Just Don't Fall (Sweater Weather, #1; Appies, #1)

by Emma St. Clair

The real reason I’m against the idea of being forced into social media isn’t about who’s behind the camera. Hockey is my profession. My job. If I’ve earned a reputation for not being a team player, it’s less because I’m egotistical and more because I’m focused on being the best of the best. Hockey is serious business to me—even if I also happen to enjoy it. Dancing in videos for TikTok is ridiculous. The opposite of professional. I find myself imagining my father’s reaction. Not that he’ll ever see these videos. He certainly doesn’t follow my career. But if he did, it would confirm all the things he said when I called to tell him I first got drafted right out of high school. I was naive to hope getting drafted so young would impress the man who left before I was a year old. It was the second and the last time I talked to him in my life. “I hope you have a real job lined up,” he told me in lieu of congratulations. “Playing sports is just that—play. One day, probably sooner than you think, you’ll want to get serious and settle down. Make sure you’ve got your real life career set in place.” I hung up the phone, some deep part of me crushed more than I’ll ever admit out loud. It’s not uncommon for pro athletes to have families and friends crawling out of the woodwork begging for money, cars, houses. It totally sucks to be seen as nothing but a paycheck or nothing beyond the sport. It’s how my mom is. She doesn’t care how I’m doing; she just wants money deposited every month to...