“You didn’t get her last name or her number, but you guys made plans to see each other?”
“No,” I say, confidence welling inside my chest. “But I’ll see her again, I know it.”
Cross stares at me as Theo snorts. “You’re crazy.”
“He is, but somehow it always ends up working out. Just watch, he’ll end up running into her or something.”
My chest shakes with laughter. “I refuse to believe that what I want won’t be mine. It’s worked out so far in life.”
“It’s worked out pretty damn well, I’d say,” Tyson chimes in.
Without another word, I dip my chin and excuse myself from the locker room. “Matteo,” Coach’s voice follows after me as I stop into the hallway. “Good game tonight.”
I turn back to my uncle, meeting his gaze. “Thanks. I know I’ve been off lately, but I swear it’s gonna change.”
“I hope so,” he says, nodding at me. “I know your dad’s been worried about you. You should give him a call.”
The mention of my father feels like a thorn in my side. The last time we spoke, we ended up in a heated argument about my supposed lack of effort on the ice. My father didn’t raise his prodigy to not be producing during games.
“Uncle Cale, remember, here I’m not your nephew.”
The muscle in his jaw tightens. “At the end of the day, you are, regardless of where we are. You will not get special treatment from me or game time without earning it. Get over your pride and whatever your little temper tantrum was and call your father.”
“Coach…”
He gives me that look. The same one he used to give me and my cousins when we were about to get a stern talking to. “Get a shower and go home, Matteo.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” he says, nodding once more as he pulls his keys from his front pocket. “Keep playing like you did tonight. It helped the team.”
“Yes sir.”
My uncle gives me one last look before spinning on his heel and heading toward the hall that leads to the exit. I run a hand through my damp hair, grabbing the back of my neck as I slip into the washroom.
The pressure settles on my chest. I scored tonight and we won, but that was just tonight. I need to do it the next game and every one that comes after.
And if the guys are right, if it’s because of Jade, I need to find her.
CHAPTER FIVE
JADE
“Julian Hart was good at what he did, maybe even better than me. I’d never be the one to tell him that. We were partners, but also competitors. And Clara Foss did not go down without a fight.” - Clara Foss, Painted Inferno
Throwing back my third shot, I hold my breath, swallowing quickly as the vodka burns my throat on its way down. Ellie, my and Nicole’s other best friend, just finished her last semester of her doctorate program, so it was only right that we come out to celebrate.
All my friends have things worth celebrating in their lives. New jobs, new career path…and then there’s me.
I’m now at the end of my deadline. Monday morning my agent is expecting to have something in her inbox.
And you know what I’ve got to send to her?
Nothing.
I let out a breath, propping my elbow on the bar as I push my forehead against my hand. The bass from the music pounds against my eardrums, a steady, yet fierce rhythm. My legs are sore from dancing, although the alcohol has me feeling relatively numb right now.
When Nicole and I graduated from college and moved into our first apartment, we met Ellie. She lived in the apartment next to us and we ran into her the second night we were there. She came over with her eyes puffy after a breakup and a bottle of wine. She was new in town, only moved there because of her ex and work.
