Page 78 of A Little Secret
“What?” Mav replies. “You already lost two of your best teammates at the beginning of the season. LAU would be screwed without their captain for the end of it.”
Reeves tilts his head toward Mav. “He’s not wrong.”
Pausing mid-set, I huff out, “I think—”Breathe. “I think they wanna have me skip the farm team and move straight to the Tornadoes next season.”
Reeves’ eyes widen. “No shit?”
Copping out, I set the bar back into place, my chest heaving. “It’s only a hunch,” I pant, “but Mr. Deemwater’s coming to Saturday’s game to watch, so”—I take another deep breath—“yeah. I think they want me on the Tornadoes’ roster this fall.”
“Well, damn.” Slapping me on the shoulder, Maverick grins. “That’s awesome, man. You’ve earned it.”
“I dunno. We’ll see,” I mutter, wiping the sweat along my hairline.
“What do you mean, we’ll see?” Everett interjects. “This is what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?”
Something sharp hits between my ribs, but I don’t rub the pain away. “Yeah, for sure, but looking so far into the future is…a lot.”
“What do you mean?” Everett laughs. “We’ve been dreaming about this since we were kids.”
“I know,” I reply. “And I’m excited. I just have to think about finals and graduation before thinking about next season, you know?”
“Yeah, ‘cause moving straight to the NHL is such a hard pill to swallow,” Reeves chimes in.
“I know,” I repeat, feeling like a parrot or some shit. And I do. I know this is a huge opportunity. I know I’m being seen for my talent on the ice, not my father’s, and they want to reward me for it. I know any of my friends and teammates would give anything to be in my position.To have an opportunity like this. A chance to slingshot the trajectory of my career instead of spending years on the farm teams proving my worth. But even taking all of that into account, I can’t help but think of Finley, too. Here. Alone. I shove the thought aside and glance at my friends. “It’ll be great.”
With a nod, Mav claps his hand on my shoulder. “Fuck yeah, it will. Now, move aside. It’s Ev’s turn.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
FINLEY
It’s weird. Pretending like the biggest thing on my mind is whether or not my red and black face paint looks on point when my world feels like it’s turned upside down. As Lia, Dylan, Raine, and I get ready for the game, complete with LAU jerseys and said red and black face paint—which looks phenomenal, by the way—my stomach grumbles.
“You good?” Dylan asks.
I touch my gut through the jersey tied below my breasts. “Yeah. I’m hungry, I think.”
“We just ate,” she says with a laugh.
She’s right. We did. I had a bagel with cream cheese, sausage, two eggs, and fruit on the side. I should be stuffed.
My stomach grumbles a little louder, and Raine rolls her eyes. “Finish your mascara while I grab you something from the fridge. What sounds good?”
I hesitate, my lips bunching on one side as I consider my options. “Can I do a tomato sandwich?”
“A what?” She screeches to a halt and stares at me over her shoulder.
“Tomato, mayo, salt, pepper, and bread.” I smile sweetly. “Actually, yeah. That sounds delicious.”
“Okay, weirdo.”
She starts down the hall, and I add, “Oo, and pickle! Don’t forget the pickle!”
“Dill or sweet?” she calls.
Popping my head outside the bathroom door, I quirk my brow. “Obviously, there’s only one right answer.”
“Dill!” Dylan clarifies for me with a grin.