Page 20 of The Enemy Face Off

Me: "In that case, I do have an actual hockey question for you."

Summer: "Nice recovery, Beth."

Me: "Thanks. Evie, what happens in a face off?"

Evie,frowning: "That actually is a hockey question."

Me: "I did warn you."

Evie: "But it's a hockey question fromyou. You, who's never watched a second of a hockey game in your life. You don't even follow anything hockey related on TikTok."

Me: "I, uh, may have been flicking through the channels a few nights ago."

Evie,grinning: "This wouldn't have been a few nights ago when the LA Swifts were playing in Chicago?"

Me: "Maybe."

Evie: "I see. Milo had a great game that night."

Heat crawls up my neck, but I do my best to act unaffected.

Me: "Oh, did he? What position does he play again? With all the players wearing the same costume, it's hard to tell them apart."

Evie: "Firstly, they're called uniforms, not costumes, and you know full well Milo is a goalie, easily recognized by the fact that he's the one, you know, guarding the goal."

Me: "Ohhh. That's what he was doing. I thought he was alone because the other players didn't like him being a big grouch and all."

Even though I hardly know him, I'm starting to see that may not be entirely true.

Okay, so he looks and acts grouchy a lot of the time, but I've caught a few glimpses of him when he's been mellow—borderline funny, even—so I know there's more lurking under the surface than just his gruff exterior.

Possibly.

Maybe.

Not that I'm spending a significant amount of time psychoanalyzing what he may be like under the surface.

Or what his body might look like under that costu—uniform.

But I can't deny the image of his muscular legs in those white tights is stubbornly emblazoned in my memory bank. He had no business making something so wrong look so irresistibly good.

Evie: "Riiight. Why don't we watch a game together, and I can explain face offs and a whole bunch of other stuff to you?"

Me: "Yeah, okay. But I'm not committing to anything."

Evie,laughing: "Of course you aren't."

Summer: "How's the stadium going, Evie?"

Evie: "The final touches should be completed by the end of the month, which means we'll be able to open to the public then."

Summer: "Did you manage to get two junior teams set up?"

Evie,sighing: "No. Just the one team. The requirements for a para team are a lot more complex. For now, I'm only able to offer training, but I hope to register them in the league for next season."

Me: "Hey, don't be disheartened. You're doing an amazing thing."

Evie: "I guess. Ooh, speaking of amazing things, I have some exciting news, you guys. Fraser and I have set a date."

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