Page 71 of The Cutting Edge
I ponder for a moment, considering the options. The luxury box sounds nice, but I want to be as close to the action as possible, to feel like I'm truly there for Logan. "I'll take the floor seat," I decide, hoping I'm making the right choice.
"Great," Coach Rocco says, clapping me on the shoulder. "You'll have a fantastic view of the game from there."
I think we both know there's only one player I'm here to see.
"And Logan will have a fantastic view of you. You know, in case he needs a littleextraluck tonight."
"Anything I can do to help," I grin.
Trixie gives me a kiss on the cheek. “We’re heading up to the wives’ room,” she said. “Meet us right here after the game to go back to the hotel.” I nod and she squeezes my hand. “Have fun tonight, I have a good feeling this will be your first game of many.”
Chapter twenty-eight
Coco
Aswemakeourway inside the arena, I can't help but feel a surge of excitement course through me. This is it. The Slashers need to win three more games to advance in the playoffs. With every step, I repeat a silent mantra:I am Logan's lucky charm, my presence here will help him winuntil I almost believe it myself.
When we reach our section, I find myself seated next to Lana, the team's publicist I met at practice yesterday. She greets me with an enthusiastic smile. "Coco! Fancy seeing you here. How are you holding up?"
"Excited, nervous, all of the above," I admit with a laugh. "It's been quite an adventure so far."
"Isn't it always?" Lana chuckles, and we quickly fall into easy conversation. She asks me how I've been feeling since I left the hospital, and whether or not I've been able to resume my training.
"Not yet," I say. "This is as close as I can get to the ice until I'm cleared by the USFS team doctor. And apparently, he's in no particular hurry."
"That's frustrating, I'm sure," she says, and I nod in agreement.
"Yeah, I can't practice, I can't work, and I have a limited time to get myself back in the rink, or I'll lose my shot. So that’s a bit scary."
"That's a lot of weight on your shoulders," Lana sympathizes. "I had no idea."
"I can handle it," I say with all the confidence of a person who never ever doubts everything will work out. Not me, but surely someone feels that way.
As we chat, we talk about her job, her commute from Sarasota (which is my favorite city in the world), and the fact that Zayne, another of Logan’s teammates, is her brother. She comes from a whole, like, hockey family. Somehow, the topic of my training expenses comes up, and I admit that I've been struggling to cover them since my concussion. I don’t know why I told her, usually I keep private stuff pretty close to my vest. I don’t tell her about the whole lucky charm thing because I’m not sure if she knows or not, and I don’t want to violate my non-disclosure agreement during my very first in-person hockey game. She’s just so warm and easy to talk to. I already feel like I’ve known her for ages. The non-disclosure part of this lucky charm gig is making me feel guilty — I don't like secrets, they've only caused trouble for me in the past.
"Hey, I have an idea," Lana says, her eyes lighting up. "Why don't we set up a Patreon account for you? It could help with your expenses, give you a base of financial support. Maybe take some of the burden off of you."
"Really?" I ask, honored by her offer. "You'd do that for me? What would I need to do?"
"You know... skate, train, post the occasional selfie or video… Maybe let me post a few pictures of Logan getting all moony over you." We both crack up over that one.
"Thanks, I’m so touched. I can’t thank you enough."
"Of course," she replies sincerely. "I think you're amazing, and honestly, it's not that big of a deal. I want to help you succeed, Coco. And if that means getting you the support you need, then count me in. No pressure whatsoever, but if you and Logandiddecide to go public, it might raise your profile a bit, get you some additional interest from donors. Everybody loves a power couple, and there's something so utterly delicious about a figure skater and a hockey player falling in love."
"Thank you so much, Lana. That means the world to me," I say, as a wave of gratitude and happiness washes over me. I let the "falling in love" part just glide on by to its final pose at center ice.
The jumbotron starts a countdown clock, indicating the two teams are about to enter the rink. My heart races at the thought of how Logan might react to seeing me in this dress tonight. At this point, I've decided I'm going for total annihilation.
The Slashers spill onto the ice then amidst an explosion of music and cheers. We stand to show our support, as I search the sea of black and teal jerseys for number 17.
“Cam’s looking good out there tonight,” remarks Lana. “You’ll usually see Logan nearby.”
There. Logan glances over at the front row of Slashers' wives and girlfriends -- all of us cheering our asses off and yelling for our players, and his gaze snags on me. He stumbles, then shakes his head as if to clear it. A slow, devastating grin spreads across his face.
“I’m making a gif out of that for the team socials,” cracks Lana. “Did you just see him?”
“I saw,” I grin. Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.
