Page 84 of A Shot at Love
Jules and Cam had never been in a position like this before; where they could sit across from each other with a partner beside them, feeling fulfilled in ways neither of them ever had. It had been a long road to where they were now and Jules wished her parents were around to see what they’d made of their lives.
“I love this place so much,” Mackenzie said as she looked around the cafe after Cam settled back down beside her with two lattes. “I know I say it every time we’re here but I mean it.”
“Isn’t it the best?” Jules slid her hand onto Frankie's thigh beneath the table and smiled. “I’m so glad someone recommended it to Frankie.”
Beside Jules, Frankie grinned and shot her a wink then raised her coffee cup to her mouth to take another sip. When she lowered it, there was a smudge of coffee foam on the corner of her upper lip and Jules wiped it away with her thumb then leaned in and pressed a faint kiss to where her finger had just been.
They slipped into easy conversation after that, the topics flowing from the best pizza place in Halifax, where they could rent a boat for day trips on the water this summer, and who the frontrunner for the cup was now that the Harbour was out and playoffs were heading towards their final rounds.
Given the severity of the situation that had arisen during the final third of the season, Frankie let them all know that during the end of season coaches briefing a few days after the team’s own run in the playoffs came to an end, staff was informed of roster changes. Isaac, the player who had some sort of misogynistic vendetta against Frankie, the man whose nose Cam had broken when he punched him, had been released from his Halifax Harbour contract.
“Good riddance,” Cam said, scowling at the mere thought of the player he’d leveled. “Waste of space, that guy.”
Jules had been at the practice rink for her own meeting with Harbour staff a few days earlier and she walked out with a conditional job offer. After many conversations with Frankie about what she actually wanted, the kind of work she wanted to do, Jules realized that as much as she’d come to Halifax with a plan in mind to shift her life away from hockey, she knew deep down that she couldn’t. It was so deeply ingrained in who she was, part of her DNA, and she loved it. It was that simple.
The athletic therapist position was perfect for her and the timing couldn’t have been better. It gave her the summer off to spend with Frankie, gave her time away from working with Cam in the off season for the first time in years, and when training camp kicked off at the end of the summer, Jules would slot into the Halifax Harbour training staff like she'd always been there.
Until now, she’d only shared the good news with Frankie and they wasted no time in bringing their relationship to Neil, the team general manager and HR. They were given the green light after filling out all the necessary paperwork to disclose their romantic involvement with one another and then Jules signed her name on her the dotted line of the job contract.
Working together while being romantically involved didn’t go against league wide or franchise policy as long as the relationship didn’t affect day to day or on the ice operations. It came as a relief to them both and Frankie teased Jules, telling her that there was no way she could refuse getting back on the ice now; she was officially part of the crew.
“He might be kicked off the team but I’m joining it.”
Cam nearly spilled their coffee as he jumped up from his seat and threw his fist in the air. “I KNEW THE JOB WAS YOURS!”
”Oh my god, Cameron…please…” Mackenzie covered her face in embarrassment and Jules shushed him, waving at him to sit down.
“Okay, okay, yes we’re all very excited but – ”
”Butnothing. Jules is very happy about it,” Frankie chimed in, putting her arm around Jules’ shoulder and smiling at her.
“How you guys going to celebrate?” Mackenzie asked, taking a sip from Cam’s cup of coffee instead of her own once he sat back down.
Oh, they’d definitely celebrated already. Frankie had taken Jules back to the seafood restaurant where they had their ‘not a date’ first date. They shared a delicious bowl of seafood pasta, Frankie ordered a bottle of whatever champagne the restaurant offered, and they took dessert to go. The chocolate mousse sat in Jules’ fridge for hours until they came up for air in the early hours of the morning feeling hungry and thirsty for more than just each other.
“Great question, babe.” Cam grinned, his voice full of elation. “Any plans for the offseason? You need to do something fun! We’re going to Spain.”
Jules looked at Frankie and found sparking green eyes filled with love gazing back at her. They hadn’t made plans for the summer yet because so much had happened between the end of the season and now but Jules considered their options.
Theydidhave a couple of months off before prep work for the hockey season began and she thought back to the conversation she and Frankie had while they stood at her hotel room door in California. It was the night when everything changed and Jules could still taste their first kiss, could remember everything about how it felt when Frankie pressed her against the door and told Jules she’d been thinking about kissing her for months.
Maybe in the end it didn’t matter how they’d found their way to this little table in a Halifax cafe, the struggles of a sport they loved, the lives they lived and what they’d lost. All that mattered is that they’d made it here.
“A road trip along the California coast sounds nice?”
A little grin on Frankie’s face grew into a wide smile, one that was so bright it could light the whole harbour on a gloomy day.
“Say the word, and I’m there,” Frankie whispered quietly, so only Jules could hear her. “It’s only a plane ride away.”
Epilogue
The ice was smooth as she glided across it, the familiar sound of her blades cutting into the glass like surface beneath her with every stride. Muscle memory took over and the stick in her hands felt like an extension of her body. As Jules rounded the edge of the rink, crossing one leg over the other to keep the turn tight, she fought with her lungs to take in air, pushing herself to commit in an effort to keep up with her brother.
"Cut me some slack!" Jules shouted as Cam switched into another gear, easily gaining an extra fifty metres on her.
Frankie had somehow convinced her to get on the ice before training camp started and she was regretting her agreement, even if it did feel good to skate like this again. Her body moved with a sense of authority and familiarity, just like it had when she'd raced Frankie at the outdoor rink on Christmas and her eyes caught Frankie's near the bench.
Cam crossed the blue line with ease, barely breaking a sweat ahead of her and Jules dejectedly shook her head. She never stood a chance at beating him, but her pride mixed with a heavy dose of sibling rivalry spurred her on.
