Page 64 of Call the Shots
Denali motioned me to the boards. “There’s only so much we can do without a real coach. Cleo tried reporting him, but they said if we don’t have evidence of misconduct, they can’t do anything with his contract?—”
“June found a notice from Marrs in the shredder bin—he has unused funds in his budget.Unused. Funds.” I glanced around the Colo, where the northeast section’s lights went out this morning and if you walked over there, you needed a flashlight. “He’s either the world’s biggest asshole or someone hit him with a hammer, and he can’t read anymore.”
“June has this idea we need to search his office, but?—”
“But what? It’s a good idea.”
He stopped. “Wait—you’re calling one of June’s ideas a good idea?”
I shrugged. It wasn’t like we had a rulebook for kicking out a coach, and yeah, I’d defend one of June’s ideas.
She’d been ignoring me since I asked to be roommates-with-benefits, which was fine. I’d wait for her to cool down before making amends. In hindsight, it was shitty timing, but when I explained, we’d be okay. I didn’t know what point the two of us were at in this weird, hazy tension, but I knew it was better than where we’d been before.
“June’s coming!” Fridge shouted. “If you didn’t sign up for your Colo shifts, she’s going to yell!”
I grinned and craned my neck. I’d get a last look at her before jumping back into drills.
“Bear?” Montoya said quietly. His lips were pressed so tight, they almost disappeared. A weird look for him. “Uh, I didn’t want to text you—I should’ve told you earlier but—uh…”
I frowned. “What is it?”
“King and June are—uh—dating again.”
“Montoya, we’re in the middle of practice.” A chuckle burst out. “Why are we talking about this?”
“They’re back together, Bear.”
“No, they’re not,” I replied, amused. I overheard the conversation at the rage room, June asked King, he said no, end of story. “That doesn’t have anything to do with…”
My words trailed off as I caught sight of June coming in with King. She had an arm wrapped around his waist, only letting him go to bend down for paint supplies. With a smile, she offered a face mask. He said something. She laughed.
She laughed.
I looked away. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“It’s on her socials too.”
“That doesn’t—no—” I skated to the bench to see for myself. I checked my phone and… There it was. The two of them holding hands on her main page.
But June had dark blue nail polish in the picture, she hadn’t worn that color nail polish since she moved in. This was an oldphoto. I knew it but did that matter? By the ladder, June rubbed King’s back, her face drawn with concern.
My mouth ran dry.
I could feel Montoya staring, and when I glanced back, his eyebrows were knitted in sympathy. A seventeen-year-old, pityingme?I started untying my skates. “I forgot something in my locker.”
My teammates asked where I was going but I motioned for Denali to take over. At least the locker room was quiet. I needed to think.
I sat down on the bench, still in most of my gear and put my head in my hands. I wanted to throw up. What did this mean? I had sex with June, and she immediately went to her ex? Goddamn. That was a stake in my back.
I yanked off some gear and tossed it away. One of my skates hit the wall and the door to my locker fell off entirely, crashing to the ground. My family pictures hit the floor. Photos of my dad, Shawna, Xavier, and me. The only pictures I had left of my mom slipped under the broken locker door.
“This fucking place,” I swore.
“Bear?” Montoya’s voice was soft from the door. “Hey?”
Fuck, I couldn’t break down in front of him. “Do me a favor, Montoya. Leave.”
“It’s…um…normal to be disappointed.”
