Page 127 of Desperate Pucker
The girl nods excitedly. “Yeah! I mean, I’m nowhere near as good as you are, but I’ve always wanted to skate like you. You’re so powerful on the ice, but graceful too.”
Maddy’s cheeks flush. “That’s such a nice compliment. Thank you.” Maddy squeezes her hand. The fan looks like she’s about to pass out from joy.
“I’m not a hockey fan, so when my boyfriend dragged me here tonight, I wasn’t that excited. But then I saw you, and I literally almost peed my pants. What a cool surprise to see you here! I didn’t know you were into hockey.”
Maddy chuckles. “I wasn’t until recently. I started working as a skating coach for the players.”
“That’s so freaking cool!” She holds up her phone. “Would it be okay if I get a picture with you?”
“Yeah, of course,” Maddy says.
I offer to take their photo. She wraps her arm around the fan, who’s smiling so big, she looks like she’s bursting with joy. I take a bunch and show them to her to make sure she likes them.
She squeals. “I can’t believe it! I actually met Madeline Macer. And you’re so cool! And I have a photo with you!”
Maddy beams. “What’s your name?”
“Carly.”
“You made my whole night, Carly. I’m so glad you came up to me.”
“Hey, are you gonna be at that event that the athletic department at Hollis University is hosting next month?”
“I was invited, but I wasn’t planning on going.”
“You should! I’m a student there, and I’m on the figure skating team. You have so many fans that would die to meet you.”
“Okay, maybe I will. Thanks, Carly.”
She smiles and walks off. Maddy turns to me.
“That was pretty cool,” she says.
“Look at you, stealing attention away at a hockey event.”
She chuckles.
“That’s cool you were invited to that fundraiser,” I say. “Why can’t you go?”
Her smile fades. “It’s more like I don’t want to go.”
“How come? If it’s fans like Carly coming up to you, I bet it would be a blast.”
She’s quiet for a second. “I did fan events like that right after the Olympics, and some people were really mean. They brought photos of my crying face for me to sign. Or they’d say rude things while filming me on their phones so they could get a clip of me freaking out. I stopped doing public events after that.”
Anger rockets through me. It’s messed up that Maddy is missing out on connecting with her fans because some people choose to act like pieces of shit.
“I just don’t want to deal with that again,” she says. “I’d go in a heartbeat if people were nice and polite like Carly. But I bet there’d be at least one person there who’d be a jerk.”
“What if I could guarantee that only nice and polite people would come up to you during that event?”
She looks confused. “How would you do that?”
“I’ll come with you. I’ll be the buffer between you and any dickheads who try to disrespect you. I’ll tell them off or escort them out. Or shove them into the nearest wall.”
She chuckles. Her expression turns warm. “You’d do that for me?”
“Absolutely.”
