O Goalie Night (The Ottawa Otters #1)

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

BETH

“ B eth! I was just talking about you!” Meredith, a teacher who didn’t know my name until last week, catches up to me in the hall.

I bet you were.

Any doubts I had on whether Jacob was going to tell people about Foster evaporated when I walked into school Monday morning. Heads swivelled in my direction. Some people waved excitedly like I was a celebrity or public figure, while others just stared.

I located Tamara as quickly as I could and asked for a damage report. She informed me that Jacob had told several of my coworkers that he dropped me off at Foster James’s house after the party on Friday night. One of them must have remembered that I mentioned I was staying with my brother’s friend, and a quick Google search confirmed that the Otters’ best defenseman did indeed have a sister named Beth.

It’s now Wednesday and I haven’t been able to leave the safety of my classroom without being sought out by someone with questions about hockey, Ben, or, worst of all, Foster.

“I still can’t believe your brother plays for the Otters,” she says again, giving my arm a light slap like we were the oldest of friends. I was only introduced to her at the Christmas party where she gave me a courtesy smile,then left to find someone better to talk to.

Meredith is perhaps my least favourite kind of hanger-on. She reminds me of the popular girls in highschool who used to ask me to introduce them to Ben, like he wasn’t a grown man with better things to do than rebuke the advances of teenage girls.

It appears she’s tired of beating around the bush, jumping right in with “I would love to meet your brother sometime. I’ve been a huge Otters fan my entire life.”

The team was only established sixteen years ago , I think. I would bet my meagre life savings that she is more a fan of the players than the game itself.

“Gosh,” I say, trying to hide my annoyance. “I’d love to, but he’s pretty busy with the team and his girlfriend.”

Her face falls and I decide to put a final nail in the coffin. “She’s a supermodel.”

Momentarily crestfallen, she quickly rallies to try another angle. “Maybe we could go to a game sometime? You probably get the VIP treatment. Do you get to go backstage?”

I’m fairly certain at this point of the conversation that Meredith has never been to a hockey game.

Thankfully, the bell rings, saving me from responding.

I say goodbye and beeline to my classroom before my students make it inside from recess. Tamara stands in the doorway eating an apple and smirking as she watches Meredith walk away.

“Look at you, becoming best friends with the cool girls.”

I snort. “Hardly. Just another person who wants to rub elbows with my brother.”

“Knowing Meredith, it’s something else altogether she wants to rub with him.”

“Please, not you, too,” I beg.

“No,” she laughs. “Your brother is not my type. He’s too pretty. Now, that Norwegian forward with the crooked nose that’s missing half his teeth? That’s a face I’d like to sit on.”

We’re cackling as the kids come back in, rosy-cheeked from the cold and hair sweaty and matted under their toques.

Amelia waves at me on her way to her desk near the back of my classroom. Unlike the adults who work here, she hasn’t told anyone about seeing me with Foster on the weekend. Instead, she’s been giving me conspiratorial little smiles, almost like we’re sharing a secret.

I’ve never been great with secrets. My sister can tell by the pitch of my voice or the number of times I blink if I’m hiding something.

But Foster and I aren’t a secret. The word secret implies that we’re doing something wrong, and that’s not how I feel at all.

Every moment I spend with Foster, whether we’re in his kitchen, in the rink, or in his bed, feels overwhelmingly right. Being around him is the most natural thing in the world.

It’s almost dizzying at times, though. Like whatever this is between us is a walking paradox. How can someone make my heart race and my head swim, yet make me feel so centred and grounded at the same time?

We’ve been in constant contact since he left on Monday. He Facetimed me when he got back to the hotel after the team beat Philly last night and we talked for more than an hour before I fell asleep on him. When my alarm went off this morning, it woke him up, too, as he’d stayed on the call all night.

“Why didn’t you hang up after I fell asleep?” I’d asked, feeling horrible for waking him.

“I like waking up next to you. Almost as much as I like falling asleep next to you.”

I’m not even sure how I’ve been functioning all day, seeing as at that moment my heart exploded in my chest.

The rest of the day goes by without incident. Well, Tamal got his second nosebleed this week and had to go to the office, and Daisy pretended to feel woozy from the sight of blood and said she needed to go to the office, but that’s it. Tamal was fine and Daisy just has a crush on him and insists on following him everywhere.

As I’m leaving for the day, I run into Jacob. It seems that Tamara was right about him orchestrating all our chance encounters last week; this is the first time I’ve seen him since Friday.

“Hi, Beth.”

“Hi, Jacob.” I don’t want to be mad at the guy, but I am. I miss the anonymity of last week when I was Beth, the new teacher from Prince Edward Island, instead of my typical role of being Beth, Ben Michaels’ sister.

“How’s your week going?” he asks cautiously.

I’m the talk of the town, thanks to you .

“It’s been fine, thanks.”

He moves ahead of me to the double doors to hold one open, but I side step and push open the other one for myself then hurry down the steps.

Jacob catches up to me. “Look, I’m sorry everyone found out who your brother is.”

“They didn’t find out, Jacob. You told them.”

“Well, technically I just told Marcus that you were staying with Foster James. He was the one who figured the rest out and told everyone.”

“Ah. So you set the rumour mill in motion, but didn’t stick around to supervise what it produced. Great. I feel better.” I reach Foster’s car and throw my bag in the backseat.

Jacob stands with his hands in his coat pocket looking abashed. “I’m sorry. I was just so surprised. I mean, I was working up the nerve to ask you out when Foster freaking James opens the door. But I shouldn’t have told anyone.”

I sigh. Like it or not, this is my life. It’s not like I would have kept my family a secret from the people I work with forever, though I would have appreciated telling them on my own terms.

People will always see me as Ben’s sister.

Until, that is, they find out I’m dating Foster. After that, they’ll see me as his girlfriend.

I’ve seen how athletes’ girlfriends are scrutinised in the media and online. Picked apart and judged to see if they measure up. Am I going to be okay with that?

“It’s okay,” I tell him. He didn’t do it to be malicious and he was one of the first people here to actually try to get to know me.

“Really? ”

“Really.”

He’s visibly relieved, his face breaking into a broad grin. “I promise, the next time I see you with a pro-athlete, I’ll just keep it to myself.”

“Much appreciated.”

He hesitates, unsure of himself. “Maybe we could still go to a game sometime? My treat,” he asks hopefully.

“I’d like that—as friends.”

He seems a bit disappointed, but not surprised by my gentle let down. We say our goodbyes and I hop in the car. I can see him in the rear view mirror watching as I drive away.