“Theo, look at me,” I said. His glassy eyes met mine, and I held his hand. “Tonight’s game wasn’t your last time playing at Madison Square Garden. You’ve crushed it this season. Scouts will be calling. You’re going to have a career, but you might ruin your career, and your life for that matter, if you play with a sprained neck. You could hurt yourself more. Permanently.”
Theo’s eyes were soft again, and he nodded, a look of resignation washing over his features. “I’m gonna hate watching you play without me,” he muttered.
“I’m going to hate playing without you.” I realized that I didn’t give a damn about the Championship anymore. All I wanted was for Theo to be okay, and if watching me play without him would cause harm, then it wasn’t worth it. “So, I won’t play.”
Everyone in the room gasped. Coach approached and said, “Lachlan, please…”
The guys cut in, saying how much they needed me, but my eyes were firmly locked on Theo’s. Hockey didn’t matter anymore. Theo was more important to me than anything in the world, and if he wanted me to sit out, I’d do it happily for him.
“You’d do that for me?” he asked.
“I’d do anything for you.” Our lips connected, and we kissed like nobody else was in the room.
Theo stared at me with love in his eyes. I pressed his hand to my chest so he could feel my beating heart; the heart that beat for him alone.
“No,” he replied. “You need to play. I want to watch you whoop ass, baby. You’ve worked really hard for this moment, and I want to see you shine.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
Theo nodded and caressed my cheek. “Very sure. They tried to knock you out once. Let’s not let them win like this. I’ll be cheering for you from the bench. I’ll just need lots of kisses between shifts.”
I looked at him momentarily, trying to find any shred of doubt on his face, but couldn’t. “Alright. I’ll play.”
“For us,” Theo added.
“For us.”
Chapter 33
Theo
I was probably more nervous watching Asher than I would have been actually playing. I sat on the bench with the team, flanked by the assistant coaches. Asher was at center ice, crouched low for the faceoff.
Cody and Rafael were sitting directly behind me, and my family was behind them. I turned around to give them a little wave, hoping the tension in my body wasn’t visible on my face.
The moment I turned away, my phone buzzed with a text.
Mom: You look like you’re going to yak. Is it the meds?
Jesus Christ.
It was that obvious, huh?
The referee’s whistle shrieked, signaling the start of the game. The puck dropped, and I jumped to my feet, instantly regretting it when a flare of pain shot through my neck. I knew it was going to be a rough game. No matter what happened out there, I was going to be amped. That meant a lot of me jumping around like an idiot, but I had to control that. Doctorstold me not to make sudden movements, or I could injure my neck more.
You try watching your boyfriend play the most important game of his life and not move!
Asher battled hard, but their center ripped the puck away, passing it to their left winger, who pushed up into our zone. The Warriors were playing the Cobras, a team from Philadelphia. Both teams were middle seeds in the tournament, so we’d fought tooth and nail to get to that moment. That kind of drive made you thirsty for victory.
This game is gonna be dirty.
The Cobras had an elite passing game, slapping the puck from stick to stick with pinpoint accuracy and speed.
They raced down the ice, doing loop-de-loops around the Warriors’ defense. Hutch was in front of the net, but my replacement, a guy named Franklin, wasn’t quick enough for the Cobras.
He was all bulk and no finesse, lumbering on the ice, jerking his body from side to side to track the puck.
The Cobras’ right winger approached the crease and faked a shot, then passed it to the left winger, who sniped it into the upper-right corner of the net. Luckily, we had one of the best goalies in the league, and he caught the puck before it crossed the line.
