Five Eagles players took on four Bobcats. The clock ticked and the play stayed in the Eagles’ end. Then Whittier got the puck, deked our defenseman, and headed straight up the middle of the ice. The guy was fast. Every shot he’d taken had been low, and I prepared for a five-hole shot.
His eyes were dark behind his fishbowl mask, the bottom section fogged with his breath. He dangled the puck. I was ready for it. I dropped to my knees. He faked then went high. I scrambled to my feet. The puck tipped the edge of my trapper.
Everything went into slow motion. I couldn’t recover it. The puck spun in an arc, falling into the net behind me one second before the clock ran out. The orange section of the stands went crazy. Fireworks went off and pumpkin-colored confetti fluttered down onto the ice.
Had that just happened? I flicked the puck out of the net then turned and rested my helmet on the crossbars.
Fuck.
I took a deep breath and even though I didn’t want to, I looked at GJ. Clementine was hugging her. I lifted my helmet and mouthed,I’m sorry.
She smiled and then…blew me a kiss.
The Bobcats surrounded me. “I can’t believe that just happened,” I whispered to Chaser.
“It’s all right, man.” He patted me on the shoulder pads. “We’ll get them next year.”
After the postgame handshakes, I followed the team on our walk of shame to the dressing room. They were putting on good faces, but I knew they were disappointed in me. I’d been brought in to help them win, and I’d let them down.
“Tinsel,” Coalman barked at me from the pathway that led to his office. That asshole was the last person I wanted to see. I’d lost the game, and he didn’t have any damn scouts. It was all for nothing.
“What?”
He walked to me and gave me a hug, holding me hostage while he whispered in my ear, “Good work. You had me worried there. Your money is in your cubby in the dressing room. There might even have been some scouts here, you never know.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I know.” He shrugged. “At least you have ten grand and can leave this shithole town like you planned.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d been let down by an authority figure, but it still stung. He might as well have slapped me. I was seething mad and he knew it. He retreated into his office with his tail between his legs before I could say anything, or lunge at him.
I’d choked, so it didn’t even matter if there had been scouts at the game. He wasn’t going to get away with this. I was going to expose Coalman, even if it meant that I had to go down with him.
“I can’t believe you.”
I turned to face Evie and Rocky. “Here’s your jacket, you forgot it in the trunk.” She tossed it to me. “I thought that you might need it for the parade. I came here to give it to you before the game in case I couldn’t find you after.”
The world tilted like I was drunk. Thosewereher tracks I’d seen before the game. “Evie. I—”
“Don’t.” She pointed at me. “Don’t you dare stand there and tell me I didn’t hear everything about your sick deal with that ‘coach.’” She used air quotes for the wordcoach. “This game might not have meant anything to you, or I guess, it meant ten grand, but,” she pointed to the stands, “it means the world to them.”
I moved toward her. “It’s not what you think. Let me explain.”
“No, Nick. You’re right. You are a bad person.”
“Evie.” I dropped my helmet and gloves on the ground and rushed to her.
“Stay away from me, Nick. Forever.”
“Evie. I…” I had lost the game, but not for the reasons she thought. I couldn’t let her walk away thinking I had done it on purpose. “I was going to do it, but then you…this town…the s’mores…Rocky…”
She shook her head and swiped at the tears on her face with her mitten.
“Goodbye, Nick. Merry Fucking Christmas.” She threw the keys to the truck at me. I fumbled them and they dropped into the snowbank beside me.
“Wait, please.”
She didn’t look back.
