Page 4 of Finding the Forward: Part One
Her phone rang again, and she silenced it with a grimace.
I took a sweatshirt out of my backpack. It was technically Dean’s, but it was what I had. “Here, wear this. It’ll help my luck.”
It was for my team, the Biscayne Bay Hurricanes.
She pulled it on over her dress. “Thanks. You like hockey? I don’t watch it, but sometimes I see hockey players at the rink my sister practices skate smash at.”
Yep. She had no idea who I was. But until last season, many people didn’t.
“I do like hockey. I’m Grif,” I added, not offering a hand. It was more of an alpha-to-alpha thing.
“Verity.” She smiled, her face lighting up.
Now that was more like it.
“You should disable your location and shut off your phone,” I told her as her phone beeped and buzzed.
“I should. My dad says he’ll fix it. But...” Sighing, she scrolled through her texts. “Yes, Mercy, I’m a ding-dong. That’s my little sister who plays skate smash. She’s waiting to hear if she makes the Rockland Raiders’ discovery team. Not that the parents approve, since she’s not even seventeen.” She turned off her phone and put it away.
In skate smash, discovery leagues were right below the minors, preparing athletes for the draft and affiliated with specific pro teams. A high schooler being allowed to try out for one was a fucking prodigy. Skate smash rivaled hockey in the violence department. Only they wore a lot less gear.
I glanced at my phone as it let up with a text.
Dean
Fly Safe. I love you.
My other soon-to-be-packmates, Jonas and AJ, texted something similar. I missed them so much. It was absolutely miserable playing on a different team than Dean and Jonas.Normally, I’d be with them by now for the off-season. But no, I decidednah, I think I’ll extend the season and win it all.
The Hurricanes were two and two in the championship finals against the Portland Sasquatches. Whichever team won this game won the Professional Hockey League championships. I texted everyone back and switched my phone to airplane mode.
“What am I going to do about my PhD? It’s too late to apply for new funding. I thought perhaps I could take out a loan or use my savings. After all, I live at home and get a tuition discount because Dad is a professor there, and then...” Her voice broke as her head bowed, near-black hair creating a heavy curtain around her face.
“What happened?” I asked. My kitten was a bit of an over-sharer. But sometimes a stranger could offer more objective advice.
Also, if you’d never been trauma-dumped on by a stranger on a plane, had you even actually flown?
“They’re selling the house, dissolving the pack, and going their separate ways. While they’re dividing up the small siblings, the rest of us are on our own. So, no house to live in and no tuition discount.” Verity’s head bowed.
Shit.
“It gets worse. They want me to quit my program and take care of those left behind. The alpha parents always thought my research was frivolous. Pretty sure my adult brothers can care for themselves. My little sister will move in with one of my older siblings if she makes the team. Is it wrong to want it to be a discussion and not an edict?” Her look grew stricken as her voice became frantic.
What. The. Fuck.
Once again, I fought the urge to pull her to me and make it all better.
“Not at all. You’re an adult and allowed to make your own choices–even if they piss off your parents. Yeah, your adult brothers don’t need you to care for them. You know what? We’re going to drink and eat snacks. I’ll give you a pep talk. Your dad can smooth this over while you visit with your siblings and I’m sure they’ll help you figure out how to stay in your program,” I assured, needing to distract her before she made me anxious.
Yeah, I’d have plenty of time to get focused on the second leg of the flight. Our game wasn’t until tomorrow night, anyway.
“That’s a good plan. Yeah, if anyone can help me it would be my older brother and sister. Thanks for being so nice to me.” Her head ducked a little.
“How could I not?” I caught a whiff of desire. Also, a hint of driftwood and sea salt. Was that her actual scent? Fuck me.
Scents, especially beta ones, usually did nothing for me. But this made me want sex on the beach in a sandy cove.
“I have movies we can watch. And this cozy blanket my mom made.” I brought out the overly colorful knitted blanket and draped it over us. One of my moms had come down, and it had been nice to see her, even if it wasn’t the best of circumstances.
