Page 33 of Tough Call

I tried to tell myself it might not pan out. Scouts could make all the recommendations they wanted, but the decisions came down to general managers and salary caps. I hadn’t been able to impress a single NAL GM into signing me when I was a free agent. Even if a scout thought I was a superstar—I wasn’t—he’d still have to persuade the people in charge to offer me a contract.

Still, the glimmer of hope was too much to ignore. If someone waved a North American League contract in my face, I’d sign it in a heartbeat.

That League was the dream, and maybe, just maybe, it was back within my reach again.

I started walking again, ready to hunt down some postgame food, but my phone pinged. I stepped back out of the flow of traffic to check it.

Connor

Heard Team Latvia won! Congrats!

I smiled to myself as I replied.

Thanks! They put up a hell of a fight but we won. (trophy emoji)

LOL I think you still have to play a few more before you get the trophy.

Ugh dammit.

LOL

As I continued walking, my thoughts drifted back to my brief conversation with the scout. And to the text exchange with Connor.

And my heart sank as my mind went back to the same place it had when Žagars had told me the scouts were looking at me.

Two things I wanted were dangling in front of my face right now—a career in the NAL, and a connection with Connor. I didn’t want to say no to either of them.

But what if I was offered an NAL contract and things looked like they might go somewhere with Connor? Because I couldn’t have both.

And maybe I was just getting way, way ahead of myself. Yes, I wanted to stay in contact with Connor after the Games. Maybe see him again—and do more than see him—during the off season or something. I didn’t know where things might go with him—if we might hook up a few times and then just like each other’s posts on social media once in a while, or if we had a shot at something.

If I signed with NAL, though, we’d have no choice but to cool it. We probably couldn’t even like each other’s posts or follow each other publicly. If he’d been another player, we might’ve gotten away with it, but a referee? Not a chance.

Connor, ever the rule follower, would never go for it. He was too careful about avoiding conflicts of interest.

Again, I reminded myself it was entirely possible that I wouldn’t get a contract with the NAL and things with Connor wouldn’t end up going anywhere. More than likely, I was worrying about nothing.

All I could do was wait and see what happened.

CHAPTER 13

CONNOR

Madars

I need to get away from this complex and the hotel. Want to get a late dinner or a drink?

My heart fluttered. As if he needed to ask, especially when we hadn’t done more than text or watch each other through Plexiglas for the past… hell, however many days it had been. Time kind of blurred during competitions like this, though it was getting a bit less frenetic as both divisions moved into the semifinals.

Which meant I had some time, and I was absolutely going to spend some of that time with Madars.

I’d love to.

When/where?

We settled on a place out in Staré Město, the Old Town, and Madars made a reservation. Then I was completely useless for the rest of the day because all I could think about was finally getting some more time alone with him. We hadn’t even spent all that long apart since he landed in Prague, but the Games were so busy and chaotic, it made time go weird. It felt like we’d been here for a month, not just the better part of ten days.

That, or I was just getting so ridiculous over Madars that as soon as he was out of my sight for five minutes, I started losing my stupid mind.