We spend another few minutes talking, but again, this isn’t only a short intermission, but a short game. There’s no time to learn each other, so we kind of wing it when we go back out there.
The puck drops and we lose it right away. I nearly have it away from Lo, but he passes it to Mattias who gets it by Fournier, our goalie, and scores. Thankfully, Ethan evens it up within another minute. We sit out and let Link, Stark, and Ivanovich take the ice. Link and Lo both score within the next two minutes.
Back on the ice, it’s a game of keep-away. Not that I particularly want to go into a shootout. It looks like we’re going to be saved from that eventuality when Ethan sinks our fifth goal, leaving the score 5-4 with less than a minute on the clock.
But apparently last-minute goals are Noah’s thing today, and with eighteen seconds left in the game, he sinks another past Fournier, evening us out at 5-5.
“Hat Trick!” Ethan calls, throwing his hands into the air and running into Noah. He swings Noah around as Noah tries not to fall on his face. “Nice job, Kain!”
“Bro, you’re supposed to be jeering them. Not cheering them,” Davies mutters, rolling his eyes.
“My bad,” Ethan says. “Boo. Hiss. You suck.”
Noah laughs as he glides away.
Shootout. Ethan goes out first and Azure stops it. Then Noah, who thankfully doesn’t make a fourth fucking goal. Link misses. Mattias is blocked. Stark is stopped. Brian is frustrated when his shot is blocked and breaks his stick, which makes Lamar laugh as if he forgot which team he’s on.
It’s my turn and I try to remember the shots I managed against Azure yesterday. But I only have one shot so it’s not like I can try out a couple ideas before sticking to it. I take the puck and slide his way. Faking isn’t my best, but I curl my stick backwards, picking the puck up against my blade with gravity and try to swing it in.
Azure catches it, but he has to bend like a cat. When he rights himself, he looks at me and smiles. It’s unsettling.
“Damn,” I mutter.
He laughs. It’s low and haunting.
I climb into the box over the half wall as Lo’s blades hit the ice. He moves toward Fournier leisurely, dribbling the puck back and forth as he nears the crease. He feigns to the left and our goalie falls for it. When he tries to correct for the other side, Lo shoots it through his legs and the buzzer blares.
Lo just won the game.
I shouldn’t be grinning like I am, but I can’t stop myself. His eyes meet mine and hold for a second too long. But fuck if my chest doesn’t get warm.
CHAPTER 16
LO
It wasn’tthat long ago when goals were just part of the game. An important part, obviously. Yes, I’m always happy when I score—who isn’t? But the way Caulder’s looking at me with that fucking smile…everythinginside me just jumps.
He doesn’t look mad or irritated that they lost and will no longer be competing for the $1 million. His smile remains as he watches me. When I smile back, winking at him, Caulder rolls his eyes and looks away, but I don’t miss the way his cheeks blush. Just a little.
There’s another ten-minute intermission between this game and the next, so we head into the guest locker room with the Central team, sending Metro to the home locker room.
“Gather up,” Coach Adak calls. Our celebrity, coach Royalty, is leaning against the side with a huge grin. It’s pretty wild to be in their presence. I remember watching them on television when they were just getting big! “You’re playing a good game. Kain—congrats on the hat trick.”
Max wraps his arm around Noah’s neck, forcing Noah to bend over. He laughs. “Thanks, Coach. I wasn’t facing Azure, so I think I had the advantage.”
Eyes turn to Azure. He gives the room half a smile but there’s still something so… blank about his expression.
“Let’s do Azure in the first half, Lamar in the second. Focus on offense in the first half and let’s go hard. Get those goals. I’d like to see us not end up in a shootout,” Coach says.
“If we do, let’s keep Azure in the net,” Lamar says. “I’m decent at one-on-one, but I don’t have the unnerving stare like he does. It gives him that extra edge. I don’t even like being across from him when we play Vegas.”
The room chuckles. “He’s a softie,” Noah insists, throwing a big grin at Azure.
Azure returns the smile and it’s probably the only time I’ve seen something almost warm on his face. Is it just Noah? Or are they more friends than acquaintances?
“Remember we have the best of the best on the ice,” Brian says. “It’s going to take a lot more than relying on our goalies to win this game. Keep focused.”
He doesn’t look at me, but I have a very distinct feeling that his words are directed at me. Maybe not intentionally, but he’s not wrong. I need to keep focused. No thinking about Caulder for the next half an hour! I’ve spent my entire life not thinking about him. I can manage half an hour.
