Page 20 of Broken As Puck

He grinned, unbothered by my reproachful comment. “I had tequila last night and not a single scandal resulted. I don’t think I even spoke to a woman.”

“Uh-huh.” I was dubious of that. I didn’t think Jesse knew how to stay away from women, drunk or sober. “You didn’t end up naked anywhere you shouldn’t be?”

“Nope,” he declared proudly. “I’m a changed man.”

I snorted. Yeah, that would happen when hell froze over, but at least he was being more careful. I was grateful for that.

I grabbed my jeans from my duffel bag, stepped into them, and wrestled them into place. I’d chosen a tighter pair than usual because I was meeting with the documentary team and knew Chelsey would be there. She’d always liked my ass and I found myself wanting to impress her.

Next came a hoodie and then shoes. I packed my gear back into the bag and dropped it in front of my locker. I’d return for it when I left so I could get everything into the laundry ASAP. Unwashed hockey gear stank to high heaven.

I caught up with Coach Dunn near the rink, and we climbed the stairs together.

“I’m glad to see you taking more of an active role in the team, off the ice,” he said as we rounded the corner and started along the corridor. “You’re a good player, but there’s more to being a leader than that.”

I nodded and didn’t admit that I might not have made this offer if not for Chelsey. That would be not only embarrassing but unprofessional too. I pushed open the door through to the open-plan part of the office where most of the staff worked and held it for Coach Dunn. Upper management had their own offices, but the others were clustered in here.

Through the glass wall opposite us, I could see the documentary team sitting with Chelsey in one of the meeting rooms. She glanced over, perhaps noticing the movement in her peripheral vision. I tried to catch her eyes, but she made it impossible.

My heart ached. Once upon a time, we used to have entire silent conversations with our eyes. I’d never had that with anyone else the way I had with her and I missed it.

I missed her.

I stopped and Coach Dunn nearly walked into me.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded, grabbing my shoulder to steady himself.

I pressed my lips together and put one foot in front of the other, my insides twisted into knots because of the realization I’d just come to.

I didn’t just want to make up my past mistakes to Chelsey. I wanted her back.

Not that I thought she’d ever consider it.

I looked out the window. The sky was clear and I knew that despite how toasty it was indoors, the wind outside would be cold and crisp. I could use a faceful of that wind right now to jar me out of my current headspace.

Coach cleared his throat. “Matthews.”

I lurched forward, fastening my hand around the door handle and opening the meeting room door. I’d been so out of it that I hadn’t realized we’d arrived. I squeezed around the side of the table, leaving space for Coach to take the seat nearest to the door.

“Thanks for coming,” Kim said, setting her phone down. She seemed like one of those people who was permanently attached to the device. “We’d appreciate any input you’re able to provide. I suggest that we talk through our plan and you give us feedback and suggestions if you have any. What do you think?”

“Sounds good,” Coach Dunn said.

“Patrick?” Kim prompted.

Patrick shifted his bulky form on the too-small chair and smiled at us both. Of the three documentary staff, he seemed the most personable. Kim came across as being all-business and Max was perhaps a little more reserved, although I’d noticed yesterday that he had no problem talking to Chelsey.

Patrick launched into a spiel about when and where they’d thought they might carry out the filming and what kind of content they wanted to show. We both listened and Coach Dunn made a few notes on his phone.

When he finished, he cocked his head. “Any thoughts?”

I glanced at Coach, but he still seemed to be getting his notes in order. “You mentioned interviewing players before and after some of the games, especially if we make it further through the season, right?”

Patrick nodded.

“Can I suggest that the interviews prior are at least the day before, if not a couple of days? Most players have routines on game days and we’re a superstitious bunch. If our routines change, it might throw us off.”

“Good point. I’ll make sure to arrange to do those interviews well ahead of time.” He turned to Coach. “Will that be a problem?”