“I know, Coach. I’m here. One hundred percent here. I would never jeopardize this team’s chances of a win,” even as I said that it felt like a lie. My mind was not completely here.
It was back in Las Vegas, wondering if Beau was with his kids. And Sienna.
Wondering if he’d brought the boys over to our—my—apartment.
Wondering if he’d shown them the puppies yet or not.
Wondering if he’d missed me as much as I missed him last night.
“It’s okay not to be okay. I’m not demoting you because you’ve had a piano fall on you. If you need some time to work through this, that’s fine. I’m giving you that time.” Her hand shook my shoulder. “Not many people in the world can lead a team like you, Gigi. I’m not gonna lie and say we’ll be great without you. But if you need to sit this one out, then sit.”
It wasn’t conceded to say that if I didn’t play tonight, then my team would likely lose. We may lose even if I were at my best.
Without me, though? They really didn’t have much of a chance. Nobody had scored more goals against their goalie than I had. She was the best of the best.
I also knew that sitting out one game wouldn’t make a hill of beans of difference.
It wasn’t like my heart would suddenly be healed next week.
Or the week after that.
Or ever again.
The show must go on, and it might as well start tonight.
“Gigi, fancy meeting you here,”Meredith said as we met up for the faceoff. It wasn’t often that I couldn’t find even one redeeming thing about a person. But that was exactly what I never found with Meredith. No matter how much I had searched, she was just a real shit human being.
We’d played on the same team for a couple of seasons until God above had answered my prayers and she’d been traded. She’d never liked me and made no secret about it.
Of course, she was a good player. But she wasn’t that good. Teams wanted her because she was physical. Meredith was never afraid to throw her weight around.
Or her words.
That was exactly why she was facing off with me now.
Literally.
If anyone had the ability to tear me down, it was Meredith.
Jillian had offered to take it for me, but I wasn’t going to back off. “You’ve got this, G,” Gianna said behind me. Unfortunately, it didn’t make me feel any less intimidated.
“At a hockey game? Yeah, super unusual to see me on the ice,” I snarked back, bracing for the inevitable poison she would undoubtably try to make me swallow.
“It is, considering your boyfriend is busy raising his kids with another woman. Wonder how long before she’s moved into his big house down there, huh?”
Yeah, Meredith could dish it out.
I skated backward about ten feet, then turned in a circle to calm down.
When the ref blew her whistle, I rejoined Meredith at center. “Is that all you’ve got, Meredith? I expected more from you.”
The ref dropped the puck and we fought over it.
Meredith had her mouth and her brawn, but I had skill and talent.
That was why I took most of the faceoffs.
That was also why I won this one. I passed the puck directly to Jillian because that brick shithouse was not done slamming me yet.