“Oh, my god!” Her pitch rises. “Who’s on the third one?”
Flipping it over, I already know who it’s going to be before I see the picture. It’s the man I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the moment we got to our seats. Everett Nuttall. Number eleven. Forward and captain for the New York Crowns.
“Seriously?” She gasps. “What are the odds that you would get your former fuck buddy on all three cards? We should play the lottery or something tonight. I mean, that’s insane.”
“I told you there was something weird about the Stella girl. Maybe she’s a witch.”
Andi leans forward, placing the back of her hand on my forehead and then each of my cheeks. “Do you feel okay? You aren’t warm, but you sound crazy. A witch?”
“How else would you explain me getting three Everett Nuttall cards?”
“I think it’s just a coincidence and you’re letting your imagination get the best of you.” She laughs, sitting back in her chair again. “I told you the card girl wasn’t named Stella. Her eyes were blue, not purple. Are you sure you aren’t feeling sick?”
“I’m fine.” Tucking the three cards into my purse, I turn to face the rink. My eyes shift back and forth between Raph and Everett as the players skate around the ice and line up for the game to begin. The crowd roars as Everett and the Rat Kings’ forward meet at center ice. The referee blows his whistle and drops the puck. Everett wins the draw, pulling the puck back towards another red jersey.
The players glide over the ice, moving the puck between them and dodging the other team. Everett regains possession and manages to knock the puck toward another player before Raph comes out of nowhere, barreling them both into the glass in front of us.
In front of me.
“That was boarding!” the man next to me yells, throwing his fists against the glass, but the referee seems oblivious to what just happened. More shouts echo through the stadium as fans become angry that no call was made.
My eyes stay locked on the men in front of me. Raph turns and throws me a wink before shoving Everett back into the boards and skating towards the play. Everett pauses for a split second. His hazel eyes find mine. My lips part slightly, and I bring my hand up in a small wave, and then he’s gone. Skating like mad andfighting to win.
“I imagine that means Raph knows about you and Everett’s history?” Andi asks, grimacing.
“Yeah,” I say, dropping my hand. “They played together on the Crowns for a season before Everett left.”
Raph knows exactly what he’s doing, and my stomach turns at the realization that while I’ve been worried about what would happen if Everett and I saw each other, I should’ve been worrying about Raph interacting with him instead.
Chapter 5: This Isn’t Going Away
Everett
Tension ripples through the arena as my stare meets hers. Her pink lips part, and her eyes widen. I wasn’t expecting to see her in person tonight. My eyes rake down her body, and I realize she’s wearing his number on her jacket.
It shouldn’t matter. Our history is barely history, but something about her wearing the number seven makes me feral. I feel drawn to her, and now that we’ve seen each other again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay away.
“Nuttall,” my teammate yells, pulling my attention back into the game.
My shoulder took the brunt of Ulrich’s hit, and pain ripples down my right arm. Turning, I do my best to push through it, but I can’t. The puck slides across the ice, and as I wind up to fire it on goal, another shooting pain radiates from my shoulder, causing me to wince and the puck to go sliding with little force toward the Rats’ goalie who redirects it toward a player in purple.
Fuck.This isn’t going away.
Skating toward the bench, I yell, alerting Kai McCormick, another forward, that I’m coming out and he needs to be ready. As I approach, he jumps over the boards and I step off. Motioning for Dr. Hamilton, I sit on the bench, and he walks to meet me.
“My shoulder’s fucked,” I say.
“You think you can go back out, or you want me to take you back and give you something for it?”
“That hit by Ulrich did something. I’m feeling a shooting pain when I move it. It’s why I missed that shot.”
“Take him now. We need him out there,” Rob Zillman, our head coach, orders.
The crowd erupts, and I turn to see that the Rats now lead 1-0.Fuck.
Removing my helmet, I follow the team doctor to the locker room.
“You can’t keep this up,” he says as we move down the tunnel.
