Page 14 of Coast to Coast

CALLIOPE

“Um, who was that? And why aren’t you going home with him?” Juno asked when I returned to our table with my drink.

“That’s one of my bosses,” I said, watching her eyes widen as she finally understood my predicament with my new position.

“Oof, I guess that means he’s off-limits for you but not for me,” she said as she attempted to stand and go after Tom. Juno was all talk and no action.

“Sit your ass down,” I commanded, my voice projecting a stronger tone than intended, especially since I knew that she had no intention of chasing him down.

PJ’s eyes jumped towards mine. Surprise at my tone was evident. Juno and I had a healthy relationship; we barely argued, and I’d rarely used that tone with either of my siblings.

“I knew it. You like him. I was trying to get you to see it,” she teased.

“Um, and you didn’t think to introduce your brother to him?” PJ asked, and we both ignored him.

“Guys, I can’t afford to think about him any other way than professionally. Being a nanny wasn’t my first choice, but so far,the family is great, the little boy is adorable, and the pay is excellent. One of the stipulations is that I can’t date teammates.”

“Hmm, they just said teammates. That seems convenient,” Juno latched onto a technicality.

“Stop. Not happening,” I said, taking a long swig of my drink and swallowing my disappointment with the tequila and soda.

“How was the set?” I asked, eager to change the subject. It had been a while since I had performed, and while I always had jitters before a set, the time after, I tended to pick apart any mistakes. The internship had taken away more than just my relationship; it had stripped me of the time to write music, play, and perform. I had missed it, even the uncertainty before and after a performance.

“Loved it, and that single dad song must have hit him hard,” PJ observed. “Did you see him before you decided to play it?”

“Oh shit, no. I swear.” I hadn’t played that song in years and only decided on it three seconds before I played it. I want to say I planned out my sets, but it was based on mood, crowd inspiration, and sometimes requests. I must have been influenced by the reality of traveling a little boy back and forth between his parents.

“Their story was all over the place last year,” PJ said. “Honestly, they managed it well and kept things relatively drama-free.”

The next musician came on stage, and we all tabled our discussion to provide them with respect. I tried to scrub the image of Tom watching me from across the room while I played. He had the most expressive eyes I’d ever seen for someone who spoke so little. I wouldn’t admit it to my siblings, but hiding my attraction for him would make living under the same roof half the year very difficult.

It’s why my jokes made Monica nervous; she knew they weren’t exactly that far from the truth, and her reputation was also on the line with this arrangement.

I returned to my apartment just after midnight, looked around, and sighed. I loved my apartment, but as much as it hurt, keeping it didn’t make sense. Once they completed the renovations, I’d have a bedroom in Sam and Kelsey’s homes in Boston and Concord, and I would live the rest of the time in Denver. The timing of this job offer came just before I had to renew my lease. If that wasn’t a sign that it was time to leave there, it was at least a happy coincidence.

I had been researching things to do in Denver with a toddler, and I had a short list of activities and places Crew and I could visit. What I had seen in the guidebooks and Pinterest boards left me excited to explore Denver and the surrounding areas in Colorado.

Monica provided as much information about game day protocol as possible. As far as she knew, I’d be the only nanny solo in the family room.

Eeek.

A few teammates had toddlers, though I didn’t imagine the other WAGs happily planning playdates with a nanny. That would be an entire social scene where I would be teetering on the cusp of acceptance but not invited to join.

I showered before bed, then curled up, fully prepared to mindlessly scroll TikTok to find any WAGs with active social media. While I doubted their accounts would give the real behind-the-scenes stories, it would be nice to know at least what to expect at a hockey rink. I’d never been to a game. I couldn’t find anyone affiliated with the Blizzards, but I went down a rabbit hole with one creator. Damn, these hockey wives spent a lot of time alone during the season.

I should have closed out of the application once I found the Tom Campbell thirst trap posts, but nope, there was no way I could stop once that image popped up on my screen. One creator had caught him spraying down his face with a squirting water bottle, and fuck me, if that wasn’t the male equivalent of a bikini car wash. My boss had plenty of fans, and I might easily become one of them.

I had to share this with Monica, even knowing I was skirting the line of professionalism.

Me: Check this out…

Monica: You should not be watching this. I can’t be watching this either.

Me: Come on, I didn’t need to look that hard. Why didn’t you introduce me to this while I could actually have it?!?!

Monica: Umm, besides the NDA and the fact that I love my job? Besides, you were too far up Zander’s ass to entertain anything with anyone else.

Me: If everyone hated him so much, why did none of you say anything?

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