AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Buddy of mine from Niagara. Remember I told you we’d talked about this? Looks like heads are rolling. Starting with your least favorite coach from Minnesota.”
It sinks in as my players skate past me into the locker room for the pre-game meeting.
Benham State Men’s Hockey head coach Sam Hirschfeld has been placed on an indefinite leave of absence pending further investigation by NCAA officials into allegations of corruption in his program.
A federal sting operation has found evidence that he hired sex workers for recruitment events with prospects, some of whom were underage at the time. Additional evidence suggests he facilitated a network of college coaches who all agreed to divide prospects in a quid pro quo arrangement.
Multiple rules violations are under further investigation.
Double fuck. I don’t know how far they’re going to dig, but if there’s one thing I know, the NCAA likes to make an example of people who are caught with their pants down. I haven’t done anything wrong. If he wants to strike a bargain, he could drag my name through the mud. And if it’s the feds, there’s no bottom in sight.
My phone buzzes and I pull it out of my pocket.
MEGAN:I’ll be ready and waiting for you, dressing free ;) xo
I stare at her message. It’s sexy as hell. I should respond.
But instead, my gut clenches and I pinch the bridge of my nose. Megan can’t know about any of this. Obviously, I can’t hide the investigation from her. It’s going to make national news. Knowing how Megan’s mother makes money, how that affected Megan growing up… I don’t know if she would understand. If she would forgive me.
My chest tightens and I rub at the spot where it aches the most. I feel paralyzed. I can’t control this. And I can’t stop it. It’s as if I can already feel it gaining momentum and spinning out of control, like a car hitting black ice. There are two ways it can end, but one is far more likely. The inevitability of the crash overwhelms me and I wonder if there will be an escape hatch or if we’re just destined for a head-on collision.
“Can I have my phone back?” Freddy interrupts my spiraling thoughts. I thrust it back at him as if it’s contagious, and he makes a face. “You okay, Coach?”
“I’m fine.” I pocket my phone and motion for the locker room.
There’s nothing I can do right now that will make a damned difference. So I block it out and throw myself into game mindset. I’ll deal with the rest of the bullshit afterward.
CHAPTER35
MEGAN
“Pick up those tits, mamacita!”Caro says with a whoop as Ainsley wraps a tape measure around my belly.
I never realized how short-waisted I am until a 31-week-old fetus started taking up precious real estate. I also never realized how ridiculously awkward a baby shower might be. To be fair, this is the first baby shower I’ve ever attended. So how was I to know that people would want to guess how big my belly is, or a melted candy bar looks like inside a diaper or take a drink every time someone saysbaby.
The game is sort of worthless to me because I can’t drink. Ainsley has been mixing the two of us ginger-cider mocktails, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the same. Also, I don’t think there’s actually a prize at the end. Something tells me Aly missed the point of the game when she announced it. But everyone else is buzzing on their fizzy pink palomas and giggling as Aly tries for the fifth time to line up the tape measure.
“I feel like this isn’t the right type of measuring tape for this,” Aly says as the thin metal strip crinkles and snaps back again.
“Where is my yarn?” Lule says, walking in at that moment with a bottle of vodka in one hand and my best friend from home in the other.
“Bee!” I squeal.
“Your belly!” Bee squeals, nearly toppling Lule as she does her high-knees happy dance thing, her long, white-blonde ponytail swinging wide enough to smack Lule in the mouth.
Lule sputters, batting it out of her face as I nearly jump off the chair. Faye steps in to catch me and help me down. My center of gravity is all wrong these days.
“One step at a time, Mama,” Faye says with a sweet smile.
“How are you here?” I ask as Bee wraps her long arms around me. Then she steps back, examining my belly and I examine her. I swear she’s even taller than her five foot eleven frame that she rocked through high school. And she’s gotten curvier, although I know for a fact she paid for two of those curves last year.
“Surprise! I already missed you when you were in town over the summer. I couldn’t miss this.” She squeezes me again, her wide smile filling her face.
“Wow,” Aly says, awe evident in her features. “You’re like,reallypretty.”
“Thank you,” Bee says.
It’s true. She’s beautiful. It’s also one of the reasons she’s so busy. Her dream has always been to dance in one of the big shows on the Strip, and maybe even make it to New York. But the funny thing about those long legs of hers? In New York, dancers are smaller. She’s actually too tall to even be a Rockette. But on the Vegas stage? With those legs? She might only be a showgirl now, but someday, she’ll be a headliner.
