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“You weren’t joking.” He chuckled.

Georgie yanked off her sweater and bra and threw the long nightgown over her head, missing whatever it was he was laughing at.

“Bay City Rollers, huh?”

Pulling the pyjamas away from her eyes, she caught Oliver’s smirk. “I’m half-Scottish and love tartan,” she said, stepping out of her trousers, which she left in a heap on the floor. “It would be a crime not to like them.” She crawled across the bed and leaned against the headboard, wrapping her arms around her bent knees.

“Like me with ABBA.” Oliver folded Georgie’s trousers and hung them over the chair in the corner then joined her on the bed, stretching his legs out in front of him. He looked around the room, his gaze locking on the hockey medals and trophies crowding her stuffed animal-filled shelves.

Catching her reflection in her dresser’s mirror, Georgie frowned. “I’m gonna need some magic to de-puff my eyes.”

Oliver wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed a soft, lingering kiss on her temple. “Can you call in sick tomorrow?” He ducked his head, meeting her gaze.

“I think Laporte’s expecting it.” Chasing comfort, Georgie leaned in, cuddling into Oliver’s warmth. “He asked where I keep my lesson plans.”

“I can stop by your flat, get you a change of clothes?” Oliver tenderly ran his fingers through her hair and along her scalp, his gentle, soothing touch closing her eyes.

“No, it’s okay. I keep a few things here. Mum has multiple sclerosis, so I stay when she’s having a flare.”

His fingers stilled. “Oh, Georgie. Your poor mum.”

“Yeah.” Blinking, she lifted her head and pulled her old stuffed poodle closer. “I stay when she’s well, too. I know I talk a lot about my dad, but Mum is just as great. We’re really close.”

“She’s lovely.” Oliver traced circles along Georgie’s upper arm as she buried her nose in the poodle’s sparse fluff and exhaled heavily.

“I’ll have to save like mad in case I don’t have a full-time job by September,” Georgie murmured. “I’ll have to stop buying take-out…” Her chin quivered as the sting of imminent tears prickled the back of her throat and nose. “Sell some hockey tickets. This just gets worse and worse.”

“But I thought you said they’ll reassign you?”

“Only if a spot opens up. If it doesn’t, I could be out of work for months, waiting to be recalled.” Georgie’s voice wavered as she broke down again. “I never thought this would happen. Lose my job, lose my chance of promotion. Everything I’ve worked so hard for—gone.” She wiped away tears with the heel of her hand.

Oliver gathered her in. “Oh Bug, I’m so sorry. I won’t tell you not to worry because I know you will, but you won’t be going through this alone. I’ll be right here.” Kissing her forehead, he closed his eyes, holding her tight.

“Only till August.” Her muddled thoughts swirled. Nothing in her life was stable: not her career, her finances, her relationship. Fuck, even the Leafs two-game winning streak was one injury away from crumbling. Her whole world was a house of cards just waiting for a stiff breeze to roll through, taking everything down. It was all too much.

Loosening his hug, Oliver shifted back and offered a small smile. “I know, but a lot could change in that time. We could move in together, halve the rent.”

Shoulders curling forward, Georgie sniffed and pulled a loose thread on her sock. “But isn’t that just a Band-Aid? A temporary solution for a permanent problem.”

He didn’t reply right away. “Are you talking about not having a job…or us?”

Georgie’s stomach lurched. “I dunno.” She couldn’t look at him, afraid of what she might see. “Maybe…both?”

Oliver’s jaw flexed. “The last thing I want to be is a problem.”

“You’re not, it’s just…” She swept her hair away from her damp cheeks. “I think we need to be truly honest and open, you know? If we can’t bring up uncomfortable stuff, then maybe we’re not ready to⁠—”

“Take the next step.”

Georgie nodded through her tears. What next was, though, she had no clue.

Oliver rubbed her back. “Well, maybe we should seriously revisit long distance and talk it through.”

But to what end? Wasn’t their hesitance to commit to a shared future in the same city an answer in itself? The unbearable thought squeezed all the air from Georgie’s lungs. “Being apart won’t keep us together, no matter how committed we are.” Her voice cracked. “And I don’t think I can figure us out and my fucked-up job situation at the same time. In a few months, I won’t have my main source of income. I really need to focus on that.”

“As you should, Bug. I get it.”

“I don’t think you do.” Tears spilled through her lashes. “Oliver, I need time. I need…some space.”