I run a hand through my hair, floored. “You need to take some time to think about that.”
“I have thought about it.”
“So you want to get reassigned to another job? And not be together on the road anymore? How would that help anything?”
“I’m no one’s dirty little secret.”
I narrow my eyes, my anger rising. “That’s what you think you are to me?”
“You don’t want your kids to know. Or the team. You’re embarrassed by my age, and by what people will think.”
I open my mouth to deny it, but the words won’t come out. I won’t lie to her. There’s some truth to what she’s saying.
“Get out.” Her tone is icy.
I’ve never seen her like this. I knew that dinner was hard for her, too, but I wasn’t expecting this.
“Jules.”
“I said get out!”
Her voice breaks with emotion. Lead fills my stomach as I open the car and get out.
She drives away immediately, leaving me standing alone, the shock still not setting in.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jules
Two WeeksLater
It’sanother really bad day to have to show my face on camera. But I’ve gotten great at faking it.
When I started my job with the Crush, I was only behind the camera, making content about the players and staff. But Deb’s been wanting me to show my face, to show viewers—especially the female ones—that the Rules by Jules girl is also the Cleveland Crush girl.
She was right. Views and follows have skyrocketed in the week I’ve been showing my face. A lot of the comments are from men, and they’re about me rather than the content, but that’s part of the gig.
“Ready?” I ask Carter and Leo, who are standing beside me in the locker room.
“Let’s do it,” Carter says.
I press a button on my phone screen. “Hey everyone, it’s Jules, live from the locker room with Carter Stanton and LeoAbbott. We’re heading into tonight’s game with a five-game winning streak. Carter, how’s the team feeling?”
“Everybody’s feeling great. We’re in the zone and all of us just want to keep it going.”
“Last night, Magnus Lundgren got a hat trick,” I say. “Leo, how important has he become to the team?”
“Maggie fits in so well here. It’s like he’s been with us forever. He gives a hundred percent in every game, and he’s also a big help to the younger guys, like with mindset. We’re really lucky to have him.”
“And I heard we now have three hundred and sixteen hats to donate to charity, so bonus. Carter, what’s the most important thing that needs to happen for us to win a sixth consecutive game tonight?”
“Moisturizing, for sure. A beauty influencer has been teaching all of us about skincare, and we know how important moisture is now. So yeah, just a light a.m. serum and a p.m. product with retinol is what we’ve all been doing.”
I’m laughing before he even gets through the first half of it. “Okay, my worlds are colliding in a pretty spectacular way right now, thank you for that.”
He grins. “Consistency is super important tonight. We have to execute our plays the same way whether we’re winning or losing. Coach reminds us of that all the time. Always be hungry for a goal, but smart about getting it.”
An invisible dart pierces my chest at his mention of Noel’s name. We look through each other now, keeping everything professional and never talking outside of our quick pregame interviews. I thought it would get easier as time passed, but it hasn’t. He hasn’t shaved in several days, and I’m not proud of how much time I spend thinking about what his stubbled face would feel like on my thighs.
