It’s wishful thinking because the third period only gets worse.
Coach is short shifting me and when I finally get the opportunity to shoot, I fuck it up. I get a rebound shot while the goalie’s still in the left side of the net. Half the damn thing is open to me and what do I do?
I shoot high and wide, sending it over the net and into the glass. The crowd groans, my shoulders sag, and Coach calls me off the ice. No one bothers to say anything to me on the bench. I don’t blame them. I deserve the silence after the shit game I’ve played.
Coach benches me for the rest of the period. I can’t blame him for it. I’ve been nothing but a liability on the ice tonight.
In the last two minutes, Coach pulls the goalie and sends five skaters out instead. They end up in the other team’s zone, applying the pressure and Theo ends up sneaking in a goal.Coach sends one of our other wingers, White, back out onto the ice, putting us back at full strength. The energy is still off, even if everyone’s buzzing from our second goal, and we end up losing the game by one.
“You had half the net,” Theo says quietly, pursing his lips as we’re sitting in the dressing room. “You had plenty of time. You had a clear shot.”
“Hell, he could have done a full routine before taking a shot,” Shaw chimes in.
I close my eyes, turning away from them as I strip off my gear. “Can you both please stop?” I mutter, letting out a deep, exasperated sigh.
“What has you all out of sorts?” Theo questions me as I turn back around and sit down. “I thought Jade was distracting you in a good way, not a bad one.”
“Yeah,” I huff, shaking my head. “Me too.”
“Shit, so it is her,” he says, scooting closer as Shaw busies himself with his skates. “What happened?”
I rake my hand through my damp, sweaty hair. “I went to her house four nights ago. I haven’t heard from her since.”
“Oh shit.” Theo’s eyes widen. “Did anything happen?”
Shaw’s head pops up, eyebrows lifted as he looks between us.
“We kissed, but nothing more,” I admit, letting out another breath. I don’t tell him I asked her if she wanted me to fuck her. He doesn’t need to know that. “She said she’d call me and I haven’t heard from her.”
Shaw laughs loud. “Dude. You’re out here shitting the bed on a whole game because you haven’t heard from her?”
“I didn’t try to. I just don’t know if I did something wrong or why she hasn’t texted me.” I pause, playing the night over again in my head for the thousandth time. Is it because I stopped anything from happening between us? I thought it was the rightthing to do, but what if I went and fucked up any chance with her?
Maybe she realized I’m not worth it, decided I’m not worth the trouble. Sleeping together changes things whether we want it to or not. I’m decent at pretending, but maybe she isn’t.
“Just text her,” Shaw says, shaking his head at me. “It’s been what? Four days? That’s plenty of time to say something to her without being a weirdo.”
“He’s right.” Theo nods, bobbing his head eagerly. “If I were you, I’d just say something.”
“I don’t know,” I say, pursing my lips. They might be right. I’ve been letting this occupy too much space inside my brain. The worst thing that happens is she tells me to fuck off.
And then I’m fucked without my good luck charm…
“You know what figure skaters do?” A smirk breaks out across Theo’s lips as he leans closer. “They commit. You don’t. You panic.”
I groan, shoving his shoulder. “Theodore Simmons, I swear to?—”
“Shut up,” he laughs, shoving me back. “Stop dancing around and just text her already.”
I let out a breath, my chest deflating as I stand up and grab my phone. “Fine, I’ll do it.” I open our messaging thread and my stomach flips when I see her name on the screen. “Wait, she texted me earlier.”
Sunny
You looked like shit tonight.
A smile tugs on my lips. Theo rises to his feet, grabbing for my phone.
“What’d she say?” He shifts to the side of me, laughing as sees her message over my shoulder. “She’s not wrong.”
