Page 28 of Replay (Toronto Blaze #3)

WAG Adjacent

Josh

After another loss in Dallas, we spent the night in a hotel before flying back north. I think we were all happy to get some rest and postpone returning to our disappointed fans in Toronto.

I was up early in the morning, thanks to the time zone changes, and went out to get coffee.

It was nice to stretch my legs a bit before the flight, and the weather here was great.

Some places we went, there were a lot of hockey fans, but not in Dallas.

There were fans, sure, but basketball and football were the most popular sports here, and both of those teams’ seasons were underway.

The local billboards had way more b-ball adverts than for our sport.

Hockey was better, obviously, but not as good a fit down here.

My phone beeped while I was in the lineup for my drink and I pulled it out, hoping maybe Katie had decided to call. We’d texted, but I liked hearing her voice. Sadly, it wasn’t her but my agent, Allen.

I declined the call and texted I’d call him back.

Hockey might not be as popular here, but I wasn’t talking to my agent where someone might overhear and leak whatever I said.

I left the coffee shop to find a quiet corner.

Allen was a good guy, but he didn’t call to shoot the shit.

He usually emailed, since I couldn’t respond when I was working out or practicing or playing or even traveling. A call meant something was up.

“Hey, Allen.”

“Give me three teams you’d like to play for.”

I was confused and hadn’t had my coffee yet. “Uh, Team Canada in the Olympics, the Toronto Blaze and…” Could I pick one of those dynasty teams from the past? Allen didn’t normally ask weird what-if questions. Maybe it was for an interview?

“Josh, I’m not joking around. Three NHL teams that aren’t the Blaze.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “The Blaze are struggling.”

“Yeah.” Hockey was less of a happy place this season.

Not that I hadn’t been on teams that lost—well, not many.

But that was part of sports. This season was frustrating because we had the talent.

We’d done so well last season that expectations were high.

Something wasn’t gelling, and none of us knew how to fix it.

“Management has to shake something up. They can’t let things ride. Too many talented players on the team, too many big contracts. They haven’t completely given up yet, but they’re starting to look at options.”

Options . A sinking feeling settled in my belly. Allen asking where I’d like to play meant I was one of those options.

When I’d been traded to the Blaze, I’d had one year left on my contract.

Nashville hadn’t made the playoffs for a couple of years, so going to a competitive team had been exciting.

I’d gladly signed another contract with the Blaze.

If I had a choice, I’d rather be with a team that was in the playoffs and in the hunt for the Cup than one looking for a high draft pick.

I hadn’t been eligible for a no-trade clause. At that point, I had no ties to the city anyway. Katie wasn’t there then.

Now, maybe, that no-trade clause would be nice, if I’d been twenty-seven and old enough to get one.

Except management could usually make things uncomfortable enough to make a player willing to move.

If some other team was offering a lot for me, draft picks to help the Blaze in future, if they didn’t think the team could win now…

“They want to trade me?”

“No, they want this team to turn around and play up to their potential. But if that doesn’t happen soon, someone’s moving.”

“And it’s me?”

“I don’t have anything definite yet. Just someone dropping hints, so I’m looking out for my clients. They don’t want to lose you, Josh, definitely not. You’re one of the few guys doing well this season.”

That was good to hear, or was it?

“They can’t move Cooper. He’s the face of the franchise, with a big contract, and if he left, the city would riot.

They wouldn’t get much for Petrov—he’s at the end of his career.

Still playing well, but he’s up there for a goalie.

Even though he isn’t a big cap hit, I don’t think they’re ready to give his backup the starting role yet. ”

Losing De Vries last season after the trade deadline had been a shock. Mitchell had done pretty well until that overtime goal in the playoffs, but that was a big one.

“You’re young and playing well, so you’re one of the players they could get a lot of return for. I could see offers for Johnson and Crash but they won’t get as much for them as they will for you.”

That lead feeling was getting heavier. “So if they decide to break up the team, it’s probably me.”

“Depending on what they’re offered, and if they want to rebuild or tweak for next year. That’s out of our hands. You think about where you’d like to go, and I’ll put out some feelers, see if I can find out what might go down.”

I swallowed. “Thanks, Allen.”

Sometimes players found out they’d been traded on TSN or ESPN. Allen was a well-connected agent, and he usually got a heads-up, even when things moved fast. I knew he was looking out for me.

“Don’t say anything to anyone. This is mostly speculation, but I need to know what you want in advance so that we come out ahead of this.”

I liked Toronto and I liked this team, but getting traded was a fact of life for athletes. And if things were different, I’d be excited about another opportunity to be on a competitive team. I wanted to hoist the Cup at least once. That had been my dream for most of my life.

But things were different now. Katie and I were friends and I hoped things were progressing to more, but there was nothing concrete yet. Nothing that would stand up to my being traded to another city.

She’d said, that first night when I went home with her roommate, that back in high school, when we’d been together almost two years, she might have broken up with me depending on where she’d been offered a scholarship and where I’d been drafted.

She wasn’t going to give up her master’s program or transfer to where I might be. Not for a friend.

She’d also said we could have tried long-distance, but that was then. Would she be willing to do that now? I was trying to earn her trust again. If I had to leave Toronto, I was pretty sure that was the end of me and Katie.

I promised Allen I’d think it over and give him some options, but when I got back to my room I searched for the best math programs in the US and Canada, not the best teams.

Even if she decided tomorrow that she’d be with me, there was no time to make the relationship strong enough to handle a major separation.

It was tough, when one partner was away so much.

I’d had teammates go through breakups with girlfriends and wives.

If I was traded and I wanted any chance with her, my best play was to ask her to give long-distance a chance for the rest of this season, and then hope there was a math program good enough wherever I went to tempt her to join me.

I didn’t have a lot of confidence in that.

Fuck. I needed the team to start clicking.

If we didn’t get it together—I could up my game, but if we all didn’t gel—it would just make a better case for the team to trade me.

Should I try to mess up instead? I shuddered.

Not sure I could do that. Even if I could—it might make the team trade me anyway.

I wanted to win. I’d wanted that from the first shift I played in a hockey game, but it had always been something I left on the ice. Now, my off-ice life depended on how we did as a team on the ice. I needed to find a way to get this fixed, ASAP.

I went back to the coffee shop to get caffeine. I wasn’t going to solve the team’s problem without waking up my brain.

* * *

Katie

I got a message from Callie, asking if I’d like to do brunch with her and Jayna.

I’d met up with Jess a couple of times since the escape room, when the team was out of town, but I’d only talked to Callie once or twice.

Still, I needed to clear my head. I’d spent more than enough time reviewing my project proposal and grading papers and dealing with my own assignments.

I wanted some non-math time. Callie never talked much about her job, and Jayna was a former hockey player who now did PR work so it would be a nice break.

Winter was definitely on its way. I’d put on my puffy jacket with a hat and scarf since I’d decided to walk.

This far into November, even if we didn’t have snow yet, it was cold, the air crisp.

Storefronts were decorated for Christmas and the streets were full of people.

The city felt alive. Like I’d been missing out, absorbed in my own little academic world.

I was smiling when I pushed open the door to the diner, glad I hadn’t turned Callie down.

It took me a minute to find her and Jayna.

They’d grabbed a table in a corner, and I wove my way over to them through the chatter of voices filling the room.

The place was packed, the smell of decadent food promising a good meal.

“Hey, Jayna and Callie. Thanks for inviting me. I needed this.” I pulled out a chair and sat, unwinding my scarf and opening up my jacket.

“Thanks for coming to the inaugural meeting of the anti-WAG club.” Jayna announced.

Callie shook her head. “That name needs work.”

I blinked. What? But a server came by with menus and a pot of coffee and I quickly flipped my cup over for a fill.

“I’m having eggs benny.” Jayna dropped her menu on the table.

Callie was still frowning at the list of options. She finally huffed a breath. “I’ll have the same.”

“I’m definitely having pancakes.” I had a sweet tooth, which was why I had more curves than I had in high school, and I wasn’t going to deny myself to fit the mold of some model. Life was too short.

I closed my menu. The server, obviously experienced, swooped by for our orders and left with the menus after refills on our coffee.

I dumped sugar and creamer in my cup and stirred it with the spoon. “So, what’s the anti-WAG club?”

“You know what WAG stands for, right?” Jayna cocked her eyebrows.

“Wives and girlfriends, yeah. But you two are girlfriends, right? Where does the anti come in?”

Jayna grimaced. “Technically I am, but… Sorry, I’m a little touchy about that, family issues.

Nothing against the group of women who are happy to be players’ wives or whatever.

But I was a hockey player. I still think of myself as one.

Not so much as a girlfriend. I have my own separate identity, my business, and that’s my baby right now. ”

“I have a high-pressure job too,” Callie said. “I’m not giving it up. I have issues too, but the bottom line is, Cooper knows and isn’t asking me to.”

It was nice that they had that support. Was it uncommon?

“Braydon gets it.” A fond smile crossed Jayna’s lips. “He’s told me I have to support us once he’s done with hockey.”

“Does he think that’s soon?” Even if he wasn’t a superstar player, he’d be making good money as long as he was playing.

“After the playoffs last season, he’s a little spooked. Plus, he had a whole thing planned out in case he didn’t make it to the NHL, so he’s just making sure he doesn’t jinx himself.”

That was smart of him. I thought I’d figured it out. “So, this anti-WAG thing is about being a nontraditional WAG?”

Jayna nodded. “Exactly but try to make that into a catchy phrase.”

NTWAG. Yeah, that wasn’t going to work. “But why am I here? I have no talent for catchphrases.”

The two women exchanged glances. “You’re a grad student, right? So you’re nontraditional too.”

I dropped my hands to my lap. “But I’m not a WAG. Not a wife or a girlfriend,” I clarified.

“But you and Josh?—”

I shook my head. “We dated in high school, but we’re just friends now.”

“Really?” Jayna flinched as she spoke. “Sorry, of course you know what you are, but Ducky has been spending so much time with you—we assumed you guys were dating. I apologize if we overstepped. It can be a little overwhelming when you start dating a professional athlete, and since you’re a student, we thought we should reach out and offer our support. ”

These women were nice. I’d like to be in a group with them. But I couldn’t claim to be dating Josh just to get friends. “If you were running some other kind of club, I’d definitely want to be part of it. I promise. But I’m more like Jess. Sort of WAG adjacent. She’s a sister, I’m a friend.”

Callie narrowed her eyes, staring at Jayna, then jerked her head in a nod. “Let’s do that.”

Jayna was also confused. “What do you mean?”

“If we’re going to be anti-WAGS, then being a wife or girlfriend shouldn’t be a requirement. I like Jess. Let’s add her to the group.”

I looked between the two of them. “You’re making a nontraditional player-adjacent club?”

Jayna grinned. “You’re right. This is even better. You in, Katie?”

“Absolutely. Where do I sign up?”