"So," Leila says, and there's something in her voice that makes me nervous. "You and Ace seem close."
I keep my eyes on the ice, trying to look casual. "We're friends. We work together at the bar."
"Uh-huh."
"And we both like Candy."
"The dog."
"Yes, the dog. What other Candy would I be talking about?"
"Just checking." She's smirking now, and I don't like it. "It's just interesting how you always know where he is on the ice."
"I don't—"
"You've looked at him seventeen times in the last three minutes."
"I'm watching the game!"
"The game hasn't started yet."
I open my mouth to argue, but the ref blows the whistle, saving me from having to lie to Leila's face.
The puck drops, and suddenly everyone's moving, skating at speeds that seem physically impossible, sticks clacking, bodies colliding. It's violent and graceful at the same time, and I have no idea what's happening, but I can't look away.
"That's icing!" Leila yells.
"What's icing?"
"I'll explain later! Just boo!"
I boo.
I have no idea why I'm booing, but everyone else is booing, so I join in.
Ace gets the puck. At least I think that's what happened. It's hard to tell because everything moves so fast. He's skating down the ice, weaving between opposing players like they're traffic cones.
"Go, go, go!" I'm on my feet, screaming, and I don't remember standing up.
He takes a shot. The goalie blocks it. The crowd groans.
"So close!" Leila yells.
The game continues, and I'm completely absorbed. This is nothing like watching it on TV. The energy in the arena is infectious, and I'm screaming myself hoarse even though I still don't fully understand what's happening.
Ace gets checked—that's what Leila calls it when someone deliberately crashes into you—and my heart jumps into my throat, but he recovers immediately, stealing the puck back and passing it to Petrov.
"He's so good," I say without thinking.
Leila grins. "Yeah. He is."
Shit. I need to be more careful.
The first period ends, and we sit down, my legs shaking from adrenaline.
"This is insane," I gasp. "How do you watch this regularly without having a heart attack?"
"You get used to it." She takes a sip of her overpriced beer. "Also, you learn to trust that they know what they're doing. These guys are professionals. They can take hits that would kill normal people."
