Page 36 of Offside

And then I pass out.

16

Karis

When will this day be over?

It started out with a vivid sex dream about Ballas and then rapidly went downhill from there with Ballas’s vomit all over my shoes when he missed the bucket.

When I saw Ballas hit the boards and collapse from my position in the owner’s box, I knew it was bad. Like, really,reallybad.

All the anxiety I’ve bottled up from dealing with my uncle’s condition all these months came rushing back in an avalanche of PTSD. I barely waited around long enough to hear the official’s call against Sergei Russo before I ran down here to the locker room where I now wait for the doctor to evaluate Ballas.

The ref ruled it a major penalty. The crowd was not happy and expressed their opinions with loud booing and jeers against both the ref and Russo, who should’ve been booted out of the rest of the game for misconduct.

David thoughtfully brings me a washcloth to clean up my soiled suit jacket and shoes, while the doctor continues his evaluation of Ballas.

“How long does it normally take to assess a concussion?” I ask as David and I move outside the closed-door room to offer Ballas privacy. I take a seat on the bench so I can slip off my heels and wipe them clean.

David shrugs, folding his arms in front of his chest. His lips purse in a slight frown.

“It really depends on the person. There are a ton of questions on the cognitive screening related to concentration. There’s a neurological screen, immediate memory recall, a balance and mobility check—here, let me show you.”

David pulls up his phone, typing in some keys to bring up an app. He sits down next to me and offers me a view of his screen.

“It’s called the SCAT5. Short for Sport Concussion Assessment Tool. The 5 is for the fifth version of it.”

I watch as he scrolls through the various components of the test.

“It’s all very standardized and used in all sports nowadays. Even peewee football.”

I look up through the window into the medical room, the curtains left open so we can see Ballas sitting on the edge of the exam table, his brow wrinkled in concentration. He’s shaking his head in disgust.

David huffs out a resigned sigh. “This isn’t Ballas’s first bad hit. He was out for three games last season for a similar issue. But not like the hit he took tonight. Damn, that was nasty.”

“The officials only ruled it a major penalty,” I grouse, still angry over that slight. “Russo should’ve received more than that for that dirty hit.”

It seems that Kip was right about what he said earlier about Russo. That man either has it out for Ballas specifically or is just a batshit-crazy dirty player. I’ve never witnessed anything quite like that hit. My job now is to voice my opinion loudly over Russo’s unsportsmanlike tactics and to ensure he is properly and justly punished for such behavior.

But at this moment, I need to know that Ballas will be okay.

Ballas’s slip-of-the-tongue earlier in front of everyone is certainly cause for concern of his current mental state of confusion. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have used that term of endearment for me except in private, which he has done on occasion.

I can’t say I wasn’t amused when Ballas called me sweetheart in front of two of the team’s staff, but I was also slightly embarrassed. I’m sure my face flushed beet red when I jumped away from Ballas the way I did.

If anyone even caught a whiff of inappropriate conduct between Ballas and me, even if it was in the past, it would be reputation-damaging for me and surely diminish any of the respect I’ve worked so hard to gain.

I’m sure there’s an unwritten rule that a team owner shouldn’t fuck their players.

I would be a mockery of my colleagues in the NHL ownership group if it were ever found out that I’ve slept with Ballas.

Which is why each time we’ve kissed, I’ve told Ballas it can’t happen again.

Fat lot of good that’s done me since I’ve allowed it to happen.Twice.

What can I say? I’m a glutton for punishment and he’s a friggin’ great kisser.

But why does he keep on trying? Ballas can get any woman he wants. There are plenty of women eager to fuck a hockey player without strings attached.

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