Page 19 of Playing to Win

I felt like shit,thanks to last night’s overindulgence. Now I had to pass a test on my new fake girlfriend. Was I making a mistake going along with this fake dating? They did that in movies, and maybe celebrity relationships, but I was a hockey player. Was this something I could even pull off? But no one had given me a choice.

I’d fought hard to get to the NHL. I’d almost thrown away that hard work last night, so I had to give this a shot.

My phone was nearing critical battery again, so Jayna let me charge up while she went for food. She forwarded some information, now that we’d exchanged phone numbers and emails. And started following each other on socials. I hoped some of the information would stay in my head which was aching again. Still. I picked up the phone, tethered to the outlet, and opened what she’d sent me.

I was still looking at videos when Jayna returned. She carried a bag in one hand, her cane in the other. “I got subs, whole wheat bread, water to drink. Should work for your training and your hangover.”

I set down the phone. “Thanks.”

She dropped into her chair and pulled out the food, shoving mine to my side of her desk. “How’d the research go?”

I swallowed a bite, the food hitting the spot. “You’re twenty-five, a year older than me. You were born and raised in Brandon, Manitoba. Not far from Montana.” At least, not for people raised in places where the nearest city was a drive of several hours.

She nodded.

“One brother, older, who’s currently playing hockey in Europe.”

A frown crossed her face, so I wondered if they had sibling rivalry issues. If so, Jayna was winning.

“You’ve been with the Bonfire for four years. You’ve won the Frozen Four, the Isobel Cup, and a fucking gold medal at the Olympics.”

She smiled. “I absolutely fucking have.”

We resumed eating. “You know, when I saw you I thought you’d be a winger. One of those players who make a goalie’s life miserable.”

“I try. I can’t wait to get back on the ice to do that.”

“I saw a video of you going down, back in the fall. Was that what happened to—” I gestured to where her knee was under the desk.

She nodded, frowning again. “It was a stupid hit. I didn’t have the puck. She was just taking it out on me because we were winning that game. She got a penalty, but me…”

I cringed. I’d broken my leg freshman year and had to come back from that, so I’d been in her shoes. That mindset, when I wondered if I ever would play again? I shivered. Not something to dwell on. Superstitious? Absolutely. I’d recovered, I was back, and if I could play this charade for a while I might still have the NHL career I’d been dreaming of since the first time I held a hockey stick.

“So, is there a women’s professional team in Winnipeg?” There was a men’s team. Maybe Jayna wished she played closer to home.

She narrowed her eyes. “No. You really don’t know much about women’s hockey, do you?”

My cheeks heated up. I had no idea how many women played and how competitive it was.

I felt like more of an asshole than when I’d first watched that video of myself this morning. Jayna was good. Faith had been impressive last night. They’d both worked their asses off to get where they were, and I’d ignored all that. Faith might have had her father’s—ourfather’s—connections to help her, but she had fewer opportunities than me. I needed to get my self-absorbed head out of my own ass and appreciate my good fortune. “No, I don’t. That’s a shortcoming on my part. I want to fix that.”

I’d show Jayna and Faith and the rest of the world that I wasn’t a whiny brat, and I’d do what I could to help their sport. And yeah, I’d also be trying to salvage my own career. But at least now I had a better understanding of what I’d done.

She smirked. “Oh, we’re going to get you fixed. Now, we should take a selfie together. First public notice of our dating.”

“Do we have to?” I whined. “I look like shit.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll use filters. But we have to get this story established ASAP.” She looked around the office.

It was small. Really small. She stood up and limped around to my side, dropping into my lap. My arms flailed, unsure what was happening and what I should do.

She scowled at me. “I’m not that heavy.”

Shit, was I giving her the idea I thought she was fat? “You just surprised me. Am I supposed to hug you or something?”

She settled more comfortably on my lap, the smell of her shampoo right in my nose. Apples? It had been a while since I’d been close to a woman. She leaned on my chest, and my dick, overcoming any hangover effects, started to take notice. I told it to stand down.

“Arms around me, big smile, like you want me to be here.”

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