Jacob swallowed. “I’m nervous. Like… really nervous. The Stormers crowd is gonna be brutal. They hate me… you saw the memes after last month’s game. And it’s the first playoff game and what if I choke and the Cardinis?—”
“I hear you,” Tane replied, has is lips brushed Jacob’s temple. “Breathe, baby. It’s okay to be nervous. I was terrified before my first playoff game and I was twenty-two with nothing to lose. You’ve got the whole league watching, plus the family breathing down our necks. Anyone would feel it. I’ve got you. It’s chill.”
Jacob turned his head so he could see Tane’s face. “I wish you were starting. I wish you were out there the whole game. With me. You know?”
Tane’s mouth curved—half smile, half wince. “I’ll be there. Off the bench, limited minutes, but I’ll be there. Doc and the trainers still won’t clear me for full throttle. Last thing I want is to re-tear anything and miss the rest of the run.”
Tane kissed the tip of Jacob’s nose in a way that made Jacob’s heart sing.
“But you,” Tane said, his voice low and gruff. “You’re ready. You’ve been carrying us all season. That speed, those hands, that cocky little grin when you swerve and cut back inside… that’s why we’re here.”
The words loosened something in Jacob’s chest. He reached up and traced the line of Tane’s jaw. “You’re really not mad I killed the morning sex plan?”
“Mad?” Tane chuckled, the sound rumbling through both of them. “Jacob Gosling, I’ve waited twenty years to have someone I want to wake up next to more than I want to get off. A headache isn’t gonna change that.” His hand slid up Jacob’s back, fingers gentle on the nape of his neck. “We’ve got the rest of our lives for morning sex. Tonight we’ve got a hockey game to win.”
Jacob smiled despite the lingering throb. “Rest of our lives, huh?”
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you leaving half your Switch games at my place,” Tane teased. “You’re basically moved in already. The Cardinis can suck it—We’ll figure out the optics later.”
A soft knock at the door. Tane rolled out of bed, shrugged on a hotel robe, and answered it. A minute later he returned with a steaming mug. The smell of honey and lemon hit Jacob and his stomach finally unclenched.
“Here,” Tane said. “Little sips.”
Tane held it steady while Jacob drank, then set it aside and pulled him back into the nest of pillows. They stayed tangled and quiet, Tane’s heartbeat steady under Jacob’s ear, until the clock forced them to move.
Jacob knew tonight was going to be big.
And despite the fact that Tane wouldn’t be on the ice with him the whole time, he felt a whole lot better about things than he did thirty minutes ago.
* * *
The Stormers” arena was a boiling cauldron of white and electric blue. Twenty thousand fans screamed, stomped, waved thunder-sticks. Oh, and they were committed to booing Jacob’s name every time he touched the puck too.
The jeers started in warm-ups and never let up.
Gosling sucks!
Gosling’s a diva!
Jacob My Ass!
But Jacob kept his head down, stickhandling through circles, refusing to give the baying crowd the reaction they wanted.
First period was brutal: hard hits, tight checking, two shots that rang iron. The score stayed 0-0.
Second period, 1-1.
Jacob’s legs felt heavy from the morning headache, but he pushed. Every touch drew fresh boos. He skated past their bench and caught their captain muttering “bitch-boy.” But Jacob didn’t bite, he simply just flashed the million dollar grin he knew drove them crazy.
With 4:12 left in the second, Alex won a faceoff deep in Stormers territory. The puck slid to Jacob on the half-wall. He saw the lane… narrow, fleeting. A toe-drag, quick spin, and Jacob hit hard and true. The goalie never moved.
“Hell yeah, let’s fucking go!” Jacob hollered, pumping his fist and taking the plaudits from his teammates and a cacophony of jeers from the partizan home crowd.
The boos turned vicious, now almost deafening.
But above it all, Jacob somehow heard Tane from the bench, bellowing his name like a war cry.
The Enforcers held on. The final score 3-1. Not bad for the first match. And even better, Tane got some more minutes off the bench, skating on to provide some much needed experience and a calm head amongst the madness.
