But I didn’t need to know what play he was making to know they were winning. They’d already scored and it appeared the Beast was already trying to do so again. I found myself walking closer, eager to see if he could do it.
Fans were already on their feet, cheering the home team.
And one man in particular.
“Beast. Beast. Beast.”
He was coming in my direction, sailing across the ice as if he was born gliding on skates. I was shocked how excited I was, happy for him and the entire team. Suddenly, another huge player from the visiting team jumped into Steven’s path. I don’t think there was a single person in the arena who hadn’t sucked in their breath, most now standing and waiting to see what happened.
I could swear the man knew how to ice dance. Steven swerved around the guy with a solid spray of ice and all of a sudden, took a shot.
Now every person in the arena was on their feet, the entire moment pivoted to slow motion.
And the puck flew past another huge, gruff guy trying desperately to catch it.
When the black puck was caught in the net, the entire arena went wild.
And so did I.
Including jumping up and down. After making the goal, he threw up his hands, turning in a little spin and I’d be damned if he didn’t notice me.
How could he not? I hadn’t realized I’d made it to the railing, close enough to the goal that all he’d had to do was to lift his head.
The eye contact even though he was wearing a helmet and grid mask was noticeable enough my skin was flushed. Now the heat was excessive.
What did the brat of a man do?
He lifted his arm, pointing a finger at me. Then he turned in another little dancing circle before blowing me a kiss with both hands.
If that wasn’t bad enough, immediately some asshole taking pictures for the jumbotron turned the camera toward me.
Oh, shit.
But I was quick. You bet I was. I hadn’t been trained as an ice skater making quick moves not to use them now.
So first I ducked.
Then I ran, rushing back to my position behind the counter, fumbling to jerk the apron over my head.
It took several minutes for me to calm down and just in time for the next rush.
The intermission was busier than the one before, more beer sold in fifteen minutes than I’d ever done. I’d heard the game wasn’t a sellout, but you could have fooled me.
When I’d served the last customer, I heard my phone ringing. This time I wouldn’t dare put myself in a position to catch his eye. No way.
Tawny was calling, which was strange in and of itself. But I moved beyond the concession area. “Hello? I really can’t talk right now.”I need to scuttle away like a rat.
“Was that you on the jumbotron?”
“What are you talking about?” I was already in the habit of lying. Why not more now? “Of course not. I’m working.”
“Sure you are. I just wanted to check and see if you noticed your boy had scored?”
“Yeah, I noticed, but he’s not my boy.”
She yawned. “Gotta run. It’s getting hot in here.”
“Ha ha.”
