85. Grant
EIGHTY-FIVE
GRANT
FEbrUARY, THIS SEASON
Italy is a dream.
Being on the Olympic team is everything I thought it would be and more. The Opening Ceremony was electric. We’ve been putting in good prep work to get ready for our first game next week, and Hannah is about to compete in the figure skating finals for a medal.
I find a spot in the ice-skating arena and wave to Coach Saunders who jogs my way from the VIP entrance.
“Hey,” I say. “I was worried you were going to miss her performance.”
“I was stuck doing an interview with NBC. There are too many responsibilities as a head coach.” He shrugs off his coat and pulls at his collar. “At least the media training I did with Piper makes talking to reporters more tolerable.”
“It’s about time you don’t stare someone down when they hold a microphone in front of you.” I snort. “I saw Hannah and gave her the gift you had for her. Do I want to know what it is, or will it make me throw up?”
“A ribbon.” Brody smirks. “Is that a problem for you?”
“Not at all, and I’m going to pretend it has a singular function of only going in her hair.” I scowl. “Don’t ruin hair accessories for me, man.”
“How is she feeling?” he asks, wiping his palms on his joggers.
I bet he’s as anxious as I am. My heart is about to leap out of my throat, and I’m afraid to watch Hannah’s routine.
She’s been working her ass off the last two years to get to this point after recovering from her burnout.
I know medals aren’t everything, but it would be really fucking cool to see her stand on that podium after the journey she’s been on.
From a retired figure skater to the comeback girl, a good score in tonight’s free skating program would solidify her dominance in the sport.
“Nervous, but ready. She’s been waiting for this,” I say.
Hannah’s name is announced, and the crowd cheers. The music starts, and she’s perfect from the very beginning. Precise, poised. Chin up, arms elongated. I grab Brody’s hand when she lands her first jump, wanting to scream.
“If she gets this quadruple Axel right, she’ll be the second skater to land one in competition,” I whisper.
“Hush. I’m trying to channel good energy,” he whispers when she takes off. “Come on, baby.”
I hold my breath as she sets up her entry. She lifts off the ice and I count each rotation, nearly jumping out of my seat when she finishes the sequence upright.
“Oh my fucking god. She did it. SHE DID IT,” I whisper-shout, shaking Brody’s shoulders.
The music ends, and we’re both on our feet. We look like total idiots whistling and jumping up and down as Hannah curtsies for the judges and waves to the crowd, but I know neither of us give a shit.
“What do you think?” Brody asks. “I hate how goddamn subjective the scoring is.”
“Has to be good enough for a bronze. No one else is going to try that move. That was a risk, and it paid off.”
Her score is announced, and the points are high enough to put her in position for at least a silver medal.
I finally relax as we make our way down to where Hannah is taking a sip of water.
I let her and Brody have a few minutes together, and when I’ve seen enough of their PDA to last a lifetime, I roll my eyes.
“Okay, lovebirds. Can I say hi to my sister?” I ask, and Hannah bursts out laughing. “The room we used to share was covered in figure skating outfits. I deserve at least one hug.”
“Sorry, G.” She slides out of Brody’s hold and squeezes me tight. “The Everett siblings take on the Olympics. Can you believe it?”
“Not at all, and I better see you cheering us on at our first game,” I say.
“I’ll be there.”
Hannah pats my shoulder and pulls away. Her attention moves to another skater who stops to talk to her and I yawn, tired after a long day. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I frown at Maverick’s name on the screen.
He’s in Italy too to watch Emmy play for the women’s team. We just had dinner together yesterday, and I didn’t think we had plans for tonight.
“Hey, Mavvy,” I answer.
“Hey, man. Are you busy?”
“I have a minute. What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Have you checked ESPN recently?” he asks.
“No. Why would I check ESPN?”
“You might want to.” There’s a long pause. “Someone shared pictures and videos of you and Amelia together. There’s an article about you two and your alleged relationship. I, ah, wanted you to know so you could get ahead of it and—”
My blood turns cold. I hang up on him mid-sentence, my fingers shaking as I type in the website. When I do, I find my face plastered in the middle of the screen.
The article shows dozens of snapshots of Amelia and me.
There’s one from the Halloween party we went to a few months ago.
Another of me leaving her apartment building with a baseball hat pulled low on my face.
A third of us on the sidewalk in Baltimore, looking at each other while we both laugh.
The images are grainy, but you can make out our faces.
You can see the way she’s smiling, and there’s no doubt it’s us.
Bile climbs up my throat. My stomach drops to my feet. Every breath I try to take feels like I’m being stabbed with a hundred knives when I read the headline.
Up-and-coming hockey heartthrob caught in steamy tryst with NHL coach!
Jesus fucking Christ.
There’s a hand on my shoulder, and I jump at the contact. Coach and Hannah are staring at me, and I start to panic.
“Everything okay, Everett?” Coach asks.
“Um.” I fan my face and wonder if it’s possible to pass out from shock. Why the fuck do these people care about what an up-and-coming hockey player is doing in his free time like I’m some goddamn global name? “I think we have a problem.”
“What’s wrong?” Hannah steps toward me. “Did something happen?”
I hold my phone so Coach can read the headline. After he does, he blinks.
“Why are you showing me a gossip website?” he asks.
“You know Amelia Green? The head coach for the Baltimore Sea Crabs?” I say, and it’s a stupid question.
Of course he knows her. I’ve seen the two of them talk on multiple occasions. They sat next to each other at All-Star weekend. I’ve read over her shoulder in bed while they’ve exchanged texts about drills and stick prototypes.
“Yes,” he deadpans. “I had lunch with her last week. Do you know Amelia Green?”
“I guess you could say that.” I let out a nervous laugh even though nothing about this situation is funny. “I’m, ah, kind of in a relationship with her. And I think I’m about to be in a shitload of trouble.”
Coach’s eyes narrow and his nostrils flare. He looks at the large screen with the current placement of skaters, then back at Hannah. She kisses his cheek and pats his chest.
“This sounds important. You two figure out what’s going on. I’ll be here when you’re finished,” she says, and I feel like the biggest piece of shit for taking away this moment from her.
Coach hooks his thumb over his shoulder, and I follow him to a secluded alcove behind a thick curtain. My phone keeps buzzing with notifications, and I’m desperate to know if any of them are Amelia.
“Start from the very fucking beginning,” Coach says through clenched teeth. “Because I’m hoping this is a big misunderstanding.”
“We met at a restaurant in Denver before a game years ago. We’ve been friendly for a while, but we started dating each other about two years ago.
We’ve kept the relationship a secret up to this point out of fear of how people would react, and we didn’t…
I never…” I blow out a breath. My chest hurts so fucking bad.
“I need to see her. I need to know if she’s read this article. ”
“Back it up. Did you say you’re dating her?
And you’ve been together for years? Are you out of your fucking mind?
Did you ever stop to think about the consequences of your actions?
” Coach hisses. “She’s a coach, Grant. Not a player or some intern whose name no one knows.
A coach, and the leader of a team. A person in her position can’t be associated with anyone who could be considered her subordinate. How stupid are you?”
“Don’t you dare stand there and lecture me on relationship ethics while you’re dating my little sister,” I warn him.
“This is going to spread like wildfire. Once the league gets a hold of it, your ass is going to be on the line. I’m sure hers already is.
” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “The only blessing is we’re thousands of miles away from league headquarters and nothing can be done while you’re over here.
But don’t think that means the commissioner isn’t going to come for you the second we land back in the States. ”
“What’s going to happen?”
“Fuck if I know. This is unprecedented. She’ll be fired. You’ll be suspended. The—”
“Fired?” I exclaim. “We’re not breaking the law. She’s not even my coach! We’re two consenting adults who—”
“The league doesn’t give a shit about that. They’ll see it as an abuse of power on her end. As for you, they’ll blame you for negligence and goddamn stupidity.”
“I need to see her. I need to make sure she’s okay,” I croak.
“The second you step outside this arena, every reporter is going to ask for a statement. You don’t say anything to anyone.
You don’t mention this to anyone. Every answer out of your mouth has to be no comment, even when they try to goad you for your side of the story.
You need to stay away from the microphones until we leave Milan, then we can start damage control. ”
He almost looks sympathetic as he says it. I want to push back and argue with him, but he’s right. Talking to reporters will give the league ammunition. It’ll be confirmation that all of this is true, and I need to protect her as best as I can.
“I’m going to find her tonight,” I tell him. “I don’t care if I have to sneak out or cross into a different country. I’m not letting her handle this alone.”
Coach doesn’t fight me. He gives a stiff nod and jerks his chin back toward the ice. “We see how Hannah places, then you find Amelia.”
The next hour passes, and years are shaved off my life. Hannah’s chance of winning a gold medal gets more likely with each skater. I can’t find it in me to be excited for her, and that makes me feel even worse.
I check my phone during a TV break, and it was a stupid idea. My group chat with the guys has close to two hundred messages. I have six missed calls from my agent. My mom called too, and that must mean things are bad.
I make a split-second decision and type out a text to Amelia as fast as my fingers can move.
Me
We need to talk. Where are you?
AG
Team hotel.
Me
Meet me in the fitness center in fifteen minutes. There are bathrooms in there. I’ll be in the women’s one with the door locked. Knock three times.
AG
I don’t think we should be seen together.
Me
Please, Lia.
AG
Fine. Fifteen minutes.
“I’m leaving,” I whisper to Coach. “I can’t let her handle this alone.”
“Grant,” he says, but I’m already charging out of the arena.
Pulling my hat low on my head, I sprint back to the team hotel.
I gasp for breath in the cold winter air and almost twist my ankle on a brick road as I tear down the hall that leads to the fitness center like my life depends on it.
I lock myself in the bathroom and check my phone to assure myself she’s going to come.
She has to.
I sit on the counter and stare at the ceiling.
How the hell did we get here? Years of doing everything right, only for it to blow up right in our faces on the biggest stage of our careers.
Three knocks on the door have me falling into the sink. I scramble to my feet, yanking it open and nearly sobbing in relief when I see Amelia.
“Hi,” I whisper, cupping her cheeks. “Are you okay?”
“Am I okay?” Lia repeats, stepping inside and locking the door behind her. “How could you ask me that when our private relationship is being broadcast for the entire sports world to see?”
“I didn’t know people were taking pictures of us.
That has to be illegal and violate a million laws.
But it’s fine. It’s okay, Lia. Every dollar to my name will go to making sure those images are taken down and the internet is scrubbed of any evidence of the two of us together.
When the Olympics are over and the season gets back into full swing, everyone will forget about us. ”
“You don’t get it, do you?” The look she gives me is a knife to my chest. A dagger she twists when she moves away from me.
“The damage is already done, Grant. For the rest of my career, I’m going to be known as the coach who slept with a player.
It doesn’t matter if I win a Stanley Cup.
It doesn’t matter if I go on to have the most victories of all time.
When a reporter hands me a microphone, they’re going to want to know what happened between us.
When a player comes to Baltimore, they’re going to wonder if I’ll make a move on them too. ”
“It’s not that big of a transgression. Look at some of the shit guys in this league have gotten away with in the past. There are tons of horrible people who suit up every night, and you’re not one of them.”
“That’s the problem. All of those people were men.
Me? I’m held to a different standard. I should know better.
It’s not just boys being boys. It’s a grown woman who made a choice others don’t agree with.
They’re going to assume that because one of us did it, all of us are doing it.
” Her voice cracks. A tear slides down her cheek, and my soul splits in two.
“I’m going to take the brunt of the blame while you walk away looking like a hero. ”
“That’s…” I sniff. A sob racks my body because she’s right. She’s right, and I hate it. “I can fix this. I’ll figure it out. I love you, Lia. I have to figure it out.”
“You can’t always be the person who fixes things, Grant,” she whispers. “Maybe some things are supposed to stay broken.”
“Don’t say that.” I step toward her. She retreats until her back presses against the door, and I stop in my tracks. “You don’t mean it.”
“My career might be over. If I lose hockey, I lose everything. I can’t have this ripped away from me.”
“Let’s take a second to think things through.” My voice is barely above a rasp. I’m holding on by a thread. “We’ll take some time to decompress, and we’ll talk when we get home.”
“We shouldn’t see each other until then. We both have important games over the next week and a half, and I can’t have any distractions. I need to keep my head on straight, and that means not being around you. The more we’re seen together, the more people will talk about us.”
“I understand.” I nod, but I’m shocked I’m not bleeding out on the bathroom floor. That’s what this pain feels like. The thought of losing her forever cuts deep. “I’ll give you the space you need, but I’m not going to give up on us, Lia. I’m here whenever you want to talk.”
Amelia hesitates like she wants to say something else, but she doesn’t. She turns away and slips out the door, taking my heart and the last shreds of my optimism with her.