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“Circle up!” Coach bellows, and we obey, gathering around him, breaths misting in the chilled air. He’s got that look in his eye—the one that means business and brooks no bullshit. “Listen up, Sabertooths! We’re through January, and you bastards have clawed your way to second in the division. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but it ain’t first place either.”
“Here we go,” Soren whispers from somewhere behind me. “The ‘second place is just the first loser’ speech.”
He isn’t wrong; that’s the way Coach always lays it out. I know it bothers some, but in my opinion they shouldn’t be here then. We’re not playing for fun, we’re playing to fucking win. So, yeah, second place really is just the first losing spot. If you aren’t gunning for number one, what are you even doing in the NHL?
“Damn right!” Sawyer calls out, and a few chuckles ripple through the team.
“The Jags are only first because they haven’t faced us yet,” I shout, feeling the conviction in my bones. “Once they come up against us, they’ll lose that precious spot.”
A cheer breaks out amongst the team, with chants about how we’re going to destroy the New Jersey Jaguars when we finally face them. I think I’m the one who roars the loudest, which is no surprise since it’s personal for me.
“Aight’, aight’, down boys,” Coach bellows. “New Jersey’s not next, so even though they’re gunning for us, we need to focus on the teams who come before them, even when we have a personal score to settle.” Coach’s gaze locks onto mine, and I nod once, sharply.
“Understood,” we echo back, a chorus of determination.
As the team disperses, I can’t help but feel a rush of adrenaline. Jared Frank, once my comrade-in-arms, is now the opponent. My Moby-fucking-Dick, except, I can’t let him get away. Every time I face him, I have to be the better player.
Back when I found out he’s the one Simone cheated on me with, the one who knocked her up, I blamed him and only him. If she hadn’t chosen to be with him over me, I would have taken her back in a heartbeat. That’s how fucking young and stupid I was.
Jared, the dick that he is, has used every opportunity to rub the affair in my nose. Humiliating me publically, playing dirty on the ice, smearing my name. But it’s more than that, the need to win is in my blood, in the very air I breathe. Even if Simone was a lousy price, I still lost. Yeah, it’s fucking personal, and it’ll always be this way.
The way I see it, the teams we face before the Jags are just pawns standing in my way, preventing me from going straight for the king. But I’m ready.
Jared Frank, I’m fucking coming for you.
Gail
1 month later.
Never in my life has a small piece of plastic felt this heavy. Despite knowing the result deep in my gut, my eyes are glued to the small window on the stick I just peed on. I know a second line is going to show up at any second. I don’t know how I know, I just do. Maybe it’s intuition because I’ve barely had any symptoms apart from throwing up at random times.
Morning sickness my ass!
Mine comes whenever it wants to, and it’s rarely during the morning.
The seconds tick by, I’m lightheaded, feeling like I might pass out at any moment. Come on, I urge the test, show me the result! Just when I think I can’t take the suspense any longer, a faint second line appears in the results window, making my heart sink.
Positive.
I’m pregnant.
A sound that’s like a mix of a sob and laughter bursts from me. I’m fucking pregnant. Knocked up by a man I’ve never even seen with my eyes. Shit, I don’t even know which of the men from Cupid’s Court it is since I’ve been with both of them intimately. What a mess I’ve gotten myself into.
My mind races, thinking of the implications. I’m not ready to be a… mom; I can barely take care of myself so I have no business being responsible for another life.
A wave of nausea hits me. I barely make it to the toilet before throwing up violently. As soon as I’m done, I flush and wash my face before brushing my teeth so hard my gums feel sore as I assault them with the toothbrush.
Pregnant.
Shit.
Pregnant.
Who’s my baby daddy? It has to be one of the two men who have been my only, andveryfrequent, clients at Cupid’s Court.
Pregnant…
Wait a second, maybe the test is wrong. I’ve had tests done by the Cupid’s Court medical team, and they told me the pregnancy tests they did were negative. So… maybe this one is wrong? I already know that’s not the case, yet, I’m not ready to face facts, so that’s what I keep telling myself. That my gut feeling and this pregnancy test is wrong, and that the Cupid’s Court tests were correct.
