Chapter 33
“Oh my god finally,” Sydney groaned when Frankie appeared through the thinning crowd in the main arena concourse with her jacket slung over her arm and her work bag hooked over her shoulder.
She looked amazing in the suit, just like she always did, and Jules still found it hard to believe that she’d somehow convinced someone who looked like Frankie to be with her. “We’ve been waiting for like an hour.”
Frankie rolled her eyes at Sydney but she smiled then approached Jules and bent down to give her a tender, unexpected kiss.
She tasted like blue Gatorade and the mint chapstick Jules learned she kept in the pocket of her suit jacket at all times during games.
The soft act of affection took Jules by surprise but she melted into it, leaning into Frankie’s touch.
“Hi,” she said when Frankie pulled away. She reached up and brushed a bit of lint off the lapel of Frankie’s jacket. “You okay?”
“I am now.” Frankie smiled, sliding a hand around her waist then fixing her eyes on Sydney. “Nice to see you two have become fast friends.”
“Me and Juliette over there? Oh yeah, we go way, way back. We’ve been good pals since we all had drinks together and we even follow each other on Instagram now so the friendship is like, totally offish.”
“Juliette, hmm?” Frankie glanced down at Jules and smirked.
“Yup. And that makes you Romeo, Frank.” Sydney pointed a finger gun at Frankie, pulled an invisible trigger, and smiled, baring all of her teeth. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, can we go drink now? I need to drown my sorrows because I came all this way just to watch your team lose.”
“Hey!” Frankie scoffed, feigning offence. “I thought you came to see me?”
“Yeah, sure,” Sydney drawled, waving them towards the exit. “That too.”
“Syd, I’m parked at the back in the employee lot. Do you want to take the bus to the bar or would you like a ride?”
Sydney spun around and bowed in apology then headed towards the door Frankie walked through a few minutes earlier.
“She’s kind of wild…” Jules whispered once Sydney was out of earshot.
Jules didn’t even know Frankie had a friend coming to town but she’d had a great time with Sydney when they’d gotten drinks and watching the game with her, despite only knowing her for such a short amount of time, had been fun.
It was a last minute decision to book the trip to Halifax, Sydney informed Jules, then wasted no time giving her a detailed briefing of her history with Frankie.
They’d met in college and became fast friends, were linemates for four years, won two national championships together, almost kissed once at a party before realizing how weird it would be given they were not attracted to each other in the slightest, and had been best friends ever since.
It was simple, to the point, and it was a comfort to Jules, knowing that Frankie hadn’t been alone after college, at least not when it came to family.
Because Sydney was as good as family and the pride on her face when Frankie stepped onto the Harbour bench the first time that night made it very clear.
“Isn’t she though? That’s what makes her so much fun.
” Frankie laughed and gave Jules a kiss on the forehead.
“Come on, Juliette, let’s go entertain her for a couple of hours before I take you home to make me feel better about losing today.
I promised Syd a greasy breakfast tomorrow morning so I want to make the most of tonight. ”
Jules grinned and hugged Frankie tightly. “Lead the way, Romeo.”
As promised, they’d spent the next two hours at the same bar around the corner from their condo building that they’d already been to as a trio. This time, Sydney had gotten more than a little bit tipsy from the drinks the tattooed bartender gave her for free.
“She’s not Josephine,” Sydney whined as she tipped back one of the complimentary shots.
“Josephine?” Jules mouthed to Frankie who could only shrug in response.
“I don’t know why she won’t just commit to ussssss and let me tell the world. I would be an amazing girlfriend. You know I would, right Jules? I’d be just like Frankie, and I bet Frankie is an amazing girlfriend.”
Jules couldn’t meet Frankie’s eye when Sydney said it, though her cheeks flamed it the mention of a defined label. The ‘girlfriend’ conversation hadn’t come up in conversation yet so Jules couldn’t really answer the question the way she wanted to, even though she knew the answer was yes.
She knew Frankie would be an amazing girlfriend and that’s exactly what Jules wanted her to be but they’d skipped right to I love you before discussing an official relationship. How absolutely cliche of them.
When the night came to an end, Jules left Frankie and Sydney in the elevator so Frankie could head up to her own condo and get Sydney settled with some water and some Advil.
“Fifteen minutes and I’ll be at your door,” she told Jules, giving her hand a squeeze as Sydney swayed on her feet beside them.
“Goodnight, Juliette,” Sydney slurred. “Thanks for letting me borrow Romeo.”
Jules changed out of her clothes and put on pajamas then got the shower ready, knowing Frankie would want one after such a long, taxing day.
A knock on her door made her smile and she pulled on a robe and gave herself a once over in the mirror near her front entryway, running her fingers through her short hair.
To her surprise when she opened the door, it wasn’t Frankie standing in the hallway.
“Hi.”
Her brother stood before her with his hands in the pockets of a faded pair of sweatpants that had to be at least five years old – the logo from a team he played on during his early days in the league cracked and worn just below the waist line. He looked exhausted and absolutely miserable.
She knew the loss that night would’ve hit him hard but he always bounced back. Hockey was a season full of games and never just one game. There was always another chance to perform better, a chance to win, that was the motto.
It didn’t look like he was living by that now.
“Can we talk?”