Stepping out onto the ice, my skates slide across effortlessly as I adjust my helmet on my head and slip on my gloves. I move over to Logan and Cam as they stretch their legs, getting ready to warm up for practice. We usually do a few different drills, working on skills we need to improve. Every now and then we might engage in a small game, just to practice different plays.
It’s been a little more than a week since Poppy and I agreed on being friends, and I’m not sure whether it was a good idea or a bad one. I can’t seem to get her out of my head, but it has to be because she’s pregnant. Every worry that enters my head has to do with her and making sure her and the baby are safe. I know I’m being irrational, but I hate being away from her when I don’t know what’s going on.
“So, how’s it going, Daddy August?” Cam chuckles as he slides past me, grabbing a puck with the end of his stick. He skates a circle around me, stickhandling the puck absentmindedly.
Logan knew that Poppy was pregnant and after she confessed that it was mine, I had to tell him. He and Isla were more than supportive, and I shouldn’t have expected any less. Regardless of what happens in life, the two of them are always by my side. I ended up telling some of the guys on the team, which then spread like wildfire, and now they all know.
“Fuck off, Cam,” I roll my eyes, slapping the puck away from him when he isn’t paying attention. “You literally saw me earlier today, so don’t act like you don’t know how it’s going.”
I’ve been more irritable lately and projecting it when I should just be swallowing it down. I talk to Poppy every day, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s enough.
“Did you see King in the locker room?” Logan questions me as he comes between Cam and I. There was nothing hostile between us, but Cam talks a lot of shit and Logan knows that I’ve been a little unpredictable lately. The last thing I need is Cam to piss me off and me to put my fist through his face. Fighting isn’t exactly my thing and fighting our teammates is kind of frowned upon.
I tilt my head to the side, my eyebrows drawn together. “I thought he wasn’t coming until later this week?”
Logan shakes his head, stretching out his hamstrings as he spreads his skates apart. “He called me this morning and said some shit changed and he was going to be at practice tonight.”
I shake my head, letting him know that I didn’t see Hayden in the locker room. “Maybe he’s running late or had a change of plans again?”
“Yo!” Hayden’s voice calls out as he runs onto the ice, power skating toward us as his skates glide across the clear surface. We both look over at him, a smile forming on both of our lips. It’s been a while since either of us have seen Hayden King and he was one of our best friends in high school. “Whitley! Knight!”
He wraps his arms around our shoulders, pulling both of us in as our helmets bump against his. “Shit, I’ve missed you fuckers,” Hayden grins as he moves away from us. “You guys wanna introduce me to the team?”
“Fuck yeah.” Logan nods, waving his hands to call everyone in. He introduces everyone to King and they all seem to take to his charming personality. If there’s one thing King has always been good at, it is talking to people. He might be full of shit, but he knows how to make his words work for him.
Our coach shows up, calling all of us over after everyone gets their introductions to Hayden King. I hang back, watching as he skates over to our coach and they talk in hushed voices. From what I was told, they had met prior to this, especially since it was the middle of the season. Our head coach would be a fool to add someone to the roster that he didn’t know the skill of.
We all break apart into groups after Coach talks to us and we begin working on the different drills. It’s tiring and by the time we are done, I’m ready to go home and crawl into bed. We all exit the arena and walk down the alleyway back into the locker room. I drop down onto one of the benches, untying my skates as Cam sits down next to me.
“Some of us are going to go get some food after this,” he informs me as he pulls his skates off. “I think Logan said Isla is going to meet us. Did you want to come? I know you’ve had a lot on your mind lately.”
Hayden strolls over, finding his spot on the bench across from me. His deep green eyes meet mine. “What’s going on, Whitley?”
“Our boy’s going to be a daddy,” Asher, our goaltender, says as he walks behind me and taps me on the shoulder like he’s actually proud of me. I feel uncomfortable, the way everyone just talks about it like there’s nothing wrong with it. Like a baby isn’t going to change anything.
“No shit,” Hayden muses, his lips curling upward. “Damn, Whitley. I’m surprised that you of all people would be having a baby before you make it to the league.”
Logan chokes out a laugh, ducking his head as he slides open the zipper on his bag and shoves some of his gear inside it. “August didn’t really have this planned out.”
Rolling my eyes, I pull my socks off and shrug off my jersey. “Accidents happen. Sometimes you have to just roll with whatever life throws at you.”
“Right,” Hayden laughs, shaking his head. “I don’t mean to laugh, bro, but I just find it hard to believe. The universe really said fuck you and decided to turn your shit upside down. How do you plan on balancing all of this? You know it’s not going to be easy once you get drafted and have to deal with the demands of a professional team instead of college?”
I stare at Hayden for a moment, my eyes narrowing on his. Leave it to him to be blunt and straightforward. I prefer the Hayden King who spews bullshit and tells you what you want to hear, but that’s only what he does with the people he doesn’t know or when he’s trying to get something he wants. Right now, he’s being the honest one with no filter. Who feels comfortable enough around me to say whatever he’s thinking.
And fuck him for hitting the nail on the head, because this has been my biggest concern.
“I’ll make it work,” I mutter out loud as they all resume getting undressed and putting their stuff away. It almost feels as if I’m disconnecting, watching the world turning around me.
I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince more… me or them.
My life is about to change, but every aspect of it doesn’t have to. Poppy didn’t want to tell me because she didn’t want to ruin my life and career before it even began. But I can have it all, if I work hard enough. Plenty of professional players have families, so if they can do it, I know I can too.
I leave the guys as they all climb into their cars to get something to eat, and I slip into mine as I pull my phone from my pocket. Poppy’s name is the first that shows up in my messages and even though I don’t have any unread ones from her, I still tap on her name to call her as I turn on my car. She answers after the second ring, sounding flustered.
“Hey, August,” she breathes, the sound of rustling papers in the background. “How was practice?”
“It was good,” I answer, putting the car in reverse as I ease out of my parking spot. “Is everything okay? You sound like you’re busy.”
Poppy sighs through the phone. “I’m just trying to find these notes that I took so I can study for this damn test tomorrow and I can’t find them anywhere.”
“What class is it for?” I ask her, absentmindedly pulling out of the parking lot and falling into the light traffic on the main road. “Maybe I can come help you.”
“Yeah, right,” she chuckles, the lilt of her laughter snaking its way around my heart, securing itself to me as it constricts like a vise grip. “It’s for a stupid math class that I put off until this last semester because math and I don’t really get along.”
I laugh, switching lanes with my car as I move farther away from the campus, heading toward my apartment. “I’m not good at math either, but maybe two heads are better than one. Send me your address and let me come help you.”
Poppy falls silent for a few moments and I’m afraid she may have hung up. I press my foot down on the brakes as I reach a red light and my breath catches in my throat as I wait for her to respond.
“Okay,” she says quietly, her voice shy and timid. “I’ll text you it, but let me know when you’re here and I’ll let you in. I don’t need my mom asking any questions.”
A smile curls on my lips and I pull a U-turn in the middle of the road, not sure where exactly I’m heading, but Poppy lives at least twenty minutes away and not in this direction. “Your mom would love me.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of…”
