Page 63 of Playing to Win

“No, no.” I swiped to accept the call. “Boyfriend!”

“Jayna? Are you okay?”

I shook my head. The room swam again. I had to watch that.

“Jayna?”

I swallowed. “Um, I’m at a bar.” Didn’t want to say I was anything but okay with Superfan still hovering around.

“What bar?”

I looked around. “I dunno.” I turned to Superfan. “Where are we?”

He pointed to the sign over the display of bottles. “The Pub.”

I snorted. “It’s called the Pub.”

“What’s the address?”

How was I supposed to know that when I didn’t even know the name?

“Hey!” I called to Superfan and held out the phone. “Tell him. Where we are.”

The edges of my buzz were starting to wear off, so I should leave before I did something even more stupid. I waved to the bartender and shoved my credit card at him.

Superfan handed me back my phone. “He’s going to come pick you up, and he asked me to make sure you’re okay till he gets here.”

I blinked. Should I be upset about this? Possibly. I could try to get back to the subway or call a ride, but I wasn’t in good shape. Braydon it was. I nodded to Superfan. “All right.”

He smiled, relieved to be helping. “My sister plays hockey, and she wants to be just like you.”

Despite my knee, that warmed the inside of my chest and numbed the pain. We needed more women, fighting to make our game more equitable.

“That’s great.” I spoke carefully. “What position does she play?”

* * *

I didn’t noticeBraydon when he arrived. It had been half an hour, and I hadn’t had anything to drink except water. Superfan, real name Sean, and I had been talking about his sister and what her options were, so I was surprised when Braydon slid into the stool beside me.

I looked up, no longer in danger of falling off my seat, meeting his worried blue eyes. “Hey.”

His frown vanished and a smile snuck out. How bad had I sounded when he called? “Hey.” He turned to my new friend on the other side. “You’re the guy I talked to on the phone?”

“Sean. My sister plays hockey, so Tempo—I mean, Jayna—has been giving me advice for her.”

Braydon smiled down at me. “She knows her stuff. I’m Braydon Mitchell.” He held out his hand and Sean rushed to shake it.

“I know.”

Braydon’s cheeks flushed. Embarrassed because he was still thinking of that video, or just not used to recognition? “Thanks for keeping an eye on her till I got here.”

My eyes narrowed, but I was still drunk enough that I couldn’t argue. Braydon leaned over to catch the bartender’s attention.

“I settled up already.”

He nodded. “Okay, want to head out?”

Not really.This place, a bar I’d never been to and would probably never see again, was an escape bubble. Outside, I had to face things. But staying here and drinking would only make things worse tomorrow. “I guess.”

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