Offside in the Friend Zone novel · Chapter 14 of 24
Chapter 14: Harbor Falls
I got to the Harbor Falls arena at ten past six, with the sky still black and my dress under my parka.
I let myself in through the side door with the key I've carried since I was fourteen.
The rink lay empty and half lit, and the ice was flat and grey.
It smelled of cold concrete and rubber mats and the Zamboni's old exhaust.
I stood at the boards and waited to feel better.
I didn't.
I walked around the end of the penalty box to the skate shed instead.
It's a plywood room the size of a closet, with a sharpening machine, a bench, and a pegboard of laces.
My father used to say a sharp edge and a cup of coffee fixed most things wrong with a hockey player.
His thermos was still on the shelf above the grinder.
His wool cap hung on its nail.
Two years, and I had never moved either one.
I sat down on the bench where I'd stood to tell Henrik I'd had a man in Duluth.
My knees knew the spot.
I put my face in my hands, and I did not cry.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Offside in the Friend Zone are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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