Page 73 of As You Ice It

I see her point, but also how different this would be as a job, and also how identity would get tangled up in hockey, maybe more than other, typical jobs.

“The pay isn’t bad,” Amelia says with a smirk. “On the very shallowest of sides, that’s a perk.”

“I thought minor league players didn’t make much,” I say, feeling slightly awkward mentioning money. But I did google this, and the base salary for an AHL player was somewhere around fifty thousand dollars a year. Which sounded incredibly low for how much time this takes and also the amount of success these guys seem to have.

“Not all AHL players make great money,” Summer says. “But it depends on their contracts—many of these guys have a contract with the NHL affiliate. Plus, the Appies are incredibly popular because of social media. I handle a lot of their contracts with brands, and they do well.”

“I’m not interested in Camden for the money,” I say quickly. “And not having tons of money wouldn’t be a dealbreaker. We’ve definitely scraped by for a lot of years.”

“Me too,” Bailey says. “And you don’t need to defend yourself about the money. Honestly, it does make some things easier—like my vet school—but we can tell you’re not just with Camden for that.”

“Best thing about dating a hockey player?”

Gracie smiles at this. “The best thing? It has nothing to do with hockey. The best thing is just who the guys are.”

“Agreed,” Summer says.

“I like that they come ready-made with friends.” Amelia smiles. “Without being too cheesy—their friendships and the ones we get.”

“The worst part,” Gracie says, “assuming you were going to ask about that too, is the uncertainty. We’ve had a good run with the guys mostly staying put. But they won’t forever. Or even for long. Logan definitely will be called up soon. It’s a matter of time.”

“And cap space,” Summer adds.

I don’t know what that means, but Liam has mentioned salary caps before, so I can assume it has something to do with however that works.

“We lost Wyatt to Boston before this season started. Camden was close with him, I think,” Gracie says.

“It doesn’t happen as much in the AHL as the NHL, but sometimes the moves happen really quickly,” Summer says. “Right before a game or in the middle of the game. The player might need to be on a plane that afternoon, leaving the wife or girlfriend to pack up their life and join him … or do long distance.”

Long distance isn’t something I want to do—it’s one of the things I kept telling myself last summer when I was trying to keep my feelings for Camden in check. If it weren’t for Liam, I could thrive under uncertainty. I’m sure my restlessness would love the idea of a new city. Travel and a fresh start.

But I’m not a single woman in her twenties. I’m a singlemotherin her twenties. Though I just made a multi-state move in the middle of the school year that’s working just fine, it wouldn’t be fair to Liam to keep doing that.

“Some of the guys have been here for years,” Bailey says, clearly reading the internal freakout I’m having on my face. “There are career AHL players who spend years on one team.”

“Like Felix,” Gracie says. “He turned away offers to go elsewhere. He wants to stay.”

“And Alec,” Summer says. “Before he retired, he was here forever. What else do you want to know?”

Of course, now my brain blanks with what other questions I might ask. I happen to glance down at the rink and my eye catches on two women seated behind the bench. I remember seeing them hold up posters with their phone numbers when the guys sat down for warm-ups. My brain circles back to what Amelia said about the fans.

“Is it weird being with a guy while knowing there are probably dozens of women who have no shame about sliding into their DMs?”

“Dozens is a low estimate,” Amelia says with a laugh, and it makes my stomach twist.

“I hate it,” Bailey confesses, looking at me apologetically. “And though I trust Eli, he’s so sweet and friendly, those qualities can make it harder when it comes to someone who’s pushy or manipulative.”

“You know Eli says no and draws lines when he needs to,” Gracie says kindly, reaching over to touch Bailey’s arm.

“I do know,” Bailey says. “Sometimes … I still worry or feel insecure. That’s on me, but it does come with the territory.”

“It’s definitely one of the worst parts,” Gracie agrees. “The public nature of what they do and the way people feel a sense of ownership. Or like because they follow them on social media or know their stats or watch interviews that theyknowthem.”

“Ugh—social media,” Amelia says. “I do hate that. I can’t go on my own feed without seeing edits of my husband.”

“Edits?” I ask.

“Fans put together video clips or photo montages to music,” Amelia explains. “Often with a caption like, ‘Possibly the One’ or ‘NGL—I’d have his babies tomorrow.’”

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