Page 104 of Pucking Good Girl

Talia’s best friend, Sam, was elected president after Gen’s expulsion from the sorority’s ranks. And Talia has been telling us how she wants to throw the most memorable party in Zeta Theta Beta history.

The end of this record breaking season needs to be celebrated, and even Coach Harrison gave us a rare day off practice tomorrow. So I’m looking forward to kissing my girl and partying the night away.

But I can’t go until I’ve sat down with my agent and the two scouts from Seattle.

One look at my smartwatch tells me that they’ve been with Becks for over an hour now.

That isn’t a good sign. At least not for me. If they wanted to see him to tell him that they’re passing on him, that would surely take a few minutes. Right?

My stomach clenches with anxiety. If this had happened nine months ago, I would have been shocked that Seattle could choose Becks over me. But now, I don’t blame them.

We both had amazing seasons, and Becks is as good a player and as deserving of a rookie contract as I am.

I rest my head against the locker room wall. What is Talia going to do? She’s graduating in a month. Every time we’ve talked about the future, she’s been telling me that—whether she decides to apply for a graduate program—she doesn’t know if she wants to stay in Star Cove or move on and spread her wings, so to speak. So getting the contract doesn’t translate into being the chosen one.

If I don’t get the contract with Seattle, would she rather stay here while I finish my senior year, or would she rather me sign a contract with another team and follow me wherever that might take us in North America?

But what if she doesn’t choose me?

My stomach clenches again. Every time the matter of her making a choice has come up, she’s been saying that she doesn’t know how she’s going to choose between me and Becks.

The truth is that I kind of understand where she’s coming from. We’ve lived together for six months now, and we’ve been happy.

Rather than creating more division, having Talia by our side brought me and my brother closer. We seem to have found a natural rhythm to how we spend time with her, in and out of bed. Sometimes we share her, and that’s hot. But we’ve also been able to give each other space to spend one-on-one time with her.

There is one part of me that would be more than happy to keep things the way they are. But that’s not possible.

Even if Becks agreed to share Talia long term, our careers would pull us in different directions. Making a choice would be inevitable.

I’m so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn’t hear the locker room door open.

“Shayba,” Coach Harrison is still here. “You’re wanted in the meeting room next to my office.”

My knees feel like Jell-O as I rise from the bench by my locker. “Thanks, Coach.”

He nods. “Whatever happens in there, I just want you to know that it’s been a pleasure to coach you. And I’m proud of the way you stepped up for the team this year. You’ve been one hell of a captain. So I wish you the best of luck in there. But if the result of that meeting is that you get to stay a Cove Knight for one more year, I wouldn’t be sad.”

I’m not mad at Coach for what he just said. I learned a lot playing for him.

As I make my way down the long hallway, headed to the meeting room Coach indicated, my mind is in total turmoil. I thought that getting a contract with Seattle was what I wanted most in the world. But without Talia, even the pro contract of my dreams has lost its luster.

By the time I knock on the meeting room door, my head is spinning.

The oldest of the two scouts invites me to take a seat. The atmosphere in the meeting room is fraught with a strange tension, and I don’t know what to make of the look on my dad’s face.

No matter how this whole thing goes, he’ll be proud of one of us and disappointed in the other. I guess I’m about to find out where I fall in this scenario.

“I’m going to cut to the chase and give you this,” he slides a folder toward me on the table.

Seattle is offering me a contract. Holy shit. I’m happy, but I’m also sad for Becks. And I’m worried about what this means for me and Talia.

“Mack?” Dad clears his throat.

I was so distracted by my mini internal meltdown that I have no idea what they just said.

The terms of the contract must be ok, or Dad wouldn’t have even brought me into this meeting.

I’m like the proverbial deer in headlights; completely paralyzed in front of the biggest decision of my life so far.