16. Get Ready For This
Get Ready For This
A lex leaned back in their chair, tapping a pen against the edge of their desk as they stared at their laptop screen.
Their stomach had been twisted in knots all day, a slow, simmering anxiety they couldn’t quite shake.
It had nothing to do with work—not the endless emails, nor the looming pitch they had been refining for the last couple of weeks. No, this was something else.
Cassie. More specifically, the game tomorrow. It would be the first time they would be on the ice together since everything had come crashing down.
They read the same email three times and still hadn’t absorbed a word.
A familiar voice interrupted their spiraling thoughts. “You look like you’re about to throw up.”
Alex blinked up at Kellan, who had appeared in their doorway, arms crossed, expression equal parts amused and concerned. “I feel like I might.” Alex exhaled, sitting forward in their chair. “I’m playing against Cassie’s team tomorrow.”
Kellan stepped inside, closing the door behind them. “First time since she found out, huh?”
Alex nodded, tapping the pen a little faster.
Kellan dropped into the chair in front of their desk. “What’s the worst that happens? She puts you through the boards?”
“Spoken by someone that has obviously never been put through the boards,” Alex replied with a shiver. “But, honestly… I wouldn’t blame her.”
Kellan smirked. “Well, look at the bright side, you’ll go out doing something you love.”
Alex groaned, dragging a hand down their face. “Great. Thanks for the encouragement.”
Kellan leaned back, propping their feet up on the edge of Alex’s desk. “You could always fake an injury. Say you tweaked something in warm-ups.”
Glaring, Alex stabbed the bottom of Kellan’s shoes with their pen. “I’d rather get checked into the boards than miss a game because of Cassie.”
Kellan grinned, dropping their feet back to the ground. “Now that’s the spirit.”
After several seconds of awkward silence, Kellan cleared their throat. “You know… she’s been fuming about this all week, right?”
“Oh, I’m well aware.” Alex nodded. “I didn’t think it could be worse than it has been, but damn….”
Sympathetic, Kellan nodded.
Alex sighed, tapping their pen against the armrest now. “Do I just… pretend nothing’s wrong? Try to talk to her? Give her space? ”
Kellan shrugged. “If I were you? I’d keep your head up and your mouth shut. Cassie’s gonna play hard no matter what, but if you start trying to ‘fix things’ in the middle of a game, she might actually kill you.”
Alex let out a dry laugh. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”
Kellan leaned forward, their expression turning more serious. “Look, just… don’t expect her to go easy on you. And don’t take it personally when she doesn’t.”
“Except, that it is personal.” Alex let out a breath, spinning the pen between their fingers. “You should come watch. Be my emotional support human.” Their tone was teasing, but there was something else underneath…something almost hopeful.
Kellan snorted. “Tempting, but I’d rather not witness a murder firsthand.” They stood, stretching. “And, I don’t have a death wish.”
Alex chuckled, but the nervous energy in their chest didn’t fade. Tomorrow was going to be a disaster.
Kellan clapped them on the shoulder. “You’ll survive. Probably.”
“Has anyone ever told you, you need to work on your pep talk skills?” Alex muttered.
Kellan grinned. “Yup. All the time.” With that, they headed for the door, leaving Alex alone with their thoughts.
Alex exhaled, a grimace taking over their face. They already knew this game was going to hurt in more ways than one.
***
Alex stood at the kitchen sink, absentmindedly rinsing their water bottle.
Their equipment was packed, the bag sitting by the front door, their jersey pressed and hanging on the nearby coat hook.
The steady stream of water was almost soothing, drowning out the low hum of nerves settling deep in their stomach.
They had played a hundred games before, but this one was different.
The front door swung open, followed by the unmistakable sound of Tricia’s voice. “Honey, I’m home!” Jack followed behind, kicking the door closed with his heel.
Alex smirked, shaking out the last few drops from their bottle. Jack let out a long-suffering sigh. “Babe, seriously, how long are you going to use that joke?”
“What joke? I am home.” Winking at Alex, Tricia stepped into the kitchen and quickly placed the two bags she was carrying on the island.
Exasperated, Jack headed down the hall, his arms laden with a half-dozen more bags. “I’ll just put these in your bedroom.”
“Ready for the game tonight?” Tricia asked, her voice casual but warm as she started putting away the few groceries.
“Yeah,” Alex replied, turning off the water and giving a faint smile. “Heading out in a few minutes..”
Tricia leaned on the counter, her grin wide and playful. “Well, Jack and I were thinking of coming by to watch you play tonight. What do you think?”
Alex hesitated for a moment, nerves fluttering in her chest at the thought of having both Tricia and Jack there. “You sure? It’s gonna be pretty intense tonight.”
“Exactly, my favorite sibling is about to enter the lion’s den, and I wanted to remind them they have a fan club.”
“I’m your only sibling,” Alex said, rolling their eyes. “I’m not sure you and Jack constitute a fan club.”
“You know what they say, it’s not the size, it’s what you do with it,” Tricia responded with an exaggerated wiggle of her eyebrows .
Alex chuckled despite themselves. “You and Jack are really going to come to the game?”
“Of course we are! You need moral support. And by moral support, I mean someone to cheer obnoxiously for you and make sure that a certain angry, emotionally repressed redhead doesn’t bodycheck you into next week.”
Alex sighed, rubbing a hand over their face. “Tricia, please don’t make a scene.”
“Me?” she gasped. “Make a scene? Never.”
Stepping out of the hallway, Jack muttered, “You did chase that poor mascot around the ice—.”
“That was one time.”
Alex snorted. Tricia grinned, then nudged Jack’s arm. “Oh, come on, Just Jack, lighten up.”
Groaning, Jack dropped his chin to his chest. “That nickname is never going away, is it?”
“Nope,” Tricia and Alex said in unison, then high-fived.
Alex smirked, some of the tension in their shoulders easing. Tricia always knew how to distract them, even if it involved mildly tormenting her boyfriend.
“Fine,” Alex said. “You and Just Jack can come.”
Giddily, Tricia bounced on her toes. “Good, because we already have front-row seats.”
“They don’t have assigned seats at the rink,” Alex replied with a pointed look.
“Details, schme-tails.” Tricia said with a wave of her hand.
“Alright,” Alex said, heading toward the door. “I gotta go. Try not to get kicked out of the rink, yeah?”
Tricia scoffed. “As if I would ever…what?”
Jack continued to stare, arms crossed .
“…Okay, maybe once,” she admitted, turning to Alex. “But this time, I promise I’ll behave. Jack and I will be there to support you. Nothing more. I promise I won’t even throw popcorn at Cassie if she gets too aggressive.”
Alex groaned. “Trish—”
“I’m kidding! Geez. Mostly.” Tricia waved. “Love you!”
“Yeah, yeah. Love you too.” Alex shook their head, but deep down, warmth spread through their chest. Tricia could be a lot, but they never doubted for a second that she had their back. It was nice, even if it made things slightly more chaotic. Now, all that was left was to get through the game.
***
The locker room vibrated with the usual pre-game energy…
players taping their sticks, lacing up skates, and exchanging last-minute strategy reminders.
The scent of sharpened blades, sweat, and sports drinks filled the air, familiar and grounding.
Alex sat on the bench, tightening the straps on their pads, their mind racing in a way that had nothing to do with the game itself.
Across the room, Jess, their captain, adjusted her jersey, The Queens’ signature purple, black, and white colors standing out against the dull locker room walls. She was watching Alex, one eyebrow slightly raised, her expression unreadable.
After a moment, she walked over and plopped down next to them. “Alright, Alex. What’s going on?”
Alex blinked, playing dumb. “What do you mean?”
Jess gave them a look. “Come on. You’re always locked in before a game, but today? You’re staring at your skates like you don’t know if they are on the right foot.”
Exhaling, Alex ran a hand through their hair. “It’s nothing.”
Jess snorted. “Yeah, okay. Look, I know you and Cassie were… whatever you were before this whole work thing happened.”
Alex winced.
Jess softened slightly. “She was into you, you know. Probably still is, even if she won’t admit it.”
Alex shook their head, sighing. “Well, she hates me now.”
Jess shrugged. “Hate’s just a different kind of passion.”
Alex shot her a look. “That’s…not comforting.”
Jess’s lips twitched. “It wasn’t supposed to be.” Then, her expression turned serious again. “Look, I don’t know what’s gonna happen between you two off the ice, but on the ice? You need to keep your head in the game.”
Nodding, Alex pulled on their gloves. “Yeah. I know.”
“Good. Because if you’re distracted…” Jess nudged them with her elbow. “I’m putting you on the third line.”
Locking on Jess, Alex glared. “You wouldn’t!”
“Try me,” Jess replied with an evil grin.
Despite everything, Alex felt some of the tension ease from their shoulders. Jess was right. Whatever happened with Cassie would happen, but right now? They had a game to play.
“Alright,” Alex said, standing and rolling their shoulders. “Let’s do this.”
Jess clapped them on the back. “That’s the spirit.”
As the team finished gearing up and the locker room buzzed with final preparations, Alex took a deep breath. It was time to hit the ice.
And time to face Cassie.
** *
The moment Alex stepped onto the ice, the familiar chill wrapped around them, grounding them. The rhythmic clack of sticks against pucks, the scrape of blades carving the surface. It was the kind of comfort they needed right now.
The Queens headed to their side of the rink, falling into their usual warm-up routine.
Alex skated a few laps, shaking out their nerves, and rolling their shoulders.
They did their best not to look toward the other end of the ice, but it was impossible not to notice the Arctic Blades in their crisp white and icy blue jerseys.
And impossible not to notice her. Her bright red locks a sharp contrast.
Stopping against the boards, Alex tried not to stare.
Cassie slipped on her helmet and then glided around the ice, stick-handling a puck with smooth, practiced grace.
She never looked at Alex, not even a glance.
Not that Alex had expected her to, but still…
something about the deliberate way she didn’t look stung a little.
Jess skated up, bumping against their side. “You’re doing that thing again.”
Alex frowned. “What thing?”
Jess shot them a knowing look. “The ‘I’m totally not looking at her but actually I am’ thing.”
Alex huffed. “I’m fine.”
“Uh-huh.” Jess didn’t sound convinced. “Just don’t let her get in your head before the game even starts, okay?”
Alex nodded, though it was easier said than done.
Pulling their eyes away, Alex forced themselves to focus, running through shooting drills, passing with teammates, feeling the familiar rhythm of the game settle into their body. By the time the refs blew the whistle to signal the end of warm-ups, Alex was in a better place…mostly.
They took one last look toward Cassie as both teams skated to their benches. She was talking to her teammates, helmet off, adjusting her ponytail. And for a split second, the smallest fraction of a moment, her eyes flicked to Alex.
Alex’s stomach twisted.
Then Cassie turned away, stepping into the bench area without a second glance.
Alex exhaled sharply. Alright. Time to focus.