Page 44 of The Chemistry Coach
Thank fuck.She’d be more likely to give him answers without these two listening in.“Awesome.I dare you to go to bed.”
Lover sputtered in outrage but read the room.“Fine, but Hazy gets my turn.”
He stomped into the house, throwing a fit about being excluded.Hazy approached Daisy’s chair.Connor swore if the kid touched her, he might lose his shit.He was all jumbled up.
Hazy tapped Daisy’s toe with his shoe and reached across the table to grab the whiskey bottle, taking a drink before handing it to her.“Truth or dare, Daisy?”
She gulped her drink.“Dare.”
“I dare you to do something scary.”
Hazy didn’t stick around to see what that might be.These damn kids were too smart for their own good.Despite his own emotional turmoil, they were growing on him.
When the sliding glass door shut behind Hazy and they were alone, he said, “Tell me about the podcast, please.”
He didn’t know what she might have chosen if he’d allowed her to choose the scary thing herself, and Roxie had told him to ask, so he had to know.He hadn’t given Roxie the third degree.He’d only asked if she knew a Daisy.When Roxie had confirmed, he asked for a good truth or dare question, and she mentioned the podcast.
The curtains in the kitchen window rustled, drawing their attention, and they caught two sets of eyes spying on them.Daisy flipped them the bird, and they disappeared from the window.
“Nosy brats,” Daisy said, affection lining her tone.
“They really are, aren’t they?”
He tapped her leg with his toe, a little reminder to return to the conversation at hand.
She studied his face for a few long beats.“I’m bad at doing scary things, and there’s a lot about my relationship with you guys that’s terrifying for me.”
“All of us?Or me?You seem pretty comfortable with Lover and Hazy.”
“Both.In different ways.But for the podcast, it’s all of you.Any Freeze player, in fact.”
“What makes it scary?”
Daisy stared into the fire as she answered.“Everything about it.The fact that it exists.I started watching hockey as a teen.I love it.And I’ve spent the last five years applying for every single job opening I qualify for with the Freeze.Haven’t gotten so much as an interview.I’ve applied for jobs at the practice rink and in the minors trying to get my foot in the door.I want to work in hockey, but it’s not happening.So I figured if I wasn’t being invited in, I’d make my own way.”Daisy drew a rainbow with her hands.“And thus the podcast was born.But it’s new.We’re working on becoming reputable.”
Connor studied her, watching the shadows dance over her features.He itched to be closer to her, but didn’t want her to stop talking.“Why a podcast?You could go back to school.There are a lot of specialized jobs within the NHL.”
“Those options are too risky.I could have gotten a sports journalism degree, or become a physical therapist, or sports psychologist, or dietician, or tried coaching and working my way up the ranks.There are a million paths to working within the NHL, but those options come with either instability or a mountain of student loan debt.The podcast is my attempt at building my dream without giving up my stability.”
“So the podcast is your dream?Your big, out-of-reach goal?”
Daisy shrugged.“I like doing the podcast.Roxie and I have a ton of fun watching the games and recording the episodes.But I’m also scared of the ridicule.What if every other media outlet disagrees with my views?What if an actual player listens to it and I hurt their feelings with an inaccurate assessment?”
Connor listened to her talk about her podcast, enamored with her thought process.He wished he had the logical decision-making skills she had.He’d gone all in on hockey.Feet first, eyes closed, no backup plans.He couldn’t imagine any other job.
He wished he could tell her it would all work out, or that bad press didn’t hurt players’ feelings, but he’d be lying.Bad press had followed him all season, and it hurt like a bitch.Because they were right, he needed to pull his weight.
“Why wouldn’t you want to tell me about it?”he asked.While this was a lovely confession, it didn’t tell him why Roxie had been so adamant he ask about it.
Daisy scooted her chair closer to his, placing hers so she didn’t have to face him, but her arm touched his.The physical contact reassured him.If he couldn’t touch someone while he poured his heart out, it didn’t feel right.He brushed his knuckles over the back of her hand in a silent invitation.She flipped her hand over and let him thread his fingers through hers.
“We’re on an uneven playing field.I know a lot more about you than you do about me.Roxie hasn’t asked, but she wants to have players on the podcast with us.”
“How does Roxie know you’re working with us?Aren’t you under an NDA?”
“Best friends don’t count.”
He let out a surprised laugh.“Best friends are the exact reason NDAs exist.”
