Before, whenever Melanie came to one of his games, he would smile at her, tossing her winks, and shooting pucks for her. But this time, he looked at her with a touch of surprise before turning his head and continuing to the bench. He completely ignored her.
"Ouch," Abigail said. "So, lover boy can get upset too."
Melanie couldn't blame Noah for his anger with her. After all, she had given up on their relationship without giving him a chance. He was probably more than pissed. Maybe it was a mistake for her to come to this game, and Coach Benson and Abi were wrong. Maybe she should have stayed home. She didn't want to make things worse for Noah by being here.
Melanie slowly grabbed her purse as she wrestled with the idea of staying or going when suddenly Noah stood up from his seat and spoke to Coach Benson. Melanie watched as Noah glanced back at her before he took something from Coach Benson and walked over to the corner, taking off his helmet. There was something about his stance that was off-putting, like he was hiding something.
“I wonder what he’s doing…” Melanie said, but she noticed that Abigail’s attention was focused on the next play that had already started.
Melanie’s phone started to ring, but she ignored it, her attention focused on Noah. Whoever it was calling her, she could call them back later. But when her phone rang again, she noticed Noah glance back at her, giving her a pointed look.
Melanie blinked before she dug into her purse for her phone, seeing Coach Benson’s number.
She answered it, hesitantly. “Hello.”
"Why are you here?" he asked bluntly, with a short tone that stopped her breath. The anger in his voice was clear, and the softness of his tone that was usually reserved for her was gone. Melanie tried to find the right words to explain why she had come here, how her feet had led her here even though she told herself over and over again not to come, how she didn't come here on her own, but her heart led her here. But none of that really mattered. All that mattered was that she was here now.
"Do your best, Noah," she told him sincerely. Abigail, whose eyes had been focused on the game, looked at her curiously after hearing Noah’s name. "Not for me, not for your father, not for anyone else but yourself. You've always wanted this. Win this for you."
Noah turned and looked back at her through the glass that separated the players from the fans. Melanie held his gaze, his blue eyes peering into her own. With each second under his gaze, her heart beat with uncertainty and fear, wondering if Noah would always look at her this way as if she were a stranger to him that he was trying to figure out. And Melanie would have no one but herself to blame. Melanie waited for what Noah would say next, readying herself to accept his wrath.
"If I win this, what do I get in return?"
Melanie blinked as she stared at him, mouth ajar. Did he just... She snorted with laughter as she looked down at her lap, blushing. When she looked back up, she could see his shoulders shaking as well as he laughed too.
Melanie shrugged. "I don't know. I'll give you a kiss, I guess."
Noah frowned. "I should be able to get more than that, considering it's the final. The bigger the bet, the bigger the reward."
Melanie rolled her eyes, wondering what she could give Noah as a prize. Something that would motivate him to win. She blushed before making eye-contact with him as she lowered her voice to a whisper. "If you win the game, I'll let you play with your toys."
"The ropes?" Noah asked, his bright blue eyes darkening as he looked at her like he wanted to eat her, and Melanie couldn’t say that she minded the thought. Every part of her missed him in every way possible, including her body. She had been apprehensive about the ropes before, but now, she didn’t mind the idea of it at all.
"That's a bet," Noah said, a glint in his eyes that let her know she was in for it, just as Coach Benson called his name.
"Get back on the ice, Walker," he yelled.
"But it's only if you win the game," Melanie told Noah. Noah nodded before he hung up the phone, passing it back to Coach Benson.
"You'll see," he mouthed to her before he skated onto the ice. Melanie smiled as she placed her phone back in her bag.
"Girl," Abi said. "Here I thought you were going to give him a bomb motivational speech, but instead, you placed a freaky bet."
"What?" Melanie said, defensively. "Bets are motivational for him."
"Hopefully, they were motivating enough," Abigail whispered disappointed, but what her friend didn't realize was that Noah was always motivated by bets, especially those he could win. It was no wonder that when the game started again, Noah shot a puck past the goalie immediately, making the crowd go wild.
"Oh my gosh," Abigail yelled as she plopped back down in her seat. "It really worked."
Melanie grinned as she watched Noah skating on the ice like he usually did, being the beast he was that could control himself and be the leader his team needed.
"I don't know what happened to Noah during that short time on the bench, but whatever revelation he had, he needed it because Noah is back, baby! And he just might win this game," the sports commentator exclaimed.
It was down to the final minute, and everyone watched the puck as it skated back and forth between both teams. A swish there, and a swish here, before Noah caught it and drove down the ice, skating to a stop before he shot the puck. With a bated breath, everyone watched the puck with both fear and hope, and when it shot past the goal hitting the net, everyone cheered to the top of their lungs.
They had won the game. Noah Walker had won.
CHAPTER
