Page 5 of Chasing The Goal
Miss Vermont yet or nah?
I laughed softly, typing back as I swiveled in my chair to face the window that faced the practice rink.
me
Week’s good. Facilities are insane. I have a desk! A real one!
Miss Vermont always. But not the -15° wind chill.
She repliedimmediately.
Dakota
LIAR. You miss Sugarbush.
Admit it.
I smirked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
me
Okay, yeah. I miss the mountains.
And you.
But mostly the mountains.
Dakota
Rude. Hope the boys aren't gross.
I thought of Jaymie again. The way he’d stared at me like I’d walked out of a daydream and landed in his injury report.
me
Only met a few so far. Definitely not gross.
Not subtle either.
Dakota
Oh?
I didn’t answer that one right away. I just leaned back and let myself enjoy the stillness of the moment—the quiethum of the building, the distant echo of a puck hitting boards, the knowledge that I was exactly where I wanted to be.
Here. Doing the work. Making it count.
And maybe, just maybe, watching a certain player try not to pass out every time I smiled at him.
Mallory
Wednesday morning, Training RoomThree, and I was already regretting my mascara. Not because I didn’t want to look nice, because I did. New job, fresh start, confidence boost—nothing wrong with swiping on a little extra length. Because the third time, Jaymie Prescott pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, I had to fight the urge to fan myself and remember that this was a place ofwork, not the setting of my next daydream.
He was sitting on the treatment table when I walked in, hoodie sleeves pushed up to his elbows, a cocky little grinalready in place like he’d been waiting for the moment I entered the room just to use it on me.
“Are you sure this isn’t some elaborate hazing ritual?” he asked, flexing against the resistance band I’d looped around his ankle, his grimace only half-faked.
“Nope,” I said, crouching down to adjust his foot. “This is science. Welcome to the part where you re-learn how to move like a fully functional adult.”
