The horn feels louder than normal. The sound rings inside my ears as I skate back over to the bench, filing on after Theo and Shaw.
“The fuck you doing out there tonight? Are you trying out to be a figure skater or something?”
I cut my eyes at Theo. “Fuck off.”
“No, seriously,” he presses, lifting his eyebrows. “You pulled a little twirl move in the zone. Judges gave it a 9.2. Impressive and artistic.”
Cam shakes his head, leaning forward. “I don’t know. The technical score might put it lower than that.”
What the hell is this?I cut my eyes at both of them. “I lost an edge.”
“Hence the 9.2 score instead of a 10,” Theo muses, rolling his eyes.
“Still feels like too high of a score,” Shaw chimes in.
My lips part, my rebuttal on my tongue with anger simmering when Coach cuts in.
“Ford,” he barks my name. I meet his eyes and he looks less than pleased. “Get your head in the fucking game.”
I give him a curt nod, feeling his disappointment mixing with my own. I prop my elbows on my knees, dropping my face down into my gloves. I can’t get my head in the game because it’s still in Jade Wilson’s apartment.
Shaw elbows me on my other side. “You heard him. We need you.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Theo shrugs. “You’re overthinking shit again. I thought you were past this?”
Yeah, so did I.
Jade’s supposed to be a calculated, controlled distraction. Not one that’s derailing my ability to perform on the ice.
The second shift isn’t any better. I miss another pass. I hesitate. My movements are delayed. Even when I’m not thinking about her, I still can’t get my brain to engage.
I try to get the puck out of the zone. They get a shot in from the point. Cross blocks it and it changes direction, just at the right angle for one of their wingers to tip it in.
Gray slams his stick against the ice. My stomach sinks as I skate back to the bench. That’s three goals that were my fault so far. I sit down on the bench, my eyes flicking up to the jumbotron.
3-1.
“You need different skates?” Theo tilts his head to the side, squinting his eyes. “Or maybe a sequin dress?”
I grab my bottle, squirting water into my mouth before I turn it and squirt water at his face. “I’ll fight you, Simmons.”
“Won’t be much of a fight,” Shaw quips, rolling his eyes. “Matty’s too distracted thinking about what his costume might look like.”
The muscle in my jaw twitches. “I’ll fight you too, Shaw.”
Theo arches a brow. “Jeez, we’re your best friends. What has you ready to fight us both?”
I stare at him, irritation rolling over me. “Neither of you are helping.”
I have no one to blame or be irritated with other than myself. I shouldn’t be letting this bother me like this.
I don’t know why I haven’t heard from her yet.
“Neither are you,” Shaw snorts. “You were doing so well last month. What happened?”
Theo looks at Shaw. “There’s another period left. Maybe he’ll turn it around.”
