I roll my eyes. “What am I supposed to say? That he’s not good-looking? I’m not going to lie. But he’s still an asshole, so his looks don’t do anything for me.”
“Do you think you two can ever be friends?”
“I doubt it,” I admit. “But we can at least get along for the sake of the team.”
After more than a decade of us hating each other, I think that’s all we can really hope for.
five
Cameron
Allgoodthingsmustcome to an end.
By that, I mean my weekend of silence is broken when Ivor Kovacic calls me yet again.
I’ve been ignoring him since the press conference two days ago. Might as well just get this shit over with.
“Hey, Tata,” I say, bringing the phone up to my ear and speaking with as much confidence as I can muster.
It really isn’t all that much.
“Your league is a goddamn joke,” he bites from the other end.
Cool. We’re just going to get right into it.
I sigh. “It’s still a professional league, and I’m still on the pro team. The team is just different now than it was before.”
“They’re expecting you to play withwomen.”The last word comes out like it’s physically painful for him to say.
I love my mother dearly, but I do question what the hell she ever saw in my dad.
“Professionalwomen,” I correct him. “They played for the Dragons in the WHL. If we’re looking for women who play as well as the men, they’re the ones who would do it.”
“They’llneverbe able to keep up with you,” he replies matter-of-factly. “This league will fold within the year, and your career will be seen as a pathetic disappointment.”
My back hits my living room wall, and I slide down to the ground.
He’s probably right. There are so many men who won’t take this new team seriously because God forbid a woman show her face in a “man’s space.”
All I can really do is perform to the best of my ability. The rest is out of my control. If the league folds and my career is done, I’ll just deal with it.
Yeah, because you’re dealing with your current lifereallywell,my brain reminds me, and I feel the ache of defeat in my chest at how true that is.
I’m well known because of hockey. Without that, I’m literally no one. Just a man trying to keep the darkness from taking him under.
There are a million other men like me. I’m not special.
I’m… nothing.
I huff a breath and try to hide the fact that I’m just a shell of a person. “I’m not going to worry about my career. The Lizards and the Dragons were both great teams. Combining forces as the Comets should go well, and I know Zhuri will help me lead them.”
“Zhuri Hart has no business leading beside you, Cameron,” my dad sneers.
I grow more irritated. “Why is that?”
“You know exactly why,” he affirms, and the only reason I don’t lose my shit is because I hear a knock at my door.
“Gotta go, Tata. My friends just got here.” I hang up before he can reply.
