“Sure.”
“Loads of offers,” he says again, too firmly.
“Absolutely.”
Chen falls into step beside me on the way to the bus.
He doesn’t say anything for a moment. Just walks, coffee in hand.
“Mercer is telling everyone you hooked up with someone but you’re telling everyone you went for a walk.”
“Is he?”
“Two am. In Ridgewood.”
“Nice town.”
“Mmm.” He takes a sip of coffee. He doesn’t say anything else. But I catch the look - brief, knowing - that saysI see you, I know more than you’ve said, and I’m not going to make you talk about it right now.
We walk to the bus.
ELIDA
The bus finally pulls into campus and everyone piles off.
I hang back, letting the team filter off first, and I’m coming down the steps when Mateo appears beside me and his hand finds the small of my back for one brief moment as he takes my bag from me without asking.
“I’ve got it,” I say.
“I know,” he says, and hands it back once I’m at the bottom of the steps.
Tara falls into step beside me as the team disperses toward the building. “My office. Ten minutes?”
Her office smells like the good hand cream she keeps on her desk. She closes the door and makes me a coffee then sits across from me and looks at me with the expression I’ve come to recognize - steady and direct.
She wraps both hands around her mug. “Russo played really well this weekend.”
I say nothing.
“I’m not going to make this into a big thing. I just - I saw. Just now, off the bus. And I saw at the rink last week when I walked in, and I’ve been watching this develop for a while. I like you. I want you to be happy. And I think he’s - I think he’s a good person.”
“He is,” I say.
“But.” She sets her mug down. “You’re staff. I know you’re young, and I know technically you’re a consultant, not a coach, and I know it’s more complicated than that. But you’re still on the staff, Elida. And he’s a player. And if Calloway finds out officially… I want you to think about what happens if this goeswrong. Not for him - he’ll be fine, he’s leaving at the end of the season either way. For you. You came here to rebuild your career. I don’t want to watch you risk that.”
“I know.”
“I’m not telling you what to do,” she says quickly. “I promise I’m not. I just-” She reaches across and squeezes my hand once. “Be careful. Okay?”
She’s genuine and on my side. I nod.
I walk home in the cold. I’m fine - I’m a grown-up who can make her own decisions and assess her own risks. I know the difference between then and now.
I know the difference.
The apartment is exactly as I left it.
I drop my bag by the door and sit on the sofa in my coat.
