She keeps hitting her puck.
“I want to let you know that if you want to talk about missing Rose, or anything else, and I meananythingelse, I’m here. A-and if you want to hang out outside of the rink, I’d be okay with that too—”Jeez Eloise,this is awkward. “I just mean, I think we can work really well together, and I think part of that has to be-- ”
“Can you just stop?” Her voice is tired, and she sounds on the verge of tears. “I don’t want to be your friend, I don’t want to be your co-worker, I don’t want to be your fucking teammate, and somehow I’m stuck with you!”
It echoes in the rink, and I blink as I process the words. Something cleaves my chest, and I wonder if this will finally allow me to break free from the crush I’ve been harbouringthis entire time.
She pants, ripping her helmet off. Her cheeks and nose are bright red, her freckles just barely visible. She glows with sweat, her eyes are wild, and my traitorous heart beats faster.
Damn her.
There’s no shaking this fucking crush.
“Look, I’m sorry you feel this way, but I think—”
“There is no thinking. I can’t stand being around you, and everything you do makes me want to rip my hair out!”Oh. “You need to leave here, get out of Vancouver, and stay the fuck away from me for the rest of my life. I just—”
“Eloise,” a solid, cold voice calls from the tunnel. I turn back and feel my cheeks burn when Brynn stares at the two of us. “Why don’t you go get dressed and meet with Coach and your agent in the boardroom? Theywant to talk to you.”
“I—”
She jerks her head behind her, and I can’t argue with her as I skate over. “Come for drinks with us tonight.” She gives me a smile as she tells me that, and there’s no way that I can say no. If this is the news, I’m expecting—cough cough… a contract—then I should get to know the team better.
“Sounds good,” I say, turning back to the ice where Taylor looks like she’s one wrong look away from dissolving into the ice. “Is she okay?”
“She will be,” Brynn smiles at me. “I’m sorry about what she said. She doesn’t speak for the rest of us, and we’re very excited to have you. But go; you don’t want to keep Lawson waiting!”
I try to bite my smile back to make sure Taylor doesn’t see me smiling and walk out. I don’t make it more than five feet into the tunnel when I hear Brynn starting to snap at Taylor and, while I feel bad, Brynn knows her and knows what she needs in order to be successful for the rest of the season.
I’m quick with my shower and make it to the board meeting in record time, where Annalise, my agent, sits with Coach Lawson, Coach Ross, a few higher ups in the Vortex organization and our media team: Fallon and Etta.
Annalise gives me a bright smile before pointing to the seat beside her, left open for me. There’s a stack of papers and a pen.
“Three-year deal,” she whispers in my ear when I sit down. I know this. It’s one of the best deals I’ve ever had. “You’re locked in and safe, but if you perform, they’ll re-up your contract before the second year is up. They’re just suggesting you don’t push Matthews too hard with the partnership early on and that you branch out. Management said that she’ll need some time to warm up to you.”
“I can handle that,” I say.
“Welcome to the Vancouver Vortex,” Ross says. She looks pleased; her eyes are smiling, and she’s got a small smile on her lips. “We’re excited to have you.”
“I’m excited to be here,” I say, looking at the contract.
This is it.
I sign this, and I’m set for the next few years.
I can’t turn this down even if I wanted to.
Seven
Taylor
The door closes loudly when Brynn turns to me, fuming. Can’t say I blame her. She’s been preaching about unity and working with others nicely since before I started playing on this team. I’ve basically gone against everything she’s said as a team captain.
If I were up for contract renewals, I think I would have been dropped immediately.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” she says harshly. It echoes off the boards, becoming a shame spiral in my brain. Everything is making me want to curl in on myself. “When some of the rookies mentioned you were warning them away from Eloise and trying to isolate her, I didn’t believe it. I nearly brushed it off. But this,” she holds her hands out, pointing to the centre ice where I was very close to pushing her to the ground. “This is insane.”
I gulp. I have no explanation.
