The cheering and the hooting and hollering—in moments like this, they all blend together. The only thing I can hear is the sound of my blood swooshing through my ears, along with my teammates and opponents yelling on the ice.
It all happens so quickly. I push forward, away from the boards, leaving the winger falling onto the ice as I skate away. There’s an opening in their defenders.
“Cross! I’m open! I’m open!”
I tap my stick twice on the ice. He passes the puck, sliding it across the slick surface. It moves directly to my blade, like there’s a magnetic force pulling it to the exact place I need it.
One of their defenders applies pressure, skating toward me. I fake to the left, quickly whip around the right side of him and flick my wrist, sending a powerful shot toward the net.
The puck lifts into the air, rocketing just past the goalie as he lunges to the side. He reaches out to catch it, but he’s just not fast enough
The light flashes and the buzzer sounds. Goal.
I pump my fist in the air, glancing up at the jumbotron. There’s still three minutes left in the third, and for the first time since the first period, we’re up by one.
We need to keep it that way or score more goals.
My linemates swarm me, shouting and slapping my back, but I keep the interaction brief. I share their excitement for a second and head to the bench, tapping everyone’s gloved hands with my own.
My heart’s pounding, the crowd’s roaring, and I barely register the pain in my ribs from a brutal hit I took earlier. There’s a chance I broke a rib, but during the game, if you can still skate and safely play, none of that matters.
I head back to my spot for the faceoff, waiting while Theo checks on me and my teammates before getting into position. The winger next to me starts talking shit but I block out his voice.
I need the puck. I need possession and we need to keep it from them. That’s all that matters.
“You good, Matty?”
I lift my gaze from my skates, glancing at Shaw. “Huh?”
“Are you good, man? You played one hell of a game, but you’ve been quiet all night.”
“Yeah,” I nod as I slide my feet from my skates. “I’m good. Just tired.”
Theo looks at me at the same time I look at him. His eyebrows tug together subtly but he goes back to taking off his gear. He knows it’s a lie. Thankfully, he doesn’t call me out in front of everyone else.
It’s been a week since I took Jade out to celebrate. Everything went great that night until I dropped her off.
Everything except for the fact that I almost fucking kissed her.
She hasn’t alluded to anything in our texts all week, but she’s been keeping a safe distance from me since.
“Alright.” Shaw sighs, bobbing his head. He’s known me since our rookie season. We came into the league together, played for one other team each, and then both ended up in Hillford a few years later. “If something is going on and you want to talk, I’m all ears.”
Both of Cameron Shaw’s moms are therapists. He’s the therapy king around here.
“Thanks, Shaw. There’s nothing going on, but I appreciate the concern,” I explain as I slip off the rest of my gear.
“Are you still talking to that author?” Cross chimes in as he turns around from his stall. He’s our captain and plays defense on my line. He was traded to the Hillford Ice Hawks the season after me.
I tilt my head to the side. “I am.”
“Have you read any of her books? Are they any good?”
“No, I haven’t.” I shake my head, confusion washing over me before realization dawns on me. “No way.”
Cross frowns. “Come on, we said we were going to start a book club, so why not read one of hers first?”
“Wedidn’t say anything,” I remind him. For Cross’ birthday in the fall, his grandma gifted him a book, telling him he needed to keep his brain stimulated. He tried to con us all into reading it with him, which clearly didn’t work.
