Chapter 3
three
Cameron
Ican feel a migraine forming behind my eyes as I listen to all of my teammates bitch around me.
Well, not all of my teammates. Seeing as we’re in the men’s locker room, it’s just the guys in here.
If the girls are anything like we are right now, Zhuri probably has the same headache coming in.
Zhuri.
How the fuck am I supposed to work alongside Zhuri Hart? She’s been awful to me since her ex, Jack Ledger, poisoned her view of me before we even met.
It would be easier if she were just my teammate, but no. She’s my goddamn co-captain.
We have to lead this team together without acting like we want to murder each other.
Piece of cake… as long as that cake is made up of things that aren’t easy, like Sudoku puzzles or Rubik’s Cubes.
Or pretending you have your shit together and don’t feel absolutely defeated knowing what your dad is going to think of this new league, so you dread talking to him…
I feel the darkness starting to creep in, but Sid pulls me out of it before I can completely sink. “Cam, you good?” he whispers.
“Hm?” My head snaps to his. “Uh, yeah… I’m good.”
“Good, because your teammates have been complaining for the last twenty minutes, and I don’t think you’ve heard a damn word.”
I sigh, put on my best captain face, and stare at the guys in front of me.
They don’t all look furious, more so just annoyed than anything.
Wes, Nico, and Sid are my best friends, so I know there won’t be an ounce of misogyny from them.
I don’t know them as well, but I think Asher, Theo, and Lev will be fine as well.
It’s Bruno, Reggie, and Michael that I’m not sure of.
Of course, Michael immediately proves me right.
“I’m not playing with fucking girls,” he snaps. “I didn’t work my ass off to get to the pro level to have that diminished by playing with women who can’t keep up with us.”
It takes everything in me to keep from laughing.
Michael was our third-line center. It’s honestly hysterical that he thinks some of our new teammates aren’t actually better than he is.
I’ve watched the Dragons play for years; I’m from Boulder.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Isla Morin on a better line than Michael.
I keep my tone in check so I’m not completely disparaging my teammate. “The women who made the team earned their spots the same way you did, Michael. The same way all of us did. You can think what you want, but there will be repercussions for anyone mistreating their teammates.”
“This is just a really massive change,” Asher sighs. “We haven’t played with the women yet. We might not find our rhythm as a team before the season starts.”
“We might not,” I shrug, “but we have to try. The women will all be thinking the exact same thing. They haven’t played with us, either. We’ll have to spend this summer getting to work together as a team so we can start the season off strong.”
“I won’t take orders from Zhuri Hart,” Michael scoffs.
I cross my arms. “Yes, you will.” My tone is low and harsh as I lose my patience with his bullshit. “You’re a Comet now, and Zhuri Hart is a co-captain for the Comets. You will respect her and treat her as a valuable member of this team.”
Nico looks at me in surprise. “I thought you didn’t like Zhuri, Cam?”
“I don’t,” I admit. “That’s not a secret. I won’t deny, though, that she’s an absolutely incredible left winger and could probably kick every guy in here’s ass if she wanted to.”
She definitely could. Sure, I don’t like her, but I’ve still seen her over the years since college. That initial attraction to her didn’t fade; she’s still hot as hell. Honestly, she’s even more fit now than she was then.
I fucking hate how attractive she is.
“So what do we do for now?” Wes asks, rubbing the back of his neck as the light overhead catches on all the freckles across his face.
“For now,” I assert, “you all get your heads out of your asses and figure out how to be good teammates.”
“How are you feeling, Cam?” Sidney asks as we trudge down the hallway.
“Fucking wonderful,” I groan. “And I just can’t wait to hear from my dad after this.”
As if on cue, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I fish it out of my black slacks and hit reject as soon as I see my dad’s contact lighting up my screen.
“Nope,” I groan. “Not dealing with him right now. Fuck that.”
Sid pats my shoulder solemnly. Nobody knows my daddy issues better than Sidney Gagnon.
A door opens further down the hall, and I watch as Zhuri and Elisabet exit the women’s locker room. I have every intention of walking the other way—I don’t have enough of an emotional battery left to deal with Zhuri right now—but Sid nullifies that as soon as he waves at them. “Hey, Bet!”
I see Elisabet smile, and she grabs Zhuri’s hand and drags her over to where we are. Zhuri, for her part, seems just as disinterested in this as I am.
“How’d it go with the guys?” Bet asks as they come to a stop in front of us.
“Miserable,” I breathe. “Most of them are okay, but not everyone.”
“It’s Michael, isn’t it?” Zhuri seethes.
“I’d love to say no, but I don’t think that would do any good.”
Zhuri rolls her eyes. “He’s a fucking dick.”
Sidney pipes in now. “Cam already put him in his place.”
“He did?” She looks genuinely shocked.
“Yes,” I lament. “You only think I’m an asshole. But you’re my co-captain and teammate now. Off the ice, I loathe you, but on the ice, we should be a united front.”
Zhuri grumbles. “I fucking hate that you’re right.”
“I’m always right, Zhuri baby.” I wink at her and take delight in her affronted demeanor.
“I’ll tell you exactly what I told you when we met.” She levels me with a stern look, and it really shouldn’t be as hot as it is. “I’m not your baby.”
“And I wouldn’t want you to be,” I smirk. “I just love annoying the shit out of you, Zhuri baby.”
“Alright then, Cammy,” she teases, and my dick likes the playfulness in her tone a little too much. God, I need to get laid soon. “If we’re a united front, we need to talk about how we want to handle the team.”
“We can meet tomorrow.”
“Somewhere public,” Zhuri says, “that way there are witnesses that will keep me from shanking you.”
I just roll my eyes. “Fine. Let’s meet at Bean Voyage tomorrow morning at nine. Sid and Bet should come, too, as a buffer since they seem to get along.”
“Because Sid and I have been friends since we met, like eight years ago,” Elisabet interjects.
“We’ll be there to keep you in line,” Sid adds. “The Comets are going to be down two captains if we don’t.”
“Fine,” I reply. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll talk about our approach to the team. For now, I’m out of here. I’m done with today.”
“Whatever,” Zhuri sighs. “I need to mentally prepare anyway about having to spend every fucking day with you for the foreseeable future.”
I give a sarcastic salute and finally walk off, desperate to just get home and fall into my bed.
Today has taken everything out of me, and I need sleep to take me under before I can even try to process everything that’s happened.