Page 81 of Hell Bent
Harlan said, “Bismarck, North Dakota. High’s minus 5 today, and let’s just say that my high-school stadium didn’t have a dome. Played my college ball in Nebraska. Close your eyes, and you might as well be in Bismarck. Or don’t close your eyes, because it looks about the same. Snowy and flat and the wind blowing horizontal, and ninety thousand fans freezing their butts off.”
Owen said, “Thirty-one today in Wheatland, Wyoming. The low’s supposed to be minus 2, though. Does that count?”
“No,” Harlan said. “Pussy.”
I smiled, but I also said, “I’m not saying I’ve never had akick sail wide in the wind, but I know how to adjust for it, too. If you’re worried about me not being able to play in the cold, stop worrying. Premier League soccer’s August to May, and I played in Newcastle. That means ninety minutes running in little shorts in the cold rain and wind and no warm jacket at all, making sure my kicks went where I aimed them. I’m not going to be the problem. I’m all good.”
I sure hoped it was true.
Alix
I hadn’t seen Sebastian since Wednesday morning, and now, I wished I had. He’d suggested picking me up from work on Wednesday night, but that could have been because he’d mentioned it in the heat of the moment the night before and hadn’t wanted to hurt my feelings. I’d met the guy two months ago, though, plus I’d run from my wedding because I hadn’t been ready for commitment. I needed to keep my head on straight, think about my life and my plans and …
Besides, he hadn’t got enough sleep that night, and his game today, after only a six-day turnaround, was all the way across the country in Buffalo.Afterflying to Canada on his one day off to see his dying sister.
Honestly, though? I was probably also a tiny bit worried that I couldn’t live up to whatever he was expecting from this. It was so much … closeness, and I’d never even wanted to live with anybody. We’d only had sex once, but I’d slept with him three times, and it had been sonice. You have to admit that’s a weirdly intense level of intimacy, though, and independence was about my most cherished value. I’d have said it was his, too. We didn’t know what we were doing here, I didn’t need to hurt anybody again, and yet half of me wanted to climb inside his life and stay there. A few days apart were onlyprudent. What if he wanted me to stop hanging around so much and had to tactfully ask me? How bad would that be?
Also, he was taking me out tomorrow, since for once, he’d be around a little on my day off. It would be best to preserve some mystery. Some excitement. Some delay in finding out what a practical, driven, and resolutely unfeminine person I was, no matter how many lace dresses I bought or how many thongs he fantasized me into. I had no wiles at all, and was the least likely princess in the world. Know one reason I normally didn’t tell people, besides that it was so cringeworthy? Because I knew they’d say,“You?”and laugh in disbelief. I’d been to high school.
Last night had been fun, but it was today, and I was back at work and doing my best to keep my mind on it. See? I’d slept with the guyonetime, and I was already distracted! But the game had started at one-thirty and would be long over by the time I got back to Sebastian’s place around six, and I kept wondering how it was going, that was all.
At the moment, I was wrestling with electrical tape to fasten a bundle of wires, clumsy in my wet gloves in the dusk, and Carlton was saying, “Robillard talk to you much about the team? How they’re doing? Probably doesn’t discuss strategy with you, I guess. Not sure how much you guys are hanging out, either.”
I said, “What, LouAnn hasn’t kept you abreast of my love life? And here I thought I was such a fascinating topic.”
“I’m not interested in that part,” Carlton said, the tip of his nose red with cold. “Here. I’ll hold the bundle while you tape.”
“Thanks,” I said, a little surprised. Carlton had always seemed more than bemused to have a female foreman. A first in his life, he’d told me, and I didn’t think he’d done any cartwheels about it. After a minute, I said, “OK, that’s done it. Move on down with me. Why wouldn’t he talkabout the team with me? Because I’m a woman? Of course, it could be because I don’t know much about football. Good thing I don’t like him for that, because other than whether they win and whether he makes his kicks, I’m no judge. And I don’t care about that part anyway.” I sure hoped that was true.
LouAnn said from behind me, “Right. You only like that he’s rich and hot. Not that he’s an NFL player and you get to watch him on TV every week being a star and earning all that money. Ugh. Who needs it?”
“And this,” I said, “is why we don’t discuss our personal lives at work. Topic closed.”
“Oh,” Carlton said. “OK.”
I sighed. “If it’s not personal, you can ask. What’s your question?”
“Just wondering what he said about the game today, how they were preparing. Preparing to lose, I’d have said, but the score was 6 to 7 Devils in the third when I checked during my break, so they’re hanging in there. Weather’s bad, is why it’s so low. Defensive slugfest. Kinda surprised the Devils’ defense is playing that good. Not like they have been before this.”
“I told you guys not to tell me!” I yelped.
“Oh,” he said. “I forgot. Telling you that isn’t much of a spoiler. One point isn’t much. But I don’t see how the Devils win. The Bills pay the fans to help shovel the field before the game, that’s how bad it is out there. No heating element under it, either. Can’t expect Portland to be able to do much in that, not with the wind chill about twelve degrees and gusting, and with the snow making everything slippery. Robillard’s not going to save the day with some long field goal this time, not in the wind. Not to mention the teams’ records.”
It wasn’t all that warm here either, but my head was heating up anyway under my watch cap and hard hat. “Whatabout their records?” I said. “They’re both in the playoffs, aren’t they? And Sebastian will do fine. He’s a great kicker.”
Carlton blinked at me. “You don’t know how the playoffs work?”
“Of course I know how they work. They play each other, and the winner goes on. And it’s the top, uh …”
“Top fourteen teams out of thirty-two,” he said. “But only twelve play the wild-card game, six from each conference. The top two get to sit it out. That’s why it’s the wild card. Any of the rest can win and go on. Supposedly. Even if they’re not that good.”
“Fine,” I said. “And the Devils aren’t one of the top two. I knew that.” Although I probably hadn’t.
“No,” Carlton said, “they’re at the bottom. Bills are the Number Two seed in their conference, Devils are Number Seven. Three and six play each other, and four and five, so those are closer, at least. And they’re playing it in Buffalo, because the team with the better record gets the home game. I bet on the Bills, not that I’ll get much for it. Betting line’s too lopsided. I bet on the Devils to make the playoffs and made some money on that, but only about fifty bucks. Emotional bet, and you can’t afford to get emotional. I kinda want to know how they feel about it when they lose, though. Probably not too cut up, since they get about 42K for playing the wild-card game. Even if they lose, because they get the same for winning or losing. I don’t get that, but I guess that makes taking the L easier.”
“I wish somebody would pay me 42K for working one day,” Artie chimed in. “I bet Robillard has a great car. If I was an NFL player, I’d get one of those car garages with lifts and have a whole collection. Tom Brady has a Bugatti Verlon Super Sport that cost something like three hundred thousand, and man, that thing isslick.It goes from 0 to 60 in 2.5 and has a top speed of 265. He’s also got a Ferrari and a Rolls-Royce Ghost. The Rolls seems like kind of a boring car, just looks like a big sedan, but it probably impresses women. It has a built-in Champagne cooler, which is good if you like Champagne, I guess.”
“And if somebody else is driving it,” I said.
