Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
CHELSEY
“Remind me what your mantra is,” Layla said as we left the apartment building on Monday morning.
“I’m not interested in heartbreaking hockey players, no matter how cute they are with their ugly cat.”
Layla cheered. “You’ve got this. Be strong.”
“I will not waver,” I said with more confidence than I felt.
The truth was, I’d already spent far too much time poring over photographs of Matt with that damn cat.
They were just so adorable together. It was ridiculous.
Like, how was it fair that he looked even sweeter cuddling the scruffiest cat at the shelter than he had been with the cutest?
It was as if the cat’s resting bitch face made his obvious adoration even more charming.
I groaned, horrified by my thought process, but kept my lips pressed firmly together so I wouldn’t give away any of it to Layla. We stepped out the back door and I opened my umbrella, ready for our short walk to the car.
“I have faith in you.” Layla waved and disappeared around the corner of the building, starting her own commute to work.
“Well, that makes one of us,” I mumbled.
I hurried to my old SUV, stuck the key in the lock, and turned it, grimacing at the rough scrape of metal.
It wouldn’t surprise me if something in the lock mechanism was rusting.
I yanked the door open, ducked inside, and closed the umbrella before shaking it off and dropping it on the passenger side floor.
As I drove to the stadium, the window wipers could hardly keep up with the water streaming down the windshield.
“At least there isn’t a hole in the roof,” I muttered to myself as drips began to fall from the top of the door, where the seal was broken, and soaked my left arm.
When I finally arrived, I had to park at the far end of the lot because all the closer parking spaces were taken. I thrust the door open, shoved the umbrella through it, and popped it open, then slung my bag over my shoulder and dashed for the front entrance.
I got to the front door at the same time as a man in a hooded jacket. As I closed my umbrella, he pushed his hood back and held the door open. I glanced at his face and recognized the brown eyes and dark, closely shorn hair.
“Gadot,” I exclaimed, hoping that this was a sign my luck for the morning was changing. “Can I have a quick word with you before training?”
“Of course.” He gestured for me to walk through the door, and I did, ducking awkwardly around him in a way that, in hindsight, wasn’t really necessary.
Gadot rolled his sleeve back and looked at his watch. “I’ve got about ten minutes before I really need to be in the changing rooms. What’s up?”
I moved to the side, so we weren’t blocking the doorway, and he went with me. “Have you heard of the Rainbow Sports Alliance?”
Now that we’d finished with the shelter’s fundraiser, it was time to move on to the next one, and Matt’s suggestion was the one that had resonated with me most so far—although, of course, no charities were unworthy of support.
He cocked his head. “You mean the charity that financially assists aspiring LGBTQ+ athletes?”
I nodded. “I really like what they’re doing, and I’ve been brainstorming how we might help them.
I’d like to organize a charity game. Some of their players could play with some of ours.
It would be a meet-and-greet as well as a training opportunity for them.
We could sell tickets and any profit would be donated.
I also thought we could have an auction. What do you think?”
Gadot’s smile had gradually widened until it stretched from ear to ear. “I love that idea! We could invite the players the charity is working with and form mixed teams with queer players and allies from among the Chaos.”
“Do you think many from within the team would be interested?”
He held his fingers out and began ticking them off.
“Freeland is bi. He’d definitely be in. I’m not sure whether we have any other queer players, but we have plenty of allies.
Jesse would be all for it. Hell, he’d probably dress in rainbow colors too.
I think we’d also have Kelly, Matthews, Gauthier, Harris, and Taylor.
Maybe some of the others. I don’t know the younger guys or the transfers as well.
We’d easily get enough for a team, though. ”
My gut fizzed pleasantly. I couldn’t wait to get to my desk and start planning. The shelter fundraiser had been a lot of fun, but this would be something I could really sink my teeth into.
“Would you be interested in helping me plan it?” I asked, trying to gauge his expression. “Obviously, I’ll do most of it, but I’m not LGBTQ+, and it would be really helpful if I had someone who is, to make sure I’m on the right path.”
“Absolutely,” he said before I’d even finished talking. “If you need anything sense-checked, just ask. I’m really excited about this. The team never would have been involved in anything as…liberal…under Coach Daniel’s watch. Just let me know what you need.”
I smiled, my heart warming at his enthusiasm and generosity. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll let you get to training now.”
He didn’t move. “Actually, before you go, I have a question for you.”
“Sure.” I adjusted my weight from one foot to the other.
He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “What’s up with you and Matthews?”
I drew back quickly, my chest tightening. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Shit. Had Matt broken his promise and told people after all?
Gadot’s mouth twisted mischievously. “He’s practically mooning over you. He stares at you anytime you’re in the room, and he never does that. It’s so out of character for him.”
“Really?” I asked before I could think better of it.
“Oh yeah.” He nodded vigorously. “I was starting to think he might be aspec. Almost all the other guys either have a partner or regularly hook up. Austin didn’t before Jane, but he’s basically a hockey-playing cyborg masquerading as a human—I mean that in a nice way. I like the guy, don’t get me wrong.”
I fought the urge to tell him to hurry up and get to the point.
“With Matthews, though,” he continued, “it always struck me as strange that he never dated or went home with any of the women he met at bars and clubs.”
“He didn’t?”
Ugh. Why did I keep caving in to my curiosity? It shouldn’t matter to me that Matt might have been telling the truth about not dating or sleeping around.
Only…it kind of did. Because if he’d gone for so long without showing interest in anyone, did that mean he was still hung up on me?
Whatever the case, I didn’t like that people could tell he was into me. That was dangerous to my career.
“Not once,” he confirmed. “So, are you interested in him too?”
I swallowed. “It doesn’t matter, because nothing can happen between us. Fraternization between staff and players isn’t allowed.”
He grinned. “Actually, it’s just discouraged. I get what you’re saying, though. But keep in mind that your contract with the team is only temporary, and Matthews is stupidly smitten. Maybe, when the contract is up, something could happen then?”
I considered how best to respond and decided that, in this case, silence was probably the safest strategy. Ignoring his comments about Matt and me, I shot him a smile and said, “I’ll be in touch about the fundraiser.”
I headed toward the stairs before he could ask anything else, detouring to the kitchen for coffee. When I returned to my desk, I found Stella sitting at the adjoining desk, waiting for me.
“Good morning,” I greeted her.
“Good morning.” She crossed her legs and studied me closely. “How are things going with the documentary?”
“Fine,” I replied, wondering why it felt like a trick question.
“Is it?” She tilted her head to the side. “There aren’t any problems that have come up?”
“Noooo?” I dragged the word out, growing more uncertain by the second. “Why?”
Stella’s foot beat a rapid tattoo on the floor.
“It’s just that I assumed we’d have to troubleshoot something by this point.
The fact we haven’t makes me nervous. I feel like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, except in this case, that might mean a fully grown professional hockey player doing something massively stupid or throwing an adult tantrum. ”
“I get it.” The initial interviews had gone off without a hitch.
Even Delacrue had been on his best behavior.
It was good, but considering their reputation, I’d expected something to go wrong by now too.
“It’s all progressing as it should be, though.
I have the all-clear to invite them to film the home game tonight, right? ”
“Of course. Can you confirm they’ll be here? Mr. Trent wants to know.”
I nodded. “I’ll check now.”
I took my phone to one of the meeting rooms, shut the door so no one would be able to hear my call, and found Kim’s number in my contact list. I dialed it and waited for an answer.
“Kim Johns,” she said briskly.
“Hi, Kim, it’s Chelsey from the Chicago Chaos.”
“Oh, hi, Chelsey. You aren’t calling to let me know there’s an issue with filming today, are you?”
“No, of course not. I just wanted to confirm it’s all a go.”
“As far as I know, it is. We’ll be there a couple of hours before the game.”
“Fantastic.”
We ended the call, and I updated Stella, then plunged headfirst into coordinating the technical setup with Max via email and a handful of phone conversations.
We’d gone over the basics previously, but there were so many more details involved for a full game than there had been for filming training and interviews.
Before I knew it, lunch had passed and I realized with a groan that I’d forgotten to pack anything to eat. There was a sandwich place nearby, so I grabbed my handbag, slung it over my shoulder, and called out to Stella that she could get a hold of me by phone if she needed me.
The faint chemical scent of the rink filled my nostrils as I took the stairs down. The players had cleared off the ice and cleaning staff were tidying the place up prior to the game tonight.
As I passed the changing rooms, I glanced over and spotted Matt and Austin standing outside. Austin was speaking with his characteristically unreadable expression while Matt rolled up the sleeves of his button-down.
I slowed, gawking at his exposed forearms. They were thick and muscular, flexing with each movement. Blond hair dusted his golden skin, and a couple of freckles prevented him from looking photoshopped. He switched arms and his biceps bulged.
Damn, this was practically arm porn.
He raised his head in response to something Austin said and his gaze locked with mine. It was then that I realized I’d stopped walking and was now standing motionless, staring at him like he was some kind of real-life thirst trap.
My face flamed, and I ducked my head and raced for the exit.
“Chelsey!” he called after me.
I kept running.