I looked up to see Lauren skating toward us, hockey stick in one hand, helmet in the other. Her stride was smooth as glass; her hair flowed behind her like a midnight-tinted carpet. She waved at Hatch, then joined us on the bench with Conor between us.
“LoYo!” He offered a fist bump which she reciprocated. “About time you joined the party.”
“Some of us have jobs, Connie.” Her eyes narrowed at me. “What happened to your face?”
My bruise had deepened, leaving no doubt that I had clashed with something or someone.
“It is nothing.”
My reticence annoyed her. “You’re Jason’s replacement?”
“I am. Though I expect I will surpass him in every way.”
She huffed her discontent and turned her attention to the ice, waving at someone across the way, a tall kid who was playing with a puck. He lifted a hand in acknowledgment.
Conor elbowed me. “Dude, what did you do?”
“I am breathing.”
“Okay, I need this story.”
“There’s no story, you filthy hound.” Lauren tapped her stick against the plexiglass, an old habit of hers I recognized. “Alright, time to show the kids how we do this.” She burst upright and cleared the wall easily.
Ever the tough girl, but I remembered a time when she was more willing to show her soft side. When I had the key to unlock it.
I needed to find that access once more.
Chapter Eighteen
Lauren
* * *
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when a woman needs to rid herself of a husband, he keeps popping up.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. Just when you thought you had it all figured out, something—not the universe Alexei placed such faith in—but something more annoying, came along to kick you in the teeth. Dream job? Check. Normal boyfriend? Check. Life on track? Check and check.
And now this dramarama.
I loved this camp. I tried to do it every year but missed it last summer because I’d twisted my ankle on a run and didn’t want to risk it. While the off season for most pro sports wasn’t entirely quiet in the agenting world, it was a little more relaxed. (I represented no baseball players, which was fine because I couldn’t will myself to pretend to enjoy the national pastime.)
I didn’t do good with relaxed. I had a lot of energy that needed to be expended, and I liked the idea that I got to hang with kids who loved hockey, some of whom needed the game for their mental health. I was one of those kids once. This endeavor was perfect for me, or it would have been if he wasn’t here.
Thankfully we were short a couple of instructors so, with resources stretched thin, there was no need to talk to him. Still, I couldn’t help sneaking a glance as he showed a group—my nephew Foster was part of it—how to shift body weight to achieve maximum efficiency. His skating had always been top-notch, strength and grace in every glide. No one was more beautiful on the ice, and I resolved to admire him with an objectivity I found difficult to master. But master it I would.
I turned to the group I’d been assigned. Three boys, three girls, ages eleven to twelve. My age when I first joined camp the summer Sadie came to look after me. Back then, I had been grieving: my mom had died earlier that year from ovarian cancer, my father was in prison, and Sadie wanted to take me to live with her in LA, a plan I was resolved to poison. Hockey was the one thing I could focus on. The shelter in the storm that was my life. That summer I met Jason, who became one of my closest friends, and my life achieved a modicum of security. I started showering regularly for a start.
“Okay, guys. As Hatch said, I’m Lauren Yates, and I played pro hockey with the Athenas.”
“But not anymore.” A boy, of course.
“Nope. Now, I’m an agent, which, to be honest, means I have even more power over up-and-coming hockey players, along with a mind like a steel trap. I never forget a face, a high stick, or a snide comment. I can make or break careers, as well as show you how to up your game and acquire superior edge control.”
The mouthy little shit blushed. Best to slap that attitude down before we started.
“Okay, let’s begin in pairs. I’d like to see how you move along the outer lane.”
Fifteen minutes later, we took a break and I skated over to the bench to hydrate. It wasn’t long before I had company. My body became a live wire whenever he was near.
