But…maybe? Frankie would never know if she didn’t make the first move and if Jules said no, if Frankie asked her for a drink or a meal or…anything, she would accept it and be proud of herself for at least giving it a shot. She would happily settle for someone she could call a friend in a new city, because it had been years since her friends were just a stone throw away.
She was going to ask, the words on the tip of her tongue and just about to slip out; would you want to go get a bite to eat? A drink? A coffee?But then the elevator dinged and the doors opened. The empty hallway that led to Frankie's condo stared back at them and just like that, the moment was gone.
“Well, this is you I guess,” Jules said with a laugh. “I hope you get some rest, Lord knows we could all be sleeping better, right?”
Frankie smiled in return and nodded. “Right, yeah. Thanks.” She stepped out of the elevator and threw one last glance at Jules over her shoulder. “Have a nice evening.”
The doors closed with Jules gave her a wave and as soon as she was alone, she deflated.
“Nice job,” she muttered, giving her head a shake. “Way to really give it your all.” She rummaged around in her bag for her key and turned to the right to head towards her door at the end of the hall. As she walked past the door to the condo beside her own, she heard a loud pair of male voices swearing and cheering above the sound of rock music.
“Dude, you’ve got him, you’re right on him. Aim right, right! BOOM. Smoked him!”
“Fuck yeah, the boy’s hate to lose.”
Great, she was living on a floor with a bunch of frat boys who spent their free time playing shoot ‘em up video games. She tapped her key fob against the little pad beside her door and it clicked open. The condo was still bare, with only basic furniture and a nice TV sitting on an entertainment console in front of a large, plush couch. While there wasn't much to it yet, it was nicer than anywhere she had lived before.
She dropped her bag on the kitchen island and grabbed a can of sparkling water from her fridge before she padded into her bedroom and changed out of her work clothes into an old pair of sweats. She pulled her hair, which desperately needed a trim, up into a bun on the top of her head then fell backonto her bed and stared at her ceiling. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Halifax waterfront glimmering through her bedroom window.
Out of everywhere she'd lived, the view through this bedroom window was easily the most picturesque she’d ever had and it was calming, watching the water ripple with the waves and the boats come and go.
She closed her eyes and let herself relax into her plush duvet cover. The room was quiet and she took a deep breath, counting in for five seconds before she exhaled, counting out for five seconds.
As much as she didn’t want to think about work tonight, the team practice rink appeared in her head and before she could will the thoughts away, she started to visualize the drills on her list for tomorrow’s practice.
The team,herteam, was settling into their new way of life and adjusting to her coaching styles. Luckily, which came as a relief to her, she’d felt respected and listened to so far.
Still though, she couldn’t quite put her finger on why Cameron Clarke, a talented hockey player and a certified heartthrob looked so familiar to her. She could almost swear that she'd seen him before, somewhere that definitely wasn’t on a hockey rink or on her television.
“Shit, I need a drink,” she said aloud to no one but herself.
Chapter 6
Wearing a pair of leggings and an oversized hoodie, Jules tapped a keyfob on her brother’s condo door and let herself in.
An hour earlier she’d been standing in the elevator with Frankie, watching her push the button for the same floor her brother lived on and now she was walking into Cam’s space, met by loud shouts as he played what she assumed to be an NHL game on his Playstation.
Because apparently he didn’t have enough hockey in his life already.
“Fuck you, bud. That was a wicked play,” he yelled into his headset.
Jules rolled her eyes and helped herself to some of the meal prepped food in his fridge. She popped some kind of chicken pasta dish into the microwave and cracked open a cold can of Diet Coke then slid onto a barstool at the kitchen island.
She had been able to keep her composure in the elevator with Frankie, not wanting to let it slip yet who her brother was. Her acting skills were more impressive than she thought but she had to feign ignorance. She didn’t want to be pulled into Frankie’s orbit because of Cam.
No, she wanted to be pulled into Frankie’s orbit because Frankie was so gorgeous it made her heart skip a beat, because she felt a…sparkle between them.
A goddamnedsparkle.
She wanted to be pulled into Frankie’s orbit because Frankie wanted it too. But Frankie was her brother’s COACH. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.
“No fucking way! How did that not go in!”
Jules glanced at Cam and rolled her eyes. It didn’t matter that they were in their late 20’s, her brother would always be the same little kid and as frustrating as it could be sometimes, Jules knew that if he were any different, their relationship might not be the same.
“Sounds good dude,” Cam said from his spot on the couch. “I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow. I really hope Stevens doesn’t have bag skating on her to-do list because I almost hurled last time.” He gagged then laughed. “Who knew a chick would be one of the toughest coaches we’ve ever had? But yeah, it’ll be a rough one. Take it easy, man.”
Cam slid his headset off and tossed it onto the couch beside him then leaned back against the couch cushions and stretched his arms above his head.
