Page 43 of Face Off
“No reason,” he deflects. “Have either of you seen Cassidy today?”
If there’s one thing I know about Channing Halloway, it’s that he has a thing for Cassidy. Since the day he started with the Skipjacks, he’s had eyes for her. I think they may have hooked up. Once. Okay, maybe twice, but she has mostly kept Halloway in the friend zone.
We both shake our heads. “No… sorry. Now that you mention it though, she snuck off right after we checked into the hotel,” Hayley says with a puzzled and concerned look.
“I wonder where she could have…” Halloway pauses, looking toward the entrance of the restaurant. “Son. Of. A. Bitch.”
We all turn our gazes in the direction he’s looking to see Cassidy wrapped up in the arms of one of the biggest douchebags in the league. Vincent Burch. If I had to rank the top five biggest assholes in the league, it would go Mitchell Tremblay, Trey Polster, Boyce Cameron, Dwight Kane, then none other than Vincent Burch. I shouldn’t be surprised to see him here though, considering that both Vincent and Boyce play for the Arizona Heat. However, I just didn’t expect to see him with Cassidy. Intimately at that.
“Oh, there they are. Thank you, sir,” Cassidy says to the host before dragging Vincent along with her toward our table. “Hayley!” she screams, letting out a loud squeal as she comes closer. “I’m getting married!”
Cassidy flashes a huge-ass diamond ring on her finger at Hayley whose jaw drops at the sight of it. I glance toward Halloway whose spin has gone ramrod straight. I hate to say it, but he’s got it bad. I glance back at Hayley who’s still slack jaw by this.
“What… I mean how and to who?” She finally finds her words to speak.
Vincent wraps his arm around Cassidy’s side, pulling her close. “You remember Vincent. We went to school with him.” Hayley’s face becomes impassive in a way. “Well, last year, we reconnected during one of the road games and decided to go on a few dates. Well, dates turned into a long-distance relationship thing, and now I’m here. Engaged!”
I squeeze Hayley’s thigh, breaking her from some sort of trance she’s in. Does she and Vincent have a past? She closes her eyes before shaking her head in disbelief as silence fills the space.
“A year this has been going on, and you never said anything to me?” Hayley finally says, breaking the silence. “Is this where you’ve been disappearing to every time you have a ‘Vacation’ planned?”
Halloway slams his fist down on the table before scooting his chair back. “Excuse me,” he mutters before walking away, his fists clenched at his sides.
“Hayley, I know you have a lot of reservations about me. And I mean I can’t blame you because I’m friends with the person who caused the root of all your problems in life,” Vincent begins before Hayley cuts him off with the look of death.
“My son isn’t the root of all my problems. The bastard who abandoned us is.”
He nods in understanding before picking right back up where he left off. “Right. I didn’t mean Camden was a problem. I just meant, we’ve all grown up over the years, and Cassidy and I have this bond. I love her, so I just hope one day we can get to a place that Cassidy and I are in. I don’t mean love obviously, but friendship.”
“You may be engaged to my best friend, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever accept you. You’re just like him. You were myfriend first, Vince; you were supposed to be there for me, not side with him. So, forgive me for not trusting a single word you say,” Hayley says, standing from the table. “Cassidy, I’m happy you’re happy, but I’m sorry I just can’t.”
I stand to follow Hayley as she walks back toward her villa, Sydney at my side. “Miller, it’s good to see you. Hear you and Hayley are together. She’s a good girl, man. Treat her right.”
I stop in my tracks, turning in my spot to look him in the eye. A smug smirk playing at his lips. “And what concern is she to you?”
“Look, we were all friends, man, way back when. I was basically Hayley’s adopted brother. Regardless of whether she likes me or not, I’m going to look out for her. Plus, she’s Cassidy’s best friend, so it’s only right that I right my wrong from the past.”
“Whatever, man,” I say, shaking my head before walking away.
???
Hayley was quiet last night after Cassidy dropped the bomb of the century. I get it; she wants to be happy for her, but the fact the person Cassidy is in love with betrayed Hayley kills me. To make the situation worse, Halloway woke up hungover from a binger in one of the resort’s bars. He’s taking this news with Cassidy a lot harder than I thought he would. He can’t be totally mad at Cassidy; he did this to himself. I told him for years to tell her how he felt, but he allowed her to continue putting him in the friend zone.
I wrap my arms around Hayley and pull her close to me as we ride the team bus toward the arena. “Are you feeling okay today?”
“Yeah, just still a little hurt by it all. But if she’s happy, then I’m happy,” she says, looking at Cassidy, who is playing some hand game with Camden. “Vince, Cassidy, and I used to be best friends, all through elementary school till our senior year of high school. I stopped talking to Vince when he sided with Cam’s sperm donor. Cassidy did the same, but I guess the crush she had on him since kindergarten won.”
“She’ll always have your back, Hayl. Yeah, sure. The guy’s one of the biggest assholes in the league but give him a chance.”
She leans her head on my shoulder as the bus pulls up in front of the arena. Mr. Richards stands at the front of the bus to get everyone’s attention before allowing us to disembark. “I know everyone is pumped for the game today and the feast we have planned for afterwards. However, I have to make you aware of a few things. As some of you may have noticed, Coach Stevens is no longer with us, nor is he affiliated with the organization any longer. Some things were brought to light yesterday, and I will not tolerate any physical, mental, or sexual abuse to any of our female employees. We have a strong sexual harassment policy here and if I find out that any employee or player violates it, then I will be forced to take corrective action.” He pauses, nodding toward Hayley, who is just as shocked as I am. “Now, I’m appointing Assistant Coach Jason Dunbar as interim head coach for the remainder for the season or until we find a qualified candidate. Arizona is going to be tough. They are our biggest competitors this season, so I’m expecting you all to go out there and kick some ass.”
The bus erupts in cheers as we all stand to exit the bus. Camden waits for Hayley at the front of the bus with Cassidy as we make our way forward. He’s been a jittery ball of energy since we piled onto the bus. We make our way down the steps, stopping to get Hayley’s medical kit from under the bus.
“Hayley?” a voice sounds from behind us.
Her back is ramrod straight as she slowly turns toward the person. Her expression is unreadable as she stares into the eyes of none other than Boyce Cameron. Another asshole I can’t stand playing on the ice with. He has no regard for his team. Acts as if he’s the only one on the ice half the time.
“Mom, that’s Boyce Cameron,” Cam says, tugging on her hand. “Can I get an autograph from him? Please?”
