Page 93 of Playmaker

“Just…” I bit my lip. “Look, take this or leave it, okay? But after the game—you don’thaveto see him.”

She blinked. “What?”

“You’re not obligated to see him,” I said gently. “Even if he’s moving in a good direction for real, and even if you two are going to have a better relationship going forward—it’s okay if you focuson you and the team tonight. Give yourself some time to figure out how you feel about him before you’re face to face with him, you know?”

She studied me, then slowly relaxed. “That’s… I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right, though.” She rolled her shoulders and offered a small smile. “I’ll keep it in mind. Hopefully I’ll be too busy celebrating with the team to care about him.”

I grinned. “That’s the spirit.”

Sabrina’s smile broadened, and she kissed me softly. Then she looked past me, and her brow pinched. Voice so low I barely heard her, she said, “You might want to have a chat with your protégé. I think she’s getting up in her head again.”

I glanced over my shoulder and found Jamie sitting on the bench on the verge of crying. “Oh. Crap. Yeah, I’ll go talk to her.” I turned to Sabrina again. “You good?”

“I’m fine.” She gave me a little nudge. “Go.”

We exchanged smiles. Then I crossed the locker room to Jamie.

She was jittery and off-balance, and now that I was close enough to see her well, there were definitely tears in her eyes this time.

“Hey,” I said. “You okay?”

She glanced up at me, and then her face crumpled. “I suck.”

“No, you don’t.” I eased myself down on the bench beside her, biting back a wince when my knee protested. “You’re great out there.”

Jamie shook her head. “They almost scored on usbecause of me.”

“It’s okay. Anya made the save.”

“But she shouldn’t have had to.” She buried her face in her gloves and groaned. “I can’t believe I turned over the puck and—”

“Jamie. Look at me.”

She lifted her head, her eyes red and wet.

“Weallturn over the puck. The team had like eight turnovers that period, and only one of those was yours.” I gestured toward Anastasia and lowered my voice. “Hersdidresult in a goal against. Yours gave them a scoring chance, but they didn’t score. That’s what matters.”

“Still. It was…” She wiped her eyes. “I don’t belong here.”

“Yeah, you do.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “I promise. I’ve been watching the whole game and texting Sadie the whole time about any issues I see with defense. Your name hasn’t been in any of those texts.”

She looked up at me, her eyes begging me to mean that.

“Take a deep breath,” I told her. “Have some water. Go out there and play like you did last period, and you’ll be fine. I promise.”

“But what if I screw up again?”

“It’s hockey.” I nudged her gently. “We all screw up. All the time. I know it’s a ton of pressure, but you wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t impressed a lot of people along the way.”

At that, she smiled weakly, still nervous but rallying. “Thanks. How do you handle the pressure playing at this level all the time?”

I laughed. “Well, fortunately, it’s notalwaysthe Cup finals.”

“Thank God for that,” Anya muttered from two seats over.

“Right?” Euli shook her head as she retaped her stick. “I’d be a walking ulcer if we played like this all the time.”

Jamie stared at them with wide eyes, but something finally seemed to settle in her, as if she realized at last that she wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure.

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