I’ve never really had afriend.
Someone I could spill my guts to and call crying in the middle of the night if I needed a minute to vent. I always felt like a bother, like I was interrupting something more important, so I kept to myself.
I’ve always wanted that strong friendship—a woman or two I could have in my corner when the going gets rough—and my heart races with anticipation as we join the pair at the table.
Maybe this can be a friend group. Maybe these women have space for me, and I’m more nervous than I was when I met Hudson at his apartment.
“Hi,” Piper says brightly. She reaches over to hug the redhead and sits next to her. I slide in next to the brunette and smile her way. “Sorry we’re a few minutes late. We were in the eighth layer of hell, also known as apartment hunting. This is Madeline. She’s Hudson’s new private chef.”
“Hi.” The woman beside me grins, and there’s a twinkle in her eye. “I’m Lexi Armstrong, the DC Stars’ head athletic trainer.”
“And I’m Emerson, but you can call me Emmy,” the redhead says, and now I recognize her.
“Oh mygod. My daughter is such a fan of yours. She’s obsessed. I think we own about ten of your jerseys, which I’mnow realizing is embarrassing as hell to admit when meeting you for the first time. I promise I’m not a crazed fan.”
“I’m flattered. Truly,” Emmy says. “What’s your daughter’s name? I’d love to write her a note.”
“That’s so kind of you,” I say. “Her name is Lucy. She’s six, and I’m going to be the coolest mom in the world when I pick her up from school and show her this.”
“We need more girls who are hockey fans.” She scribbles on a napkin with swoopy handwriting, adds a heart at the bottom, then hands it over to me with a smile. “Tell Lucy she’s welcome to a game anytime.”
“I’ve never seen you smile this much.” Lexi puts her elbow on the table and tips her head to the side. “You need to spend more time in Bali.”
Emmy flips her off. “Is that better?”
Lexi laughs. “Much. Thanks babe.”
“Thank you for letting me join you all,” I say. “Piper was helping me look for an apartment this morning, but we’re striking out left and right.”
“When I moved here, I stayed on the couch of a friend of a friend of a friend. Some guy named Craig. I woke up to him watching me sleep, and I bolted. I found an apartment that was out of my price range at the time, but at least it didn’t include any creepy dudes,” Lexi says. “I’ll see if my building has any openings. I’m only four blocks away from Hudson.”
“Where did you move here from?” Emmy asks. “How do you know Piper?”
“Las Vegas. We met at the Stars game last season. She gave me her card, and I reached out to her a few weeks ago about needing a job,” I say.
“Now she’s Hudson’s chef, and she’s probably going to set the record for being the longest tenured employee at the Hayeshousehold.” Piper laughs. “Not that it would take much. Poor guy.”
“Hudson is great. He’s so kind and thoughtful.” Emmy smiles. “A ten out of ten.”
“I’m glad he finally found a chef. He’s been stressed about it all summer. When he was in the athletic trainers’ offices during the offseason, he’d always ask if we knew of anyone who would be willing to help him out. During—” Lexi’s phone rings on the table, and she laughs. “Speak of the devil.” She answers and hits speakerphone. “Hi, Huddy Boy. I’m talking about you.”
“Good things I hope,” he says. “What are you doing?”
“Getting lunch with Piper, Emmy, and Madeline. What areyoudoing?”
“About to hop in an ice bath. Are you free for a massage before team dinner? My hamstring is killing me.”
“I’ll be back in my office in an hour or so. Come by whenever, and I’ll take a look. New pain?” Lexi asks.
“Yeah,” Hudson answers. “It’s probably from getting back in the groove of things, but I want to tackle it early.”
“We’ll get you fixed up, Hayes.”
“Thanks, Lex. Appreciate you.”
“Hi, Hudson,” Piper says, and his laugh echoes around us.
“Hey, Little P. I figured I was on speakerphone.”