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And it’s starting to affect my game. I’m starting to slip, and I can’t even pretend I don’t know why.
I stare into my locker after practice, knowing she’s in this arena somewhere, probably avoiding me.
It shouldn’t matter. It’s what I said I wanted. It’s what I need.
And it sucks.
“Know the man, know the player,” Jericho says, sitting on the opposite end of the bench.
I shake my head.
“What’s going on?” he asks. “Is it your kid? You missing her?”
Yes. I’m missing her.
And my conversations with Celeste about spending more time with her haven’t gone well. She’s fighting me on every front. I want to talk to Eloise about it because her perspective is always better than mine.
But I’m not telling Jericho about any of that.
“I’m fine.” I chuck my jersey into the locker, and when I look up, I see that some of the other guys have stopped moving and are now actively involved in a conversation I don’t want to have.
“You’re obviously not fine,” Burke says. “You had an open goal at the end, and you shot it into the post.”
“Sometimes I miss,” I growl.
“You don’t miss,” Burke says.
I sigh. “Will you get off my case? I’m fine. I just need to get focused.”
“It’s a woman,” Jericho says.
Krush, Junior, and Finn nod at each other, like this makes perfect sense.
“What are you even talking about?” I say, miserable that I’m the subject of their attention. “I need to shower.”
I stand, and Finn Holbrook steps forward. “You need to woo her.”
I frown. “I don’t even know what that means.”
He slowly nods. “Woo.”
“There’s no woman.”
“This—” Finn waves a hand in my general direction— “has heartache written all over it.”
I’m annoyed. “Will you get out of my face?”
“In Alberta, they call me Romeo,” Finn says, wagging his eyebrows.
“Oh, whatever,” Jericho jokes. “In the States, they just call you slow.”
A roll of ohhh’s from the guys. I roll my eyes, but I see there’s no getting away from them. They’re all intent on figuring out what’s wrong with me.
“So, who is she?” Finn asks.
“There is no woman,” I repeat.
“Drop the act,” Krush says. “There’s always a woman.”
