Page 95 of Home of the Brave

Was that a part of my hesitation?

It shouldn’t matter.

I shouldn’t care what they thought of me. It was absolutely none of their business. They could date whomever they wanted, and so could I.

But it was in the back of my mind.

I didn’t want to be thought of as a jersey chaser, or for anyone to forget the years of work I’d done to get here once they saw me with Josh.

“Not to rush your internal dilemma, but the women’s game is in about an hour,” Cambrie coaxed next to me. “Might want to think about heading back toward the arena.”

I straightened and pushed away from the wall. “I don’t know what to do.”

She put her camera away and sorted her bag before meeting my eyes. “You need to do what’s best for you, but ask yourself if you can live with the not knowing.”

I scrunched my nose.

“Exactly,” she laughed lightly. “Yes, there’s a lot at stake. Your heart, namely. But stopping anything from happening doesn’t mean you won’t end up hurt. Not trying might be worse than not seeing if there’s something between you worth the hard work.”

She headed toward the lobby doors, and I slowly trailed, thinking it over. Could I go home at the end of this and never think of him again? Never wonder about what might have been?

No, I’d lose my mind.

But what if trying ends in devastation? A heartbreak I can’t recover from?

That might be worse.

She hailed a cab, and we climbed in, heading to the arena in silence.

22

JOSH

“You have to admit, her timing is suspicious,” I heard one of the guys say as I stepped into the locker room from our morning skate.

Game three was in about an hour, and I needed the time to get my head straight. I hadn’t performed as well today as I should have, and I knew Abrams noticed. He hadn’t mentioned pulling me, but I had a feeling if I didn’t shake off this block, he wouldn't hesitate to replace me.

The guys already had their bad game; I couldn’t do the same if we wanted to have a chance of winning this tournament.

“Taz said she was there when our uniforms were hanging up too. First person he saw,” someone replied, and I realized who they were talking about.

“You think Victoria is the one pranking us?” I asked.

Levi shrugged. “It could be.”

“Yeah, people seem to really like the videos,” Micah added, holding up his phone.

“It’s a clever way to create content,” Bryce smirked.

“She’s a journalist, not a social media creator,” I reminded them.

“What’s the difference these days?” Ted asked.

I wanted to stand up for her, protect her, but that wasn’t my responsibility. As a professional acquaintance, I had no reason to defend her.

“You’ve seen the videos her company posts—they’re just the normal interviews we give,” Hartman stepped away from his locker. “They don’t get crazy views.”

“Sports Now isn’t posting the pranks,” Micah explained. “She is.”