“Eloise, Mindy won’t let that go to print. She’ll stop it, especially after this. I’m not worried,” I say. If I say it a few more times, I think that I’ll believe it.
Eloise narrows her dark brown eyes at me before she turns to Annalise. “Can we leave? We have dinner plans with Kenz.”
It’s a quick nod. “Yeah, and seriously, don’t worry. Mindy and I will make sure everything stays under wraps.”
Eloise nods, pulling my hand away with her. I wave, still feeling a bit stunned at the whole interaction. I’m silent until we get into the elevator and turn to her. “I don’t…“
“He’s a prick; he’s always been a prick. I hated talking with him in Calgary, and I hated talking with him now.” She avoids looking me in the eye. “And he has no right to say anything like that to you, me or about us. Pulling someone’s sexuality into question in the public light is damaging for everyone.”
I bite my bottom lip, my heart like a drum against my ribcage, begging to break free. I can see the set line of her jaw, the way her pulse jumps as she’s trying to take deep breaths. “So, you’re not mad that we—?”
She turns her head, a dark eyebrow raised as our eyes connect. I’m lost in the pool of brown, usually light and warm like a summer’s day, but today dark andseductive, as if she could pull me into her soul with the anger that’s evident in the way she’s holding herself and the tone of her voice. “That we, what?”
I swallow tightly. “That we’re being connected in a—well, he’s reaching, he wants a sound bite, anything to confirm that we’re romantic. He wants a story.”
She rolls her eyes, giggling a little before she catches that I’m not laughing with her and sobers up. “No, of course not. It’s flattering that they think I could woo you into being in a relationship with me.” Her smile is small, quirked up at the side, and something about the way her words wrap around me makes my skin boil. I’m shocked she can’t see my heart beating through my chest. She’s so much closer than I thought she was, and my eyes flick down to her lips for a microsecond. If she just leaned in…
I nod, swallowing back the lump in my throat when the elevator opens.
“Eloise!” someone shouts, and we jump back, both blinking away whatever was in the enclosed space as Eloise is tackled by a brown woman with thick curly hair.
“Kenz!” Eloise shouts, grinning as she wraps her arms tightly around her.
Right, Kenzie Harrington, assistant captain for the Toronto Titans. Twin sister of Blake Harrington, assistant captain for the Toronto Stormhawks. Hometown friends with Eloise and a few other girls in the league. “Ugh, it’s so good to see you. We just had the shittiest interview with Silas.”
Kenz throws her head back and groans, and I’m startled to see the way her neck is exposed, the golden skin looking like the sun in the early November evening. “He’s the fucking worst,” she turns, smiling. “Good to see you, Taylor.” She reaches for a handshake, which I oblige, but she pulls me in for a hug.
I’m too stiff.
“Nice to see you, too,” I say, looking at Eloise, who gives her a fond smile and taps her shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go to the hotel and get ready for a minute, and then we’re yours until the sun comes up.”
Kenz claps her hands, pulling both of us towards the door, and I can’t help but wonder what we got ourselves into.
Eighteen
Eloise
Hannah’s name blinks up from my phone, and something is unsettling about it. I wanted to see her, but she said she was busy. And when she texts, it’s usually to ask something that she knows will make me uncomfortable, but I’ll probably cave, anyway.
I just want to be able to support my baby sister, and if that means I have to do something that I will question for a month or two afterwards, then it’s probably a somewhat worthy cause.
Kenz nudges me, looking at my screen with some concern while we’re in the rideshare waiting to be dropped off at the hotel. I brush it off, tucking my phone away. She knows enough about my relationship with Hannah that she doesn’t have to ask questions.
“Do you want to get ready first?” Taylor asks in the quiet of the car, and it startles me out of the slow spiral of wondering what Hannah might need.
“No, you go ahead, we’ll wait in the lobby for you, and then I’ll get changed quickly,” I say, trying to ignore the way that Kenz looks at the two of us. She wants thetea. I can see the questions formulating in her eyes.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m good to go,” Kenz says, and I didn’t get a chance to look at her outfit before, but as I pull back I notice it’s a cute crop top and baggy black pants with a ridiculous amount of pockets. She looks like she’s from the early 2000s instead of now.
“I’ll be quick,” I say, smiling at Taylor.
Taylor gives an awkward smile, and I wonder whether her inability to warm up to people is a result of her not knowing how to interact with people off the ice in a friendly manner.
Does she know how to interact with people not on the team regularly? It’s almost endearing how much she struggles with being warm upon meeting someone for the first time. She’s more complacent and often retreats when she doesn’t know the person well. Kenz, gratefully, doesn’t say much about Taylor’s current antisocialness, and I’m wondering how much of Taylor’s thoughts right now are also just trying to make sense of the interview with Silas.
And then the elevator.
