Chapter 51 Cameron
fifty-one
Cameron
“Fuck,” I groan, flopping onto my bed as Zhuri comes to sit beside me.
My entire body is sore after the brutal beatdown we suffered at the hands of the Winnipeg Wyverns. After all the drama before the game, no one’s head was in it. The only reason we lost three-nothing is because even when he’s bad, Lev is still a goddamn beast in the net.
Zhuri rests her head on my chest and takes my hand in hers. “Are you okay, Cameron?”
I sigh and let it all out. “No. We were fucking betrayed, Z. I’ve played with Michael since I was traded to the Lizards years ago, and he still did that? I didn’t know how much that would fucking hurt.”
“It hurts a lot when someone you know stabs you in the back.”
“We barely got to talk to our teammates as well. I saw all the side-eyes we got tonight during the game. They don’t trust us.”
“Then we’ll make them trust us.” Zhuri looks at me with those big, brown eyes, and things feel a little more okay. “They only just found out about us. They’ll need time to absorb the news and see that it doesn’t change anything.”
“I don’t know if we can actually do that.”
“Let’s talk to them then,” she says, sitting up and grabbing her phone. “Our next game is in three days. We need to win them over before that.”
MOVES LIKE JAGR
*Zhuri removed Michael from the chat*
*Zhuri added Noah to the chat*
Zhuri
I’m not going to harp on our loss tonight, but we have to talk as a team
Between everything that happened tonight, Cameron and I need to set the record straight
Everyone, meet at Cameron’s place tomorrow morning at nine
We won’t keep you long, but we have to get all this out in the open
“There,” Zhuri says, letting her phone fall to the mattress. “We’re going to talk to them in the morning.”
“What’s going to happen if they don’t accept us being together?” I ask nervously.
She gives me a soft smile and a sweet kiss. “Nothing. We’ll still be their teammates. If they don’t accept us right away, they’ll come around. Nothing about the team is going to change.”
She can’t know that, but I’m comforted anyway. “I’m sorry I’m so in my head right now.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Zhuri assures me.
“I just…” I start before sighing. “I know I’m in therapy and on medication, but I’m still going to have episodes like this. I’m doing better, but I’ll never be perfect.”
“I don’t need you to be perfect. I need you to be you. Depression is a beast, Cameron, and I know you’re still going to struggle. It’ll never really go away. When the bad days hit, I’ll always be right beside you. You can always lean on me.”
“Always?” I know the emotions are clear in my voice, but I can’t find it in me to care.
“Always,” Zhuri whispers, lips ghosting over mine before she presses them together. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stick around as long as you let me.”
Even after all the shit that happened tonight, I smile at her. “Hope you’re ready for forever then.”
“I really like the sound of forever.”
Zhuri takes my hand in hers, and we lie in silence.
Having her here with me still doesn’t feel real sometimes, and I’m the luckiest bastard in the world because it is.
There will be hard days ahead for me, but with Zhuri beside me, the idea of facing them doesn’t feel so daunting anymore.
“Welcome back,” I say, letting Noah into my penthouse. He was one of our old teammates on the Lizards, and he’s Michael’s replacement.
“Good to be back,” he chuckles.
I let out a breath. “Hold that thought because you’re coming into some shit, man.”
I lead him into the living room, where the rest of our team is waiting.
“The guys already know him,” I say, “but for everyone else, this is Noah Levine, our newest center. Amalia and Aili, he’ll be playing on your line in place of Michael.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Noah,” Zhuri says, standing up to come over and shake his hand. “I’m Zhuri. Cameron and I are your co-captains.”
Noah finds an empty chair and sits down as Zhuri and I stand in front of the team. “Well, I’m happy to be here, but I can’t say I have any clue why I am.”
Bruno’s voice is slightly clipped. “Gonna have to talk to your co-captains about that, Levine.”
Zhuri and I sigh together before she speaks. “It was outed yesterday, so the rest of the team knows, but Cameron and I are dating. That’s what started all of this.”
“Oh shit,” Noah says in surprise. “That’s not allowed, is it?”
“It wasn’t,” I answer. “We kept it secret for a while because of that. But that’s where Michael comes into this. He apparently figured it out and was blackmailing us because he didn’t think a woman deserved a better position than he had.”
“Sounds like Michael.” Noah rolls his eyes.
Zhuri continues. “He sent a picture of us to Sean, and we met with him yesterday morning. That’s when we learned that the league has decided to leave fraternization up to the individual teams now.
After our conversation with him, Sean has decided to remove the clauses for the team.
Michael was furious when he learned that, and it turned into a screaming match outside the locker rooms.”
Noah nods. “Seems like I’m caught up now. So what’s the meeting for?”
I look at the rest of our teammates. “Well, the team wasn’t too thrilled to hear about our relationship when that came out.”
“Look at it from our perspective,” Clara says. “Our co-captains were sneaking around with each other, breaking rules the rest of us were abiding by. It’s not a good look.”
“It isn’t,” Zhuri sighs. “We can’t take that back, but what we can do is assure you this won’t have an impact on the team.”
“How could it not?” Reggie asks.
I speak with as much confidence as I can muster.
“Before it came out yesterday, how many of you who didn’t already know about us thought something could be going on?
” No one raises their hands. “Exactly. Zhuri and I have been together for over a month now, and you had no idea because we didn’t let it impact the team. ”
“A month?” Theo says in surprise. “Damn.”
“How do we know it won’t change going forward?” Marie questions.
“You have to trust us,” Zhuri replies. “Outside of not telling you about our relationship, we haven’t given you a reason to not trust us. We’re the same players we were before. That won’t change just because we’re dating.”
“It’s just weird, I guess,” Venda states. “It’s weird that you two were screwing around while no one else knew. How could you keep an entire relationship from your teammates?”
Elisabet looks to Sidney, who just nods, before she speaks up. “They’re not the only ones.” Our teammates look at them curiously as they come to stand beside us. “Sidney and I have been dating for a year, and you had no idea.”
Lina’s jaw drops. “Another relationship?!”
Sidney shrugs. “Ours predates the Comets’ being formed, but yes, another relationship. But just like with Zhuri and Cameron, you wouldn’t have known because Bet and I don’t play favorites on the ice.”
“This is a lot to process.” Aili pinches her brow.
“I know it is,” Zhuri says. “But we want you to know that you can still trust us to lead the team.”
“It might take some time,” Amalia says, “but we’ve played with Z for years. I know we can trust her. It’s going to be weird at first, but I think we can get used to it.”
“All we ask for is an open mind,” I add. “I’m very serious about Zhuri, so I genuinely hope you can all come to accept that.”
“I’m serious about you, too,” Zhuri smiles, taking my hand.
A couple of our teammates awww when I lean over and kiss her.
Today went better than I hoped.
I know it’ll be an adjustment for everyone, but getting to be out in the open with Zhuri is everything I’ve wanted.
I never wanted to hide her, and now I can shout from the rooftops just how in love with this woman I am.
The future seems a little brighter now.