Page 95 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
As the kids chow down on their cupcakes, I spot Maya, who’s standing by the small side table where the drinks are.
“Adorable,” she mouths to me.
I laugh to myself before standing up to walk over to her. I bump into Isaac as he turns around.
“Damn, dude. Never thought I’d see you have such a wholesome birthday,” he says pointing to the tiara on my head. I chuckle and take it off.
A couple more of my teammates, whose kids are attending Annabelle’s birthday party, walk over to hand us plastic glasses of punch.
Dylan stands up from his spot, removes the bunny head he’s wearing, and joins us, holding the giant pink head under his arm.
“A little different from your last birthday party, right?” Dylan jokes. He squints like he’s thinking hard. “I’m pretty sure there was a strip club and body shots and a few ladies—”
A kid runs by and I elbow him, cutting him off. He frowns at me and I nod at the kid. “Don’t talk like that right now,” I tell him.
His brow eases. “Okay, yeah. You’re right. I should know better, being around Annabelle.” He sighs. “Seriously though, you’ve seemed to change your ways. It’s cool to see.”
The rest of the guys nod along.
“Yeah. Never thought you’d ever want to work with kids,” Isaac says. “The girls love your camp.”
“Annabelle comes home every day after camp raving about how fun it was,” Dylan says. “You’ve clearly got a knack for it.”
Pride swells in my chest. Maybe it’s weird, but hearing my teammates compliment me for something that’s not directly related to how I played during a game feels pretty damn great. Like I’m capable of being good at more than just playing hockey.
Isaac’s kids call for him and he walks off along with my other teammates.
Dylan turns to me. “Coach Porter was talking about you the other day.”
I hold my breath, shocked at what he’s said. That could be good or bad. “Really?”
He nods. “I overheard him on the phone. I think he was talking to your PT. He sounded impressed at your recovery. And he said something about some article where you were quoted. Said he was impressed at how mature you sounded. And I think he’s overheard us on the team talk about the hockey camp you’re running and all the good stuff we’ve been saying about it—about you. I think he’s impressed at how you’ve changed.”
Hope bursts in my chest. “Dylan, I swear, if you’re fucking with me—”
He holds up a hand. “I’m not. Look, I only heard bits and pieces of his conversation, but I know for sure he was talking about you and it sounded positive. I probably shouldn’t even be telling you this, but I wanted to give you a head’s up. You might be getting a call from your agent pretty soon. Just be ready.”
One of the moms yells for Dylan to come take a photo with the kids and the cupcake tower.
He sighs. “Duty calls.”
He puts the bunny head back on and walks off, while I take a second to think about what he just said. I know better than to get my hopes up, but I can’t help it. If this happens—if I get back on the team, I’d piss myself with excitement.
Maya waves at me and I walk over, tempted to tell her the good news. But I hold back. Dylan wasn’t even supposed to tell me. I should just keep this to myself.
“You look happy,” Maya says when I make it to her.
“Can’t help it. Cupcakes and tiaras are what bring me joy in life.” I place the tiara back on my head.
She laughs. “You’re such a good sport.”
“When a kid invites you to share their birthday party with you, you dive in head first.”
She laughs. “By the way, be ready to leave the house at eight o’clock tonight. I have a birthday surprise planned.”
“I don’t get any clues?”
“Bring a headlamp.”
