They drag me into the middle anyway. I try to look like a normal human instead of someone being held hostage by a camera.
Flash.
The moment ends with laughter and someone already sprinting toward a gelato shop.
I shake my head, following them, and then I see her.
My stomach drops so fast it feels like the gravity has changed all around me.
Alisha.
She stands on the opposite side of the street like a cruel glitch in reality. Same sharp cheekbones, same brown hair dyed blonde, pulled into a high ponytail,and the same expression on her face that always looks like she knows something everyone else doesn’t.
For a second, I wonder if she hasn’t seen me. Then her eyes lock onto mine.
Shit.
The girls are all still laughing beside me, completely oblivious. I feel the moment before everything happens, the quiet shift in the air.
Alisha steps off the curb and walks straight toward us. Of course she does. She loves to cause trouble wherever she lands.
She stops a few feet away and crosses her arms.
“Well.” I notice her voice hasn’t changed at all. “Small world.”
Every muscle in my body goes rigid. My teammates notice the sudden silence and turn to look between us. Paige walks up beside me and stands there like a guard dog in waiting.
Riley, Paige, and Rissa know shit went down between Alisha and me, but they never knew the details. I made sure of it. That part of my life isn’t supposed to be for anyone but me and the person I share a bed with.
The whispers flowed through the hockey world, being zipped shut once my attorney got hold of them. Things cleaned up pretty quickly, and the topic was dropped, but I know it’s something in the back of people’s minds.
Skye Callahan is accused of abusing her ex-girlfriend.
“You gonna say hi, Skye?” Alisha adds with a thin smile.
“You know her?” One of the forwards asks, walking up to see what’s going on. The teammates I never played with before the Olympic Games weren’t privy to the information that hit the media back then. Unfortunately, the dust in the wind seems to be settling onto me for a second time.
“Yes.” My throat feels dry.
Alisha tilts her head, studying me.
“Didn’t expect to see you here.” The look on her face says she’s been waiting to run into me.
Paige shifts awkwardly, and Rissa does the same. A few others are looking between us like they’re trying to read the subtitles that aren’t there.
Then Alisha laughs. Not a nice laugh.
“Wow. You really brought the whole team.”
The gleam in her eye has my stomach twisting. I know exactly where this is going.
“Alisha,” I mutter. “Don’t.”
Paige takes a step forward, but I grab her. She’s being protective without even knowing the whole story. I’m not letting anyone go down for the shit that happened in my past. Nobody is going to miss playing in an Olympic game for a piece of trash like Alisha.
“Oh, relax,” she says lightly. “I’m just saying hi.”
Rissa takes a few deep breaths, and I can tell she’s ready to pounce.
