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Ella didn’t like it in Boston. She didn’t like how fast everyone walked. She didn’t like how narrow and windy the streets were. She didn’t like how unfriendly everyone was. And she especially didn’t like being away from Matt.
The only good part of Boston is her new roommates, Olivia and Riley. Apart from already thinking of them both as good friends despite having only just met them, they’ve been more than patient with her during what’s unexpectedly become one of the hardest summers of her life.
She feels dumb for thinking it now, but she sort of thought she’d be getting married the summer after she graduated college. All her friends were and in three short months she’d been a bridesmaid four times.
Yeah, sure, some part of her knew that she wasn’t exactly like all her other friends who were dating boys planning on getting boring jobs in banking or marketing, but she didn’t think her career choice, or her boyfriend’s was that big of a deal.
They’d have to spend time apart during the on season, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make it work, right? Wrong, according to Matt. Despite attending all four weddings as her plus one he had been sure to make it very clear that they were too young to get married.
This sentiment, in combination with everything going on around them pissed her off, then made her sad, then made her bitter and she didn’t know what to do with any of that. She loved him so much and she was so sure they were on the same page until it became obvious that they weren’t.
Ella had thought she had everything figured out, but now that her vision for the future was crumbling away she was beginning to question…everything. From new hairstyles to new hobbies, she was a certifiable mess.
It was all a lot, and Olivia and Riley were angels for supporting her through it.
***
Things only started to make more sense when training camp started. It was good to get back on the ice and working with a team, but it also felt normal. The practice rink reminded her of the rink she trained at back in Minnesota and unlike their apartment where they had to street park, it actually had a real parking lot.
Disaster strikes again when her check engine light comes on, despite the dealer assuring her the car was in great condition less than 2 months ago. If only Matt could have come with her, he knew all about cars.
“Zoe can help you with your car,” Riley suggests.
“Zoe?”
“Yeah, haven’t you seen her tiktoks?”
Ella hadn’t.
“She does car stuff. And outfits. But definitely car stuff.”
Ella pulls up the team chat, scrolls through until she finds Zoe and shoots her a text.
The reply is almost immediate.
<<for sure! you can come to my place anytime today after 4 or before practice tomorrow>>
Ella text back that she’s not doing anything that evening and can come by at 4 and gets an address in response.
“She’s super friendly,” Olivia reassures Ella as she’s about to head out. “I promise.”
Ella’s embarrassed to find that she both needed the reassurance and that it worked for her. See the thing was, she was sort of…intimidated by Zoe. Not that she’s spent that much time with her or knew anything about her, but there was something…very cool, but also a little scary about her.
The drive gives her enough time to calm herself, but not enough time to overthink it. At the end of the day, Zoe was her teammate. Who she was going to be working closely with in the coming year. Who had the same goals as her. Who was so kind in agreeing to help her with her car.
“Hi… Ella.”
“Hi,” is all Ella can manage in return.
They sort of stare at each other for a few seconds before Zoe says, “Okay so can you show me what’s going on?”
“Okay yeah, so the first thing is that I think it’s taking longer to turn on than it should.”
Ella pops back into the driver’s seat and turns the key, holding it in the on position for a good three seconds until the engine turns over.
“And then after a second, the check engine light comes on.”
Zoe leans over her shoulder to look and Ella is hyperaware of how close they are.
“Do you mind if I try turning it on?”
“Go for it.”
Ella expects to get out of the car and let Zoe take her place, but before she moves Zoe reaches across her to turn the car off. Ella stays as perfectly still as she can, only realizing after the car is off that staying still had unintentionally included holding her breath. It results in an unexpected tightness in her chest.
Zoe has a tattoo of a star with a little face on her hand kind of near the wrist on her pinky side and a word on the other side. She doesn’t want to get caught trying to read the word so she focuses on the star.
Ella doesn’t have any tattoos. In fact, she’s never even thought about getting a tattoo. They wouldn’t…fit her. Obviously Zoe put them there, tattoos don’t just…appear, but they look natural on Zoe. Or if not natural at least like they belong.
“I’ll get my OBD2 to confirm but I’m pretty sure you just need the battery replaced.”
“Is that good news?”
“If I’m right we should have you fixed up in the next hour or so, but either way, based on what I’m seeing and hearing, I’m not getting the sense it’s a major issue.”
“Nice.” Now was not an ideal time for Ella to have to be thinking about affording major car repairs, and she really didn’t want to have to ask her parents again.
Zoe plugs her thing into some hole near Ella’s left thigh to confirm that yes, she does, in fact need a new battery. “There’s an auto shop down the road if you want to come with.”
It’s literally a five minute drive during all of which Zoe points out local landmarks (primarily consisting of fun mailboxes and big trees) like she’s been living there for years and not less than a month.
“Hey Zoe,” the man at the counter greets as they walk in.
“Hey Joe.”
“How can I help ya?”
“I’m looking for a battery, but let me practice looking it up myself if you don’t mind.”
“Sure thing.” He flips the book sitting at the desk over to Zoe who leafs through the pages then runs her finger down until she finds whatever she’ll looking for. She keeps her finger there as she spins the book back around.
“Ella, can you tell Joe the make model and year of your car?”
Ella does as she’s told and Joe nods at Zoe. “You got it. I’ll be right back with that.”
Ella doesn’t fully understand what happened so she waits for Joe to disappear into the back of the store then says, “That’s a neat party trick.”
“Believe it or not, Joe taught me.”
“Haven’t you been here for like two months?”
“Yeah. And a good auto parts supplier is one of the first connections you want to make.”
“Maybe that you want to make,” Ella suggests. “I know you so I don’t need an auto parts supplier or a mechanic.”
“So what’s your number one?”
“Hair salon.”
“You know I also cut hair.”
Ella eyes her skeptically. “Your own hair with kitchen scissors?”
“Yep.” Zoe sounds serious for half a second and Ella is worried she may have offended her before a smile crawls up one side of her lips. “Woman of many talents over here.”
Ella laughs and it makes her feel lighter than she’s felt all day.
“How are you liking Boston?” Zoe asks as they start the drive back.
“It’s…” Ella can’t think of a diplomatic way to say it sucks in ever possible way and what she lands on is “…not quite my thing so far. And it’s a lot further from my boyfriend which kinda sucks.”
“Where’s your boyfriend?”
“Toronto. He plays for the Leafs.”
“Did you know I also once kissed an NHL player?” Zoe asks with a goofy smile.
“Were you dating him?”
“God no.” Zoe snorts. “I am waayyy too gay for that. It was a bet. I did it for twenty bucks.”
This is new information, but it also seems to Ella that it maybe should have been obvious. Zoe looks different in the way that Ella has noticed sometimes queer women look different. She tries not to over index on that because she doesn’t want to…stereotype…but Zoe fits what her imagination supplies.
“Are you dating anyone now?” It seems like an okay follow up question and Ella figures it could give them something in common if Zoe’s girlfriend is also in Canada.
“Nope.” Zoe pops the p and Ella feels saved by the bell as they pull into her driveway.
“Can I help?” Ella asks after they get out of the car.
“You can help by having a seat…mmm…” Zoe looks around for then finds a rolling chair and shoving it across the room. “Right here.”
“You want me to sit.”
“Yes. But in the chair. You were very in the way earlier when I was turning the car on and off.”
Ella laughs a little considering how very much she had wanted to get out of the way then tilts her head to one side.
“Not useful enough? I see. I can give you something to hold and you can occasionally tell me I’m doing a good job if you want, yeah?”
Zoe says it with such a straight, serious face that Ella laughs again. “Okay.” Then she sits down.
Zoe pops the hood of Ella’s car then takes her sweater off, tossing it at Ella. “You can hold that.”
Zoe’s wearing a tank top underneath which reveals, at first glance at least half a dozen more tattoos. There’s one that looks like a poem on her bicep and wow does Zoe have really nice biceps. She’d feel bad that she’s staring except for there’s not really much else to look at other than Zoe fiddling with tools Ella can’t name inside her car’s guts.
After maybe ten minutes she emerges with a black box that looks a lot like the one they purchased from the mechanic. She hold it up as if showing it off to Ella.
“What?” Zoe asks. “No good job?”
That’s right, she was instructed to occasionally praise Zoe for whatever she was doing. Ella giggles. “You’re doing great. Old battery removed. Big win.” She laughs some more.
“Is this a joke to you?”
“No.”
“Okay good. Because now I have to put the new battery in.”
“Okay.”
Ella waits for her to get back inside the car’s hood then calls out, “You’re doing great!”
Zoe turns, gives her a thumbs up with a car-stained hand then gets back to work. It’s kind of attractive. It’s the sort of thing she’d find attractive in a man. Someone who is handy, knows how to fix things. Is willing to fix things for her for no other reason than for the sake of helping her out.
“Alright, should be all set.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“That was so fast.”
“What can I say. I’m a woman of many talents.” She smiles at Ella like it’s an inside joke and she can’t help but imagine Zoe with a pair of kitchen scissors giving herself the most uneven haircut. She supposes she wouldn’t know if Zoe had given she’s never seen her with her hair down.
“Can I like, repay you in some way?”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.”
“You’re really saving me a lot of trouble here.”
“I’m happy to help.”
“You sure? There’s nothing I could help you with in return?”
“Hmmm…Maybe you can do my hair for media day. Or help me find somewhere they’ll do it for me. I hate to admit it but I’m actually completely useless with hair.”
She says it like it’s not obvious based on her earlier comments about the kitchen scissors.
“Done,” Ella says. “I’m great with hair.”
“Alright, off with you then.”
“Do you do hugs?”
“Sure do.” Zoe opens her arms wide and Ella goes to her. Zoe smells like car, but also like something flowery. Maybe jasmine? And she’s so muscular.
“Thanks again, Zoe.”
“Anytime.”
Maybe Ella could add Zoe to her list of things to like about Boston.