Page 9 of Enemy Games

She made a choking sound, obviously not expecting my answer. “Excuse me? What did that chunk of wood ever do to you?”

“Anyone—strangers off the street, serial killers, or worse, the captain of the men’s team—can just come knocking, and we’re expected to blindly answer.”

“Well, yes. That is typically how the front door of a house works, but based on the likelihood of those options, I’m guessing that this time it was the men’s team?”

I propped myself up on my elbows. “Unfortunately.”

“Why is that a bad thing?”

“Because they invited us to a press conference under the guise of a meet and greet for the teams.”

She groaned. “Oh, man. Well, we knew it was going to happen at some point. How much time do we have to stew over it?”

“A whole day. It’s not until tomorrow night.”

“How rude of them.” The corners of her lips twitched, but she maintained her frown.

I shook my head. “The audacity.”

She rolled her eyes before picking up her phone.

Hopefully, this would be the one big press event we had to do, then we could focus on what really mattered. We needed time to practice together and build chemistry with each other. I was itching to get back on the ice and play.

Classes would start in two days, and then life would fall back into the crazy routine of practice, study, and sleep until the semester ended. Spending any of these peaceful moments plastering on a smile and pretending for the cameras seemed like the worst kind of waste.

But it came with the territory. It wasn’t a surprise to any of us. It was just annoying. The only time I didn’t mind was when I was interviewed during intermission or after a game. I was in the zone and so full of adrenaline I didn’t even think about how nervous I was.

I hated public speaking, so phone and email interviews were my favorite. Press conferences? Yeah, I’d do my best to hide in the background. But I was one of the oldest players, so I would probably be asked questions.

Maybe I could shove Chris in front of me.

“Do you mind interviews?”

She shrugged. “It’s a part of the territory. I guess I’m used to it.”

Yeah, the majority of my fear was gone, simply because of how often it happened, and I would have to get more used to it in the coming weeks.

Instead of dwelling on how annoying it was going to be, I spent the next day establishing my new routine.

Chris and I joined two of our teammates, Ellie and Trista, on a morning run on the loop that circled campus before heading to the arena for a few hours of weight training. It was the only room we had to share with the men’s team, but luckily we didn’t run into any of them. Even though our practice schedules eliminated most of that risk, there was still a chance some of them could come in.

I hadn’t heard anyone mention what they thought of our arrival, but I could only imagine some of them would be territorial. Going from having the run of the entire arena to having to share with two dozen strangers didn’t sound all that fun, but they would have to get used to it. We were here now, and that wasn’t going to change.

“What are you going to wear tonight?” Chris asked once we were back in our room, burning time before we had to leave and head back to campus.

“I’m not sure.” I ran a brush through my damp hair. “Is it casual or formal or do we wear our jerseys?”

She narrowed her eyes then grabbed her phone. “That’s a good point.”

A moment later my screen lit up with the message she sent to the team thread.

No one responded until Karly replied.

Karly Botts: Coach said casual is fine but to remember this will be the first impression we make on most people.

I glanced at Chris. “That sounds vaguely threatening.”

She laughed. “Yeah, and not entirely helpful.”