“Right, um, Eloise and I wanted to let you know that we’re together,” I say after a steadying breath. “It’s pretty recent and we’re still trying to see how all of thisworks, but the GM and HR know and Lawson does too. You girls were the last to know, and it's not because we didn’t want to let you know. l—we—just wanted to make sure everything was above board before we did anything.”
“You waited to fuck until the GM told you you could?” someone asks and there’s giggles erupting through the girls.
I feel like I could melt into a puddle.
“Well, no, but—”
“We just wanted to make sure that both of our positions were solid with the team,” Eloise speaks up. “With me being new, and Taylor being up for extensions soon, we didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.”
There’s an understanding nod from some of the older girls on the team, and the younger ones seem a bit confused by it all. They’ll learn.
“So, you’re gay?” Winnie shouts, excited, teasing, and I blink for a moment. She freezes, cheeks turning red before backtracking, “N-not that you need to tell us, but you were so sure you were straight...”
Brynn slaps Winnie’s shoulder, and I sigh. “I’m bi? I’m still learning, but it feels right for now.”
Winnie cheers, jumping up from the bench. “Yes! Suck it, Brynn!”
Brynn has wide eyes. “What the fuck, Winnie, why do I have to suck it?”
“With another bi on the team, you lesbos aregoing down! Chicken fights in the after season party are going to be legendary now.”
Rhea snorts. Rory looks queasy and I’m wondering what world I’ve stepped into. Eloise raises her hand to interrupt Winnie. “Eh, lesbian here. Suck on that, Winnie.”
Winnie’s celebrations die down before she sits back down. “Fine. You win, for now.” The face she makes is unsettling and truly one that has me concerned for our future.
There’s a knock on the door. “Ladies, if you’re not on the ice in three minutes, I’m making you all skate suicides.”
We rush into action, and the last girl is on the ice in two minutes and fifty-nine seconds.
He still makes us skate suicides.
Twenty Nine
Eloise
The ice is smooth against my skates as we glide off in our season opener against the Salt Lake City Sparks. They’re playing well for a brand new team, and they’re in front of their home crowd. We’re down by two going into the third, and everything is riding on us getting our shit together.
All of us, not just Taylor and I. We’ve been playing as well as we can, but there’s only so much we can do as a defence duo. Lawson and Ross have been scratching their heads at Sparks’ offensive power. It shouldn’t be this good, but somehow, it is. The crowd is raucous, ready to celebrate the first win in the franchise’s history, but I think we can turn it around.
I know we can.
I nudge Taylor as we sit beside each other. She passes me half a banana, which I gratefully take. Just another twenty minutes in the game. The locker room is quiet, with gentle whispers as we gather our breathsand fortify ourselves for the uphill battle we’re about to engage in.
Taylor’s leaning on me, eyes closed just for a moment. She’s not sleeping, just trying to focus on what she needs to do. She’s picturing the movements on the ice, the way the Sparks are working hard to cut off our passing and how they’re sniping us every chance they can get. They’re not a physically heavy team, but instead full of sprinters and precise shots, three of which have slipped past Winnie.
Winnie looks almost murderous. She’s going to be kicking herself for letting in those three goals, despite it also being the defence’s fault. Luckily, it was never on our line, but the two younger lines, both great in their own ways, but still growing in the game, flubbed a few passes that the Sparks took us up on pretty quickly.
“Any suggestions?” Lawson calls out from the centre of the room.
It’s something I’ve come to enjoy about Lawson’s coaching style. He offers up the ability to speak our minds, to point out things that we’ve noticed.
“They’re always going up the left,” Brynn says.
“They’re fast. We need to intercept the puck in their passes rather than trying to match them for speed right now,” Taylor says. “Lefties should be staying with the player flying up the boards while the centre and right need to hustle back as fast as possible. Defenders should be closer to the face off dots than the blue line to give us a bit more security.”
“They’re fast, but we can check them,” I say, “They may not be hitting comfortably yet, and that could be an advantage.”
Lawson nods. “Good. We’re down two, and you know what they say. That two goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey.”
