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“I think it’s Rebecca and a girl I didn’t recognize. I couldn’t tell from where I was standing.”
Rebecca is another trainer and someone I haven’t spent a lot of time with. She seems nice enough, though. If I was big on making friends, maybe we could have gotten along.
“Alright. We’ll get it all sorted out, and you’ll be good to go.”
I wipe my palms down my leggings and say in a rush, “Actually, I can take her and get it sorted. That okay with you, Willow?” I shoot her a pleading look.
Her eyes widen briefly before she nods. “Yep. Totally okay.”
“Are you sure? I—” Adam starts.
I cut him off. “Perfect. Let’s go, Willow.” I clap my hands together and rush toward her. Grabbing her wrist, I pull her out of the room and into the hallway with my heart in my throat.
Willow tries to keep up with me as I plow down the hallway, asking if I’m okay and what’s happening. I don’t answer her.
It’s not until I’m shoving the women’s locker room door open and stepping inside that I release her and some of the tension that’s suffocating me.
“Get your skates on,” I say, wincing at the harshness in my voice. “Please.”
I wait for her to acknowledge me, and as soon as she does, I’m moving frantically around the room, collecting my own skates and everything I need for today’s session that I stored in here this morning.
Willow watches me the entire time but doesn’t say anything. I would thank her for that if I could trust myself not to blurt out something incredibly embarrassing. Like how I miss the way Adam felt pressed against me or how badly I wish he had planted one on me when he had the chance.
Fucking fuck.
Flopping down on the bench, I drop my skates on the ground and shove my feet into them, tying the left before the right. By the time I’m done, Willow is waiting at the door for me.
“Ready?” I join her and nod to the hallway.
She smiles, flashing me her teal-bracketed braces. “I am. Are you?”
“Yep.” I frown when she starts shuffling her feet. “What?”
Her green eyes are wary. “You could tell me if you’re not, you know, okay. I mean, obviously you don’t have to since we’re not really friends and you’re way older than me—”
“Hey,” I interrupt. “First of all, I’m not way older than you. I’m only twenty-three. And second, you’re as much of a friend to me as most people. I’m not exactly the easiest person to talk to, so . . .”
She shrugs. “Me either. I don’t have any real friends outside of the girls on my hockey team. But even then, they’re what my mom calls surface-level friends. The kind you shouldn’t let inside to see the real you but are safe to keep at an arm’s distance.”
I nod because I know exactly what she’s referring to. Unfortunately, I’ve had my fair share of those people in my life. They’re the kind of friends you would chat with in an empty room but never in a busy one. The kind that wouldn’t visit or call if you were sick but would rush to hug you and tell you how happy they are that you’re okay and how worried they were after you’ve recovered.
Bitterness settles like bile in my stomach. After my shoulder injury and an intensive surgery that was the final nail in the coffin I buried my hockey career in, I can count on one hand the number of teammates who made an effort to reach out and ask how I was doing. It wasn’t shocking, not when I already knew none of us were all that close, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.
Your teammates are supposed to be the people you can count on to be there for you when you need them, but unfortunately for me, that wasn’t my experience in Calgary.
“Your mom sounds like a smart woman,” I tell Willow.
“Of course she does. Who do you think I got all my smarts from?”
I arch a brow. “Fair enough. Who did you get your lack of humility from?”
She grins proudly, popping a dimple in her cheek. “That was all me.”
My lips curl in a smile. I see a lot of myself in Willow. Maybe that’s why I enjoy our lessons so much. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something every time she beats a previous record or crushes a new goal. Like I’ve used my talent for something helpful instead of letting it waste away. It’s only been two weeks, but even in such a short time working with her, I know she’s going to go on to do extraordinary things.
I’m just glad I get to be a small part of her journey.
13
