Free Goalie Interference (NHL Scorpions) by Nikki Worrell

appointment tomorrow. We’ll see if I get in trouble.”
    Zoe thought she looked exactly like she should. Healthy, but rounder. “Well, how about if we pig out today. I’ll help you plan a better diet tomorrow if the doctor says it’s necessary. What do you think? What do you feel like?”
    “You know what I could go for? Some Mexican food. Extra, extra spicy. If I call in an order, will you stop at La Esperanza’s? I made pineapple ice cream last night, so we can have that for dessert.” Zoe could practically hear Lacey’s stomach grumble through the line.
    She tried to keep her laughing to a minimum. “You’re making your own ice cream now, too? Is this the same girl who yelled at me for not getting enough vegetables at the grocery store when you lived with me?”
    “Hey, I’m eating for two! As sweet as Jody’s been, he gently suggested that maybe it would be easier to buy an ice cream maker instead of him constantly running to the store at odd hours.”
    “Sounds logical. Okay, order me some General’s chicken. I’ll be there soon.”
    It took Zoe two trips to bring in the food and drinks. She had stopped at the store and picked up a few of Lacey’s other pregnancy-inspired favorite foods too.
    Lacey was poking through the bags when Zoe returned with the last bag of food. “Ick, I don’t eat pork rinds anymore. God, they’re disgusting. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
    “Jesus, Lace. You loved them just last week. You’re a mess.” Zoe took the pork rinds and set them aside. “Still into these?” She held up a value-size jar of stuffed cherry peppers.
    “Oh my God, yes. Let me get some plates. You can open them now if you want.”
    As they were eating their array of food, Zoe got down to the topic at hand. “Okay. There was a specific reason I wanted to come over here today. I need to talk to you, but you have to promise not to get mad.”
    “I can’t promise I won’t get mad, Zoe. What did you do?”
    Zoe took a deep breath and looked Lacey directly in the eye. “Vlad and I spent the night together last night. And it wasn’t the first time.” Zoe typically didn’t give a shit what anyone thought of her. For the most part, she was pretty tough. Lacey was different, though. Lacey had her respect, and Zoe couldn’t stand it if she thought less of her, which was why she’d never told her about her first night with Vlad. “I’m sorry I kept it from you, but I don’t ever want to disappoint you. I guess that sounds stupid, but you’re the one person I need to be proud of me.”
    “Oh my God. Okay.” Lacey’s eyes widened. “Wait! Was he the OCD guy you were with that night you called me when I lived in Maine?” At Zoe’s affirmative nod, Lacey continued, “I always wondered what happened to that mysterious guy, but it was beyond obvious that you didn’t want to talk about him. I just figured he did something crappy and you were done with him.”
    Lacey took another bite of a cherry pepper along with some of her enchiladas. She pointed her fork at Zoe while she kept talking. “You know, thinking back, I remember how happy you sounded on the phone that day. You loved him even then, didn’t you?”
    “You’re not going to chastise me? Sleeping with the players and all that? You seemed to have plenty to say about it back then. And you didn’t even know that I’d slept with one.” Zoe sat with her hands together, waiting for Lacey’s answer.
    “No, I’m not going to chastise you. You know what you did was wrong, and you did it anyway. I’d say that speaks volumes. Zoe, you’re a good person with a strict set of moral and ethical codes. I’m not going to judge you for falling for the wrong guy.” Lacey put her hand over Zoe’s when she didn’t say anything else. “What are you going to do about it?”
    Zoe bit her lip and looked around the room, stalling for time. It was a shitty situation, and she didn’t even like thinking about it, let alone talking about it.