“What band?” she asks. I turn to look at her, just for a moment, because looking into her eyes. The sun is shining, warming up the place as we walk down, giving her hair a small halo when I step down before her.
Oh.
Yeah, this is why I’ve got a crush on her.
“Oh, they’re a tiny Canadian band. You wouldn’t know.” Her eyes narrow, and I think I could count every freckle and mole on her nose.
“Wait, are you talking about Les Forks?”
My jaw drops. “How do you know about them?”
She slaps my arm excitedly. “I saw them when I was back home for the summer! They played in a tiny little venue in Hamilton!”
The squeal I let out is involuntary. “No way, I saw them in London when I was hanging out with the Harringtons at their family farm! We went to Rock in the Park. They were so good, and they played Torched, which was phenomenal!” I gasp at the memory, the way the drums washed over me and the bass.
“You were hanging out with the Harringtons?” She raises an eyebrow. “Kenz and Blake?”
“Yeah! Who else? Kenz, Blake, and I went to the same high school. Whenever I play in Toronto, I try to connect with them for dinner, so we’re pretty close,” I shrug. I should let Kenz know that Melody and Ibroke up. I don’t think I’ve done that yet, although she’s probably already seen the rumours on Instagram if Melody has added anything to her account recently.
She nods. “But you guys hang out outside of the season?”
I nod. “Of course. Hockey is such a small world, and women’s hockey even more so.” I shrug, “Better to be friends off the ice than enemies, right?”
I bite my lip when I realize what I’ve said. She sighs. “I’m working on that thought process,” she mutters, “But yeah, I guess you’re right.”
We’re silent as we continue our adventure back to the cars. There are a few birds singing, and the wind rushes through, making the remaining leaves on the trees rustle. It’s the crisp air that has my soul singing. I’ve always been a fall person, and today is the epitome of why I love it so much.
“So, you like Les Forks too?” I ask when the silence is a bit too loud.
I catch a smile from the corner of my eye and have to smother my own. Her smile shouldn’t be this contagious. “Of course. Thanks for reminding me of their new album. I can’t wait for it.” Her smile is getting bigger. “I may play it loudly for Brynn at midnight as payback for this.” We’re a few hundred metres from the entrance of the hike and my knees shake at the thought.
“Play what for Brynn?” We hear her shout. I whip my head around and watch her come barrelling down the path.
“Run!” I shout, pulling ahead this time, grabbing Taylor with me. She shrieks as we rush, Brynn’s panting getting louder. A few other hikers stare at us running past. When we make it down without destroying our ankles on a divot, we nearly collapse into a heap by the car.
“Tay! Eloise! That was so mean!” Brynn pouts. “You left me all alone.”
“Well, you’re the rotten egg,” Taylor teases, “We had to get you back for this somehow.” Brynn crosses her arms.
“You did not,” She sticks her nose up in the air and pouts, “See if I buy you two coffee now.”
I let out a loud gasp in response. “You would dare do that to us?”
“You don’t deserve it,” Brynn says with closed eyes and red cheeks. Taylor playfully rolls her eyes, nudging Brynn. Their casual ease with each other is comforting, like that’s something I’ll be able to build with the Vortex.
“We all survived the hike, so I think we earned that coffee,” Taylor says,“Let’s get to Oatalicious; they’ve got some of the best brunch snacks.” Brynn huffs out a laugh but nods in agreement. Taylor’s eyes meet mine, and for a split second, it feels like they’ve softened when she looks at me. My heartbeat is thudding, and if it’s from the crush rather than exertion, I won’t tell.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you there?” I ask. Taylor nods before Brynn unlocks her car. I make myway back to mine, sitting in the driver’s seat but not starting the drive just yet.
This feels like a very positive turn of events. I can’t wait for the start of the season.
Fourteen
Taylor
So, apparently therapy is super important, and being able to talk to Marguerite has actually been super helpful.
I still haven’t been able to work myself up to apologizing to Eloise yet. I want to, but there’s something that’s still blocking me. Something I’m still mad about that I haven’t been able to unlock just yet. Marguerite has made a suggestion that’s on the lines of me being jealous of Eloise, but I pushed that aside. That makes no sense. I couldn’t be jealous of a woman that I’m now realizing I barely knew.
