My eyes scan the crowd behind the bench. It takes me a second to find her, but she’s there. Zoë. Front row, leaning against the glass, her eyes locked on the tunnel. She’s watching. Assessing.
I tap my glove against the glass.
She nods once. Sharp. Precise.
My focus narrows down to a point. I’m playing for the guys on the bench next to me. I’m playing for the girl in the stands who sees me for who I am.
The horn blares, deafening. It’s time.
I step onto the ice, the blades cutting into the surface with a satisfying hiss. The cold air hits my face, waking up every nerve ending. I skate to the blue line, circling slowly, feeling the burn in my legs.
The other team is lined up across from us. Big. Hungry. They want what we have.
I grip my stick tighter, leaning forward on my skates. Calm settles over me, heavy and absolute.
I’m just the weapon. Let them fucking try.
The buzzer sounds for the line change, and I hop over the boards, sucking in air that feels like broken glass. My legs are burning, the lactic acid building up, but the adrenaline is a steady hum under my skin.
I hit the bench, grabbing a water bottle, but I don’t drink. I look up. The arena is a blur of color and motion, but I find her instantly. Zoë. Front row, center ice. She’s sitting with Clara and Talia, but she’s not talking to them. Her body is taut like a bowstring as she leans over the railing, her hands gripping the cold metal.
The roar of the crowd, the clash of sticks, the shouting—it all fades into white noise. It’s just her. She sees me looking.
Her hands cup around her mouth as she leans closer to the glass, amplifying her voice against the soundproofing. I read her lips perfectly.
"If you score that goal, I'll suck your dick so hard you see god!"
A bark of laughter almost tears out of my throat. I choke it back, turning it into a cough, but my grip on my stick tightens until my knuckles turn white. My blood spikes, hot and sharp.
She's sitting there surrounded by thousands of people, looking like she's ready to storm the ice, and she's negotiating a blowjob like a business transaction. It's so fucking Zoë. It's filthy and public and utterly shameless.
I skate to the edge of the bench, getting as close to the glass as I can. I tap the blade of my stick against it, once, hard. She raises an eyebrow, challenging me.
I mouth back, three words.
"Watch me work."
She leans back, crossing her arms, a smirk touching her lips. The message is clear. Prove it.
I turn back to the ice, the calm settling back over me, heavier than before. The game is a contract. And I always collect.
Coach screams my name, and I vault over the boards, my skates biting into the ice with a satisfying crunch. The shift change is chaotic, bodies flying everywhere, but I cut through it like a knife.
I'm wired.
The puck is in the corner, a battle of sticks and shoves. I see Cole strip their defender, fighting through the check. He spins, firing a pass up the boards to me. It wobbles, bouncing off the glass. My glove snatches it out of the air like I'm catching a baseball as I reach back.
The crowd noise swells, a tidal wave of sound, but I don't hear it. I see the ice. I see the geometry. Their defense is collapsing, trying to clog the middle. They expect me to dump it in.
I accelerate, crossing the blue line with speed. A defender steps up to challenge me, a big brute with a beard and a death wish. I drop my shoulder and drive right through him, theimpact rattling my teeth, but I hold my ground. My legs churn, burning, driving me forward.
I’m at the top of the circle now. The goalie is square to me, huge in the net, cutting down the angle. I load up my shot, the puck rolling back onto the blade of my stick.
The post is right where I expect it. So is the bar.
I snap my wrists. The puck leaves my stick like a gunshot, a blur of black rubber rising fast. It hits the defenseman’s stick, deflecting slightly, changing trajectory. It catches the inside of the far post and rips into the top corner, a filthy, beautiful snipe that tears the twine out of the net.
The red light flares, siren blasting so loud it vibrates in my chest. The arena explodes.
