“Of course,” she replies. Then adds, “Take your time, but you know, not too much time.”
A nervous laugh escapes me, and I trip over my own tongue. “Okay, I will! Or—I won’t!”
I can hear the chuckle on the other end. Then, the line goes quiet.
I stare at the phone for a moment, my thoughts a tangled mess. The adrenaline of the call lingers, but now all I can hear is the beat of my own heart, pounding in my ears.
“What was all that about?” Darcy’s voice sounds behind me.
Startled, I whip around, the lump in my throat making it hard to breathe. “Uh—” My voice catches as I try to find my footing. I blink a few times, but it does nothing to help me process.
Her grin drops. “What’s wrong?”
I swallow hard, letting out a steadying breath. “That was—” I hesitate. Even saying thenamefeels like a betrayal. “I’m not bullshitting you, Darcy, so don’t think I am. But… that was Alvie Lippencott.”
Darcy’s brows furrow, confusion fluttering across her face before her eyes widen with recognition. “Wait. Not like—”
“Like the head coach for the Porcupines.” I exhale sharply.“Yeah.”
Her brows shoot to her hairline, gaze flicking between my eyes, just as disbelieving as I was.
“What did she want?” she asks.
I swallow again, my throat tight, trying to keep my composure. “She—” I breathe, steadying myself, and lock eyes with her. “She just offered me a spot on the roster. There was amajor injury on the team, and the player isn’t coming back next season.”
My voice comes out lower than I intend, like I’m ashamed to admit it. Like I’ve done something wrong. Likehey, I’m sorry I flew too close to the sun and now I’m being asked to play on the team that you had ripped right out from under you. My bad.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Darcy says, shaking her head like that will suddenly piece everythign together. “You’re not saying that you were just offered a spot on thePorcupines?”
I nod.
“Woah,” she breathes, collapsing onto the bench beside us. I follow her down, sinking into the worn wood, which groans beneath our weight.
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Woah.”
I open my mouth to apologize, to tell her I’ll turn it down, that no contract is worth risking what we have. But I don’t even get the words out before she lets out an electric shriek so high-pitched, I nearly tumble off the bench, startled.
Those ivy eyes are wild with excitement as she leans forward, knuckles going pale as she grips the edge of her seat.
“Well?” she asks breathlessly. “What did you say?!”
I clear my throat, a nasty infestation of nerves still crawling under my skin.
“I—I told her I’d think about it.” I shrug. Like that’s an everyday occurrence. Like it’s normal to get the opportunity of a lifetime, something that could make your career, and say that you’ll “think about it”.
Her face falls, a crease etching between her strawberry brows. “Youwhat?!”
“It’s ahugedecision, Darcy. I mean, if I take it, my NCAA status is gone. And if they don’t sign me after the season, I’m pretty much screwed. Plus, there’s Harlowe and Bailey and—”
Darcy cuts me off, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, like she can see right through me.
Which, you know, she can.
“Pine trees,” she says calmly.
I blink. “What?”
“You said you didn’t want to move to California because there weren’t enough pine trees. And it was too far from your family. And you liked the rain.” She crosses her arms. “But Portland’s rainy.Andpiney. And it’s not all that far. And you never worried about your NCAA status when you were trying to get drafted by the Sabertooths. So why is that suddenly such a problem?”
