Page 14 of Breakaway

“I wasn’t going to do anything big because I don’t have many friends here…” she trailed off, blushing.

I felt even guiltier for ignoring her and vowed to do whatever she wanted. Sera had been a good friend when I needed her, so I wanted to return the favor. She looked up, her eyes meeting the three of us as she smiled.

“Now that the three of you are Oak Crest residents, I thought it might be fun to do something. A real bachelorette party.”

“Hells to the yeah! Say no more! I’m the least busy of the three of us, so I’ll take care of everything,” Scar offered, sitting up in her seat like she’d just been given the world’s best brownie.

“You don’t mind?” Sera asked, biting her lip.

“We’re your friends, Sera. It’s our duty to make sure we have a killer bachelorette party. Teammates for life, on and off the ice,” Susie affirmed.

“Anything you don’t want before I go penis crazy?” Scar asked, her phone already in her hand.

“If possible, I’d like part of it to be PG-13, so I could invite Briana and Reese. After that, go as crazy as you want. It’s my last hoorah!”

“Reese will love that,” I said as I squeezed her hand across the table.

The four of us spent the next thirty minutes throwing out ideas and creating the guest list before finalizing a date and theme. My time to leave arrived quicker than I wanted, and I cursed having to split from girl time. The brunch had done more for my self-care than I’d known.

“This has been wonderful. We need to make this a more regular thing. I love my guys, but I do miss hanging out with you ladies and talking about more than hockey.”

“Did you just say love?” Susie teased.

“And that’s my cue to leave. Bye!” I giggled as I ran, the girls narrowing their eyes at me.

* * *

My head throbbed, and I fought the urge to rub my temples. This was the third parent who wanted to know more about my love life than anything about their child playing hockey.

“As I said before, my love life doesn’t affect the team or whether your child will play here. If you don’t have any other pertinent questions, then I need to move on to the next recruit.”

The ruddy face woman gaped at me, clasping her hand to her chest where I imagined a set of pearls would sit if she had any.

“Someone will be in touch by the end of the day if your child has been accepted.”

I stood and motioned for her to leave as I opened the door for the next person. If I were still here next year, I’d make one of the guys do the interviews with me. Maybe the torture would be less if it were spread out.

Reed handed me the next file, a concerned look on his face as he studied me. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, looking for possible threats. That small act eased a little of the tension.

At least at the end of this, I got to go home to him and the other two. I waved him off, giving him a small smile as I glanced at the next recruit. The face and name looked familiar, but I couldn’t place why.

A mild-mannered man and woman entered, nodding their heads in respect as they took a seat. They were both dressed in similarly worn jeans and sweatshirts. Their appearance was more casual than the first three sets of parents dressed for lunch at the country club. These parents were the type to attend every game and work extra jobs to make sure their children could afford the equipment for a sport they loved. My eyes snagged on the Temple Day logo, and it clicked how I knew this player.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Mr. and Mrs. Gregor. I actually met your son once at Temple Day.”

I’d said it as a test to see how they’d respond. Cameron had been kind to Reese; so would his parents also be? Or were they going to create problems? It wasn’t fair of me to use that as a judgment for admission, but the big sister in me couldn’t help but try to mitigate the assholes as much as possible.

“You did?” Mrs. Gregor smiled, her face warming up. She clearly loved her son. “Cameron never mentioned it, but he was really broken up about Reese leaving. When he saw the mid-season enrollment, he begged us to let him try out.”

“I’ll be honest with you, Coach,” Mr. Gregor started, serious and all business. “I wanted my boy to try out for that other team. It’s closer to home, and they promised some big incentives.” His voice was rough, indicative of someone who either didn’t use it a lot or spent his time yelling. Based on his calm exterior, I’d put money on the former. He watched me, scratching his jaw as he gathered his words.

“I’m not sure what they were promising, Mr. Gregor, but the one thing I can guarantee to every parent is that their child will grow in their skills here while remembering why they love hockey. We have some of the best instructors, all having played in the pros or Olympics. We know what it takes to play at the college level and beyond. If you’ve sacrificed as much as I believe you have for your son to play this game, this is where he needs to be. We’re the best, and the hockey world will remember why very soon.”

Mrs. Gregor grinned, a warmth emanating from her. She clutched her husband’s hand, nudging him. He grunted but nodded.

“I always told my son he could choose where he played because he was the one chasing his dream, and I would support him however I could. Honestly, I almost went back on that promise, listening to the gossip and lies that other coach is spouting. I’m glad my son is a better judge of character than I am because I can see you’re the real deal, Coach. It will be hard to be so far away from him, but I believe you when you say this is the best place for his career.”

My head spun, both from the fact it felt like I’d just won something I hadn’t known I was fighting for and the fact there was a coach out there bad-mouthing my team and me.

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