Page 13 of Scoring Chance

She sighed quietly. “I don’t want you to get upset. This is the first time we’ve met so I don’t even know if I should say anything. It’s not my place.”

I blew out a breath. “Please just tell me. It’ll be nice to have an outside perspective.”

“Okay, here’s how I see it. You’re young and fairly new to the league.”

I opened my mouth to interrupt but she held up a hand and pleaded with her eyes to let her continue. I leaned back and waited.

“I’m also new to my career, so I’m trying to picture myself in your shoes. I understand wanting to prove myself and establish myself in the industry as someone great to work with. I want to be known as one of the best. I want to be sought after. I understand that drive and desire.”

I nodded. She matched my thoughts exactly.

“But I know it takes years of experience to get there. I know there are things I still need to learn. There are people I have to meet and work with. They have expertise they can share with me. They can train me and make sure I don’t make the same mistakes they did. I’ll keep pushing myself and working hard to get to the position I want, but I also know I need to be patient. I can’t just walk into a team’s training facility and demand they hire me. I might be good at what I do, but I haven’t earned that yet.”

She watched me, but I didn’t give her a reaction. I was still letting the words sink in.

“I’ll be honest. I haven’t seen you play, and I don’t know your stats. You’re probably an amazing goalie. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t, but you still need to go through the fire. You have to learn from others and respect that there are guys that are better and more experienced than you. You have to respect that your time will come if you stay dedicated and work hard, but right now is the time for you to learn.”

I shuddered as a chill ran through me. I didn’t like what she was saying. I didn’t want her to be right, but it was impossible not to agree. She was annoyingly spot on. I didn’t know how or why she knew exactly what to say to get me to hear her words, but I felt like my soul was shaken. Coach said something similar, but hearing it from her seemed to resonate. She was unbiased, a complete outsider, yet her words connected. Had I been spending so much time trying to prove myself that I’d become insufferable? This wasn’t who I wanted to be.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped.” She moved to stand but my hand shot out, and I grabbed her knee, holding her in place.

“No. I’m just processing.” I looked down at the ground and relaxed when she didn’t leave. “I’ve been really struggling with this for a while. Then I meet you, a complete stranger, and you say the exact thing I need to hear in a way that I can’t help but agree with.”

She reached forward and took my hand in both of hers. “I think it’s easier to hear it from someone you don’t know. There are no personal feelings involved, no bias.”

I stared at our hands for several seconds before meeting her eyes. She smiled and squeezed my hand. “Sorry for getting so heavy the first time we met.”

I ran my free hand over my face and blew out a breath. “I feel like you reached into my soul and shook it.”

She let out a slight chuckle. “That sounds harsh!”

I matched her smile. “It kind of was.”

She pursed her lips in a challenge and I found myself drawn to them. I wanted to know what it felt like to kiss them. I couldn’t though. She probably thought I was unstable. I leaned back, pulling my hand away.

“Why are you out here? Isn’t this your party?”

She looked at me like I caught her stealing, and cringed. “Madi and my sister were so excited about throwing me a party and introducing me to everyone, so I didn’t say anything, but I kind of hate parties.”

I barked out a laugh. “Then you joined the wrong group of people.”

“Really?” She sounded dejected.

“Yeah, the Pride is notorious for celebrating every little thing with a big dinner or party.”

She dropped back into her chair, resting her chin on her chest. It was a funny sight with her puffy jacket pushed up around her face, covering the bottom half.

“At least you won’t be the center of attention at the others.”

She shrugged and dropped her eyes.

“You can always hide away with me,” I offered.

Her eyebrows raised, and I laughed. “Promise?”

“Definitely. Anytime you want to escape, I’ll go with you.” At least, until she hears what the team says about me and decides to stay away.

“Thank you.” She seemed genuinely relieved.