Resting back, I stretch my legs out and roll my shoulders. We’ve been training hard this week, and I’m feeling it. But Parker has been working fucking wonders, and by some miracle, I’m also feeling strong and so fucking ready to take another W.
Thankfully, the clock ticks around for us to head out onto the ice before I get too restless, and I follow Donnelly and Killer out of the locker room, Linc falling into step beside me.
“Is she coming tonight?” he asks.
The need to be an asshole and ask who he’s talking about burns through me, but I know. And let’s be honest, considering his girl is good friends with Freya, he fucking well knows too.
“Yeah, I think so,” I hedge.
He chuckles. “You’re so full of shit.”
“I haven’t fucking said anything.”
“You don’t need to,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder as we hit the ice to warm up.
The stands are already filling with fans, and unsurprisingly, quite a number of them are women. There’s been an explosion of females coming to watch games in the last few years—not that any of us are complaining. They seem to have a soft spot for our warm-up routines, and we’re all about giving the fans what they want. Most of the guys live for showing off, especially to women, so it suits them just fine.
Usually, I don’t even bother looking up. I’m too focused on the task ahead to care if anyone is watching me stretch my hips out in preparation for the game. But tonight, as I skate toward my spot on the ice, my eyes lift to where I know Casey usually watches the game.
My breath catches the moment I spot Freya. She’s sitting while Casey and Sutton are on their feet, shouting and screaming for Kodie. I don’t need to look over to know they have his full attention.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit jealous watching the three of them. There was a time a lot of years ago, that I’d have given anything to have people in the stands getting that excited to see me play.
That was a long time ago, though. Now I have thousands of people come to watch me play. That’s better than one or two, right?
Despite how much fuss Casey and Sutton are making, it’s the girl sitting quietly beside them who steals my attention. And itseems that the same can be said for her, because she hasn’t taken her eyes off me since I looked up.
My lips twitch up in a smile that she won’t be able to see, despite how close they’re sitting.
Her hand shifts in her lap as if she wants to wave, but like always, she’s second-guessing herself. Needing her to feel more comfortable, I lift my own hand in greeting.
I’m so fucking glad I do, because the second she registers the move, the most incredible smile spreads across her face.
“You forgetting about something, Handsy?” Killer barks as he skates past me.
Shit.
“Nope.”
Ripping my eyes from Freya, I set about warming up. And for the first time in a very, very long time, I’m achingly aware of someone’s eyes on me as I drop to the ice and stretch my legs and hips.
Warm-up flies by, and long before I’m ready, we’re heading back to the dressing room. I tell myself to keep looking forward, to keep my head in the game. But just before I step off the ice, my head turns without instruction from my brain and I find her in the stands. She’s surrounded by fans now who are eager for the game to start. I swear, with every game we win, more people show up to watch. Things are getting wild, and I can’t wait to see where it leads us. Hopefully, all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
She startles the instant our eyes collide, and she quickly looks away. I’m too far away to see, but I know her cheeks are rosy pink from being caught.
I playone of my best games of the season. To be fair, the whole team does. We end up winning five to zero, with Linc and Kodie both scoring two each, and, much to his delight, Monroe scoring one. I must admit that even I cracked a smile when he embarked on his celly dance as his goal song filled the arena. And he’s still buzzing as we get showered and changed after the game.
Having his family in the stands definitely did good things for him, and I can’t lie, I’m pretty sure having someone there for me helped as well.
The whole game, no matter which end of the ice I was, I could feel her gaze on me. I might not get the kind of attention our goal scorers do, but something told me that while she was on her feet shouting and cheering with the rest of our fans, she wasn’t just celebrating the goal scorers but my performance as well. It was a weird feeling, knowing someone was in the crowd, watching me specifically. I’m pretty sure there’s only ever been one person in my life who’s done that before, and I can say hands down that he was nowhere near as hot as Freya.
“First round is on Marilyn,” Killer shouts as we all make our way out of the friends and family suite after the game, everyone more than ready to hit the dive bar a few streets over that’s become our regular spot to hang out after games.
“Fuck off, I can’t afford that on my ELC,” he barks.
“Dude, you don’t want to look cheap in front of your sister,” Linc points out.
“My sister doesn’t give a fuck about money.”
