Second shooter: Tried to go high glove.I flashed the leather.Save.
Third shooter: Their captain.He came in slow, weaving.He faked a shot, froze me, and tried to tuck it around my pad.
I stretched out, extending my leg in a split, the toe of my skate catching the puck enough to deflect it into the post.
Ping.Out.
Javier, miraculously, scored on his turn—an ugly, wobbling shot that fooled their goalie purely by accident.
Final: 2-1 NRU.
The locker room was a sensory overload.
Music blasted—something with a bass line that shook the benches.Equipment was everywhere: skates scattered on the rubber floor, wet jerseys hanging from hooks, tape balls flying through the air.
“Three stars!”Ryan yelled, standing on a bench in his compression shorts.“Third star, me, for the moral support.Second star, Morales, for scoring while technically dead.First star…”
He pointed a composite stick at me.
“The Monk!For robbing that kid of his dignity in the third!”
The guys roared, throwing towels and empty water bottles at me.
I sat in my stall, exhausted.My shoulder throbbed.My knees ached.I started the process of peeling off the gear.
Leg pads first.My hands shook as I undid the buckles.
“Hey,” Javier said, slumping down next to me.He looked better now that the adrenaline had peaked.“That save?The paddle down?”
“Yeah?”
“That was filth.Pure filth.”
“It was lucky,” I said, unlacing my skates.“Bounce was weird.”
“Luck is preparation meeting opportunity,” Ryan said, sliding down next to me.“Or whatever the hell your math boyfriend would say.”
I froze.The room was loud, but I heard that clearly.
“My what?”
Ryan grinned, unrepentant.“Please.You check your phone every thirty seconds.You’re quoting him in the intermission.You guys are vibrating on a frequency only dogs can hear.”
I looked down at my skate, heat rising in my neck.“He’s helping me with accounting.”
“Uh-huh,” Ryan said.He clapped my shoulder.“Well, tell the accountant that his variables worked tonight.We got the dub.”
I pulled my phone out of my bag.
One text waiting.
Austen:Data confirms victory.38 saves?
I smiled, and this time, I didn’t try to hide it from the room.
“Yeah,” I said to Ryan.“We got the dub.”
The bus ride home was a party.
