Finland pushed them, they were unsuccessful in beating Team Canada.
It was a joyous victory, and the entire team was giggly when they entered the locker room after the cordial handshakes with the opposing team.
Charlie wasted no time removing their sweaty gear and checking their phone. A few texts from Olive came in, including a bunch of cheering emojis sent a few minutes ago.
Charlie sent back her thanks and put away her phone, not before Fensworth noticed.
“You good there, Lajoie? You seem extra perky, even for you,” she said.
“Yep, just congratulations from my family. Big day.”
She nodded, but Plaker, who was changing next to Charlie, shook her head at Charlie’s obvious lie.
“When’s the wedding?” Heather asked.
It was clearly a joke, but the wordsweddingandCharlie Lajoiewere not, ever, grouped together in people’s minds. All locker room chatter stopped as every player turned to look curiously at Charlie.
Unable to respond, Charlie could only blush. She had never blushed harder in her life, and she’d had some very embarrassing moments.
“Shut up,” she said, shoving Plaker lightly. She whacked her towel at the player for emphasis too, and Heather screamed in horror.
“Gross!” she screeched, and the rest of the team laughed. The moment passed as everyone continued changing and getting ready to shower.
“Why would you say that?” Charlie finally groaned to Heather now that the attention was off them.
“Oh, c’mon. You should see the look on your face. It’s priceless. No wonder Fensworth asked you. Anyone with eyes can see that you’re so whipped.”
Charlie sighed but didn’t disagree. Itwasbad, the way her mood was now dependent on this other person.
Now she understood why her father was so against her dating. Perhaps he thought that Charlie only had room for one obsession in her life. He probably wasn’t too far off, in a way, but Charlie would never admit that to him. She was starting to think that even if this was the case, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have other interests. She was nearing thirty soon, which was retirement age for many hockey players. Her teammates on the Toronto Succubi were planning children and futures andlivesand she was here still.
At the hockey rink.
“You okay there?” It was Fensworth again, wet hair from a post-game shower.
Charlie looked around the room and noticed everyone had mostly cleared out by then. She’d been too caught up in her own thoughts to notice.
“Yes, just going to shower back at my room.”
Alicia nodded. “You should. This is only the beginning. Can’t be slacking on us now, Lajoie.”
“I’d never dream of it.”
The response must’ve seemed more serious than anticipated, because the captain’s smile faltered for a moment before it was back on.
“Are you sure you’re good? Their chirping get to you?”
It wasn’t clear whether Alicia meant their rivals or their teammates, but Charlie shook her head anyway. She could handle a little chirp. It was just that the chirps weren’t necessarily wrong.
