Ellie and Paul shrug.
“I hear he owns stock in a ton of big-paying companies or something,” Ellie says. “When you have money, why not be extravagant?”
“I can think of lots of things to do with a lot of money that aren’t redundant purchases,” Skylar says. “Like traveling to the ornicorn belt or hiking the smarglin climb.” She rolls her eyes.
“Or journeying to catch a flargish borm,” I offer.
Skylar nods, waving her hand at me as if saying, ‘See? He gets it.’
I smile as Ellie looks between the two of us with confusion. The whistle on the television announces that the game has begun while we were talking. Paul turns the television up again so we can hear what’s going on.
This has been one of my favorite afternoon hockey matches to date. And we still have two more periods and desserts to get through, as well as an entire building of people to learn about. I’m here for this.
Even better, this game is a home game, which means Julian will be home in a few hours and there’s simply no better way to spend an evening than with him. I can’t wait to hold him again. My heart is already beating harder just thinking about it.
CHAPTER 23
JULIAN
I can feelthe cooler air making its way down the chute from the rink. The audience is already loud. Waiting excitedly. Expectantly. It’s our last home game of the season. I don’t have high hopes for a win. We’re coming off a three-game losing streak and it’s always hard to get out of your funk after three games of failure.
Coach reminds us constantly that it’s not failure. It’s simply a loss. We shake it off and move on as if the slate is clean. That mentality worked better in the beginning of the season but now, with three games left in the season and no hopes of clawing our way out of last place in the division? It’s not nearly as comforting.
I try not to make a practice out of having personal goals in a game. But since it’s difficult to rely on anyone else to truly come together, more times than not, I need to figure out how to work on my own.
For this game, my goals are simple—I need to at least assist in a single goal, if not make the goal myself. And once I have that, then I’m going to focus on defense.
“You good, Jules?”
I look up at Carter. He’s paused next to me to fix his glove, then meets my eyes. “Yep. Just enjoying the first feel of cooler air.”
He grins. “Honestly. I’m sweating just moving around.”
Pads are hot. No matter what you do to keep them from directly touching your skin, they’re hot and you sweat. Period.
“Jackie and her sister are here tonight,” Carter says, giving me a wink.
“Uh-huh.” I head down the chute with Carter behind me, laughing.
“You sure you don’t want to meet her?”
“One-hundred percent sure. No offense.”
He hits my back on his way by. “Cool. See you on the ice.”
As soon as I get close to the ice, I’m already looking in the crowd. Not for Jackie and her sister. Obviously. But for Arush. I stuffed him into my hoodie, one of my jerseys, and a beanie. Which means… he blends right in now.
I’d thought about putting him in a box, but when I described the boxes, he shook his head. He didn’t want to be so far away, nor with people who would expect him to participate in conversation. He wants to watch the game, not make small talk.
So I got him a seat at the edge of a row and six rows up just beyond the right of our goalie. Arguably, they’re the best seats. Itshouldbe the opposite side being the best seats because wewantthe action to be down in the offensive zone for our opponents. That’s certainly not the case this season, so I kept him close to home.
I seek him out as soon as I’m on the ice, skating in the direction of the boards. He’s watching the rink, looking all around. Maybe a little mesmerized by the fans and everyone surrounding him. I know the moment he sees me, though. A smile lights up his face and he leans forward in his seat, giving me a small wave.
I raise my stick in return, grinning at him.
This is the first time I’ve ever brought someone to a game. The first time, aside from my parents, having someone I know in the audience who is there forme. It’s a thrill. It also makes butterflies dance in my stomach.
However, I can’t let his presence distract me. It’s time for hockey so I need to concentrate on hockey. Turning around, I swipe a loose puck and skate along the wall behind the goal until I join where my team is lazily funneling forward to take a shot on net.
