“Here,” Micah said, passing me a bottle she retrieved from her bag.
I froze for a beat before taking it from her. “Thanks.”
She didn’t move away immediately. She lingered long enough that I had no choice but to lift my chin and meet her eyes.
“Something’s up with you.” Frowning, she crossed her arms over her chest again.
“I’m good,” I said, but the words felt sour on my tongue.
“Something has you off kilter. If it’s just the migraine, then fine, but if it’s something else…” She didn’t finish the sentence, clearly hoping I’d do that for her.
“Salty about the fact I’ve spent the last month making sure we were in separate rooms to the Knights and now we’re rubbing shoulders on purpose.”
It was partially true, but not the entire reason for my mood. Obviously.
“I get that,” Micah said. “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t like, though. Both coaches came up with this idea Friday night, apparently. I’m guessing you both played nice enough forthem to see teamwork.” The tone of her voice was inquisitive. She was asking about what might’ve inspired them to think of it. “Know anything about that?”
My fingers tightened around the bottle neck. “No, I left after food.”
“Alone?”
I bit my lip. “Yes, alone. I got an Uber back because I had the start of the migraine.”
I knew my best friend didn’t believe me when her eyes dimmed and she gave a small nod, looking past me instead of meeting my gaze. “Okay,” she sighed. “You and Connor are on warm-up, then coaches are running the rest.”
She left without another word, and I closed my eyes, inhaling. In for four. Out for four.
Slow it down, settle the heart rate.
My fingers dug into the sides of my braid and tugged. I didn’t like that I’d lied to her, but it was temporary. Once my head was clearer, I’d tell her the truth, but now wasn’t the time.
I forced my feet to move, though they resisted, heavy and sluggish, like the ground beneath me was laden with cement.
The tunnel stretched ahead, walls narrowing. Brightness at the far end widened and spilled across the floor. One by one, the shapes of my team came into focus, blues and whites contrasting with the greens of the grass. I slowed without meaning to, taking a breather as the chatter grew louder. Someone laughed, and my spine straightened when the low rumbles of male voices got louder. But it was pointless delaying this now.
I just hoped that neon sign above my head wasn’t as obvious as the flush on my face.
20
Connor
I’d been on the pitch for long enough to pretend I was settled into the morning routine, long enough to stretch, to joke lightly with the boys, to look as though I was present in more than the most surface-level way. But none of it sank in. Everything since Friday night had been slightly out of sync, like my mind had stayed behind somewhere while my body kept moving forward out of obligation.
The lads were scattered around as they finished mobility. Jake was beside me, talking about some protein experiment he’d made in his kitchen, but I barely registered any of it. My thoughts kept drifting back to Teddy. To the way she’d kissed me. And to the way she’d left so fast I barely managed to get a full breath in before she was gone.
“Con,” Jake said, nudging my arm. “Blink twice if you can hear me.”
“I can hear you,” I said, even though I’d caught maybe five percent of his story.
Head tilting, he eyed me. “You look rough. Didn’t sleep?”
“A bit.”
Coach’s whistle cut across the pitch. The Knights shifted automatically, running toward him. “Valkyries are on their way out. I mean it when I say play nice. Coach Em and I talked Friday night about starting a tradition of group training every other week in season.”
There were a few groans behind me—good-natured ones, more theatrics than genuine protest. Coach Knox told me as soon as I got in this morning that he and Coach Emery had talked to a couple of investors who suggested the idea. With our new photography guy, Jay, involved too, it could look great for the optics of both teams. The new media team sure had their work cut out for them, that’s for sure.
Mixed sessions were usually chaotic in all the predictable ways: too many egos, too much competitiveness, and half the lads forgetting that the Valkyries could likely run circles around them, if given half a chance.
