The play happened in under a minute, and the Conclave players were furious that Niko didn’t get called for a tripping penalty. Their captain got in Niko’s smiling face, shouting as whistles blew and the big guys with the stripes got in between them.
“This is bullshit! That was an obvious trip!”
August was already yanking Niko backward by the collar when he shouted, “How about you learn to stay on your fucking feet? Tie your laces a bit tighter, you bum!”
Fucking hell. August would have to ask Coach about investing in a bark collar for Niko.
August didn’t let go of him until they were in front of the bench to celebrate with team fist bumps, and then he opened the gate and made Niko go in first. There was no point in getting a penalty after scoring because Niko wanted to goad the other team into a fight.
He was about to sit and watch the replay of his goal when his eyes landed on Quinn, who was sitting behind their bench. Feeling bold and foolish, August lifted his stick and tapped a finger to the green tape, winking at Quinn so there was no mistaking his meaning.
Quinn’s face went red, and he quickly yanked his scarf up to his eyes to hide them.
There. August wasn’t…terrible at flirting.
But he forgot about Callahan, who was waiting to walk through the gate after him, and had undoubtedly seen the exchange between August and his brother.
Fuck.
Callahan was quiet beside him on the bench for an incredibly awkward thirty seconds, but then he turned, making August flinch, and said, “I’m happy for you guys.”
The lack of a fight was enough to untwist the guilt he had been feeling about messing up the team chemistry. August was lucky that Callahan was such a laid-back guy. He had been thriving while playing on a line with him, and he didn’t want to ruin the new flow they had.
The puck hit the ice, and August had to turn his thoughts away from personal issues to keep his eyes on the play. He was ready to jump back on at any time since his last shift had been short, and he wanted desperately to extend their lead.
Jin leapt the wall the instant the Conclaves regained control, hitting the ice with a boost of speed that left the other guys on his line struggling to keep up. Both benches exploded into motion, and lines switched in a frantic blur of blades and shouted names. August and Niko had just enoughtime to get their feet under them before the play turned, and it was up to them to shut down Jin’s charge.
But Jin was already moving like a damn missile.
He swept through the neutral zone with the puck glued to his stick, cutting between two Bigfoot players so smoothly that no one was able to touch him. Niko tried to angle him wide, but Jin slipped past and tore into the Bigfoot’s end, driving straight toward Haas faster than the defence could keep up.
He shot the puck, but Niko was too close for him to get a good angle, and Haas snatched it out of the air for the whistle.
Jin didn’t slow down. He kept barreling forward, crowding the crease to spray a wave of ice against Haas’s pads as he skidded to a stop way too close. It was a typical Jin Park dick move, but August had had enough.
His skates cut hard into the ice as he launched himself at Jin, slamming into his shoulder and shoving him backward with enough force to send him stumbling.
“Hey,” August snarled, grabbing Jin’s jersey, “don’t touch my fucking goalie.”
Jin shot back a furious curse in Korean, but he let himself be pushed away, and Haas gave August a quick, grateful tap on the back of his shin pad.
“Gusty! You’re the best, man!”
August gave Haas a nod, but he had to skate away so he could stop Niko from starting a fight with Park as he chased him out of their zone. They were both hurling profanities, spurred on by the boos and jeers of the crowd, but none of it was loud enough to block out Jin’s shout of, “Just how many boyfriends does August have?!”
August saw the instant regret on Jin’s face the moment the words left his mouth. The three of them were so used to the teasing inside the group chat that the joke would have been brushed off any other time, but in front of his teammates—
“Watch your fucking mouth, Park!” Callahan shouted, sidestepping August’s attempt to grab him and drag him back. “Don’t talk shit if you don’t have the height to back it up.”
“Whoa—” August was still scruffing a cursing Niko as he slid in front of his captain to stop him from crossing the redline. “It’s good, Cap. Park is friends with us. He’s just being a prick like always.”
The whistles were blowing again as more of August’s teammates stood up in his defence, but he kept everyone level-headed enough to get them to the bench and continue the game.
“Did you see his face?” Niko said, keeping his voice quiet so they didn’t draw Callahan’s attention. “Shit. It’s not like you’re in the closet or anything, but Jin is such a fucking airhead when he’s angry.”
August didn’t care. He knew they were the enemy right now, but he was more worried for Jin when he took the ice with Callahan again. He had seen Jin fight before; he was a scrappy player and had thrown guys that were bigger than him on their asses, but he didn’t want Park losing teeth over a mistake.
And that’s exactly what happened the next time they were on the ice together. Callahan dropped his gloves, and Park was quick to toss his own before there was an exchange of punches. It was nearing the end of the third period, and everyone was tired, so the fight didn’t last long. Park skated away with a bloody lip after grappling Callahan to the ice and pinning him.
