Page 136 of Hard to Get

“I think it went okay.” He grimaces. “But I thought that back in junior hockey too. Then everything went to shit.”

“It won’t.” I sound confident, like I know what I’m talking about. I don’t know his coach, either. But I know Jayden, and I have to believe that team leadership would want to listen to him, because he’s honest and principled and he genuinely wants this team to do better. “What did you say?”

“I told him… well, he already knows reporters are asking questions. I told him about the other rumours that are starting to build. I said I think Bish has some issues he needs to deal with, that it’s impacting the team. I told him I think we all need to be held accountable when we fuck up. I didn’t want him to think I’m criticizing him or his coaching style, and I didn’t want him to think I’m stabbing a teammate in the back.”

I nod. “And what did he say?”

“He said he agrees. Accountability has been lacking with this group.” He makes a face. “He said he didn’t want to throw Barbs, our old coach, under the bus. He’s been trying to get a good understanding of the team dynamics before he starts making big changes. He thinks team chemistry and accountability are essential for success and he agrees there are problems.”

“That sounds good.”

“And he says there are some things in the works but he can’t say much right now.”

“Understandable.”

“He also commented about me working with Moisey and said they want to support me in my development any way they can.”

I beam at him. “That’s great!”

“Right? So I felt pretty good after.”

I kiss his cheek. “Yay.”

“Get a room!” Laurent calls. “We’re done here. Are you two playing?”

We jump up to get cues. Jayden racks the balls. They decide Laurent will go first and Jayden and I shoot a ball to see who goes next. It’s Jayden.

Laurent breaks and pockets a ball, so he shoots again. Then it’s Jayden’s turn. He assesses the table with the seriousness of a surgeon in the OR. He pockets three in a row. Yikes.

My turn. I plant my feet, bounce a little on my toes, and grip my cue as I line up the shot I want to make. With a satisfying crack, the cue ball hits the solid five ball and it rolls neatly into a pocket.

I smile and prepare for my next shot. Within minutes, I’ve cleared my group and I’m aiming for the eight ball. I’m off a bit, and it rolls soooo slowly… taking forever… and then drops into a pocket.

“Jesus Christ,” Jayden says. “What the hell was that?”

“You did not tell us Stella’s a pool shark,” Laurent says.

“I didn’t know.” He curls his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me closer to kiss my forehead. “Good game, shark.”

We play a few more rounds then get food. The guys all get beers, so I have one, too. There’s a surprisingly large number of food options here.

“They have the best burgers,” Jayden tells me.

“Hmm. Okay.”

We all order burgers, but the guys get salads and I order fries. That amuses me.

“You’re really loading up the weight on your squats,” Laurent says to Jayden. “I was watching you earlier.”

Jayden nods. “Yeah. It’s intense.”

“It’s good since you have such skinny thighs,” Cam says.

We all burst out laughing. Jayden’s thighs are like telephone poles.

“Strength exercises increase your testosterone,” Laurent says.

“I have no problems with my testosterone,” Jayden replies.