Page 103 of No Pucks

I lift my brows. “How do you know I have a boyfriend?”

“You haven’t gone home with a single person since the season started. I’ve heard about you from other guys. You used to be the king of hookups. That doesn’t just flip over night. Plus, we can all tell by midnight you’re itching to get out of here.” He laughs, releasing me. “We aren’t mad. Good for you, but you don’t need to hide it from us. You should bring him to meet the team sometime.”

I nod and laugh, because what the fuck can I say? “Maybe I’ll do that.”

“Good game.”

“You too.”

I text Anthony I’m on my way and decide to walk. It’s a nice night, and I need to decide how much about the Ridgeway issue I want to tell him, or if I should at all. Where should my loyalties lie? Is it okay to keep things from my boyfriend when they involve him as a coach?

This is a complication I didn’t expect.

THIRTY-TWO

ANTHONY

Anthony: I’m leaving practice early because I have a meeting with the board today.

Logan: What for?

Anthony: They didn’t say.

Logan: Is that normal?

Anthony: I don’t know. This is my first time as a head coach.

Logan: Probably just them excited about being the top of our league.

Anthony: If they’re making me leave practice early for bullshit, I’m going to be pissed.

Logan sends some kind of emoji I don’t understand.

Anthony: What the fuck does an upside down smiley face mean?

Logan: I’m never telling you.

Anthony: Why the fuck not?

Logan: Because it’s funnier this way. I can’t be translating for my people.

Anthony: I shouldn’t need a translator to speak to you.

Logan: Maybe you should keep up?

Anthony: I’d rather sit on my porch and tell you to get off my lawn.

Logan: See you at practice, Ice Daddy.

Anthony: I thought we moved past that nickname?

Logan sends me another emoji I can’t translate, but I ignore it. I have a bad feeling about this meeting, and I’m putting together team stats in case they don’t like something I’m doing.

I’m distracted during practice and glad when I can head to the meeting. I’d rather rip the Band-Aid off than wait around thinking about it. I pace the vestibule, waiting for them to call me in, trying to tell myself this is normal. But it’s not normal. None of this feels normal, and all the things I can get fired for filter through my head. Logan, Cox’s war, not hiring Cox. Any part of my past. My ex.

But Logan and I have been careful.

He said the team isn’t suspicious—in fact, they asked to meet his boyfriend.

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