Page 163 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

Caden’s eyes flashed with a deeper hurt then, but he hid it just as quickly. “Do we have to?” It was as close to a plea as his pride would allow it.

“We do,” I insisted.

“Alright, boys,” Coach Murray announced from the door.

What horrible timing, dammit. I didn’t look back and neither did Caden. “We haven’t done it the right way, Jones. I still have things to say.”

“One-minute warning,” Coach Murray called.

“Beckett,” Caden whispered, eyes on me alone. “I’d really rather not go there right now.”

“Please,” I said.

“This isn’t the time,” Caden said. “And neither was last night. I’m sorry for that. I just knew I couldn’t take it anymore. And now…”

“You need to listen to me,” I insisted.

Caden’s face contorted with grief. “Please, shut up, Beckett. Please. It’s bad enough already.”

“Caden…”

“Partridge, do you plan to run on the ice in those sneakers?” Coach Murray called.

“We’re not done,” I whispered.

Caden closed his eyes softly. I could see, then, the twinkle of his tears in his long, black eyelashes. His expression begged me to let it be done, but I couldn’t do that.

I jerked back when Coach Murray called my name again. “Coming,” I said. I put my skates on while all the other guys dragged on their helmets and picked up their sticks. We filed out of the locker room one after the other and I glanced at the line behind me. Caden was looking elsewhere, but Jordan was looking into my eyes. Asher, walking next to him, wore dread all over his face. It almost felt like we were marching to a certain loss. It felt as though true Vikings were awaiting us out on the ice.

I had failed before I had even tried to do the right thing. All my wants existed in some suspended reality and I couldn’t tunnel my way between my world and the world where there was a happy ending for us. Caden wished to leave it be; I was dying to get it all out. And our scariest foe waited, inspired to kick our asses.

Perhaps I had been too distracted to give it enough thought. Or I had simply underestimated just how rough the Vikings would be. Whatever the case had been, it didn’t change the outcome of our first encounter. Their big, beefy guys stormed our defenses and minced our players in the first period. There was carnage everywhere I looked. For twenty minutes, we were getting fucked without lube in front of tens of thousands in the audience. The Vikings rammed against us, never allowing us to rally a counter-offensive. The few measly attempts I pulled against them were more simple prodding and probing than any real expectation of leading my team to win the first period. Sawyer’s swift movements on the ice was our only saving grace in that block of time. While his stature didn’t let him play as a human shield, simply blocking the goalpost against the enemy’s designs, it allowed him the sort of movement that surprised the Vikings all over. We’d of course faced off against them in the past, but Sawyer’s conditioning and late-night activities increased his stamina by at least fifty percent in my eyes. He minimized the damage by defending our goal post for the better part of the period, but we still left the ice bruised, battered, and well behind the Vikings.

But that had become my strategy this semester. Coach Murray gathered us and cut to the chase, although I glanced around the audience to where Uncle Nate was sitting and cringing. It made me smirk. I had been letting cocky teams get the upper hand on us for half of this season. I knew how to play this game like 4D chess.

Coach Murray spoke a few words of encouragement and then pointed out our weaknesses. Our defense wasn’t as unified as it should be. They were slow to react and easily spooked by the merciless charge the Vikings used against us.

In the middle of it, Asher spoke up. “I don’t think I can do this,” he croaked.

Silence fell over us.

“I’m sorry,” he said, panic in his voice. He was shaking his head, trembling all over. “I fucked up. I can’t do this.”

I inhaled a breath of air to speak, but Jordan got there first. He seized Asher’s upper arm and held him in a tight grip. “Pull yourself together,” he growled. “You’re here for a reason. We all are. The best of the best, do you hear me?”

Asher was taken aback. His mouth worked, but not a sound came out.

“You’re not quitting in the middle of the game,” Jordan said. Our supporting players were good, but Asher could be much better than any one of them if he tried. The trouble was he often tried too hard. “You’re not gonna betray us now, Asher. Just get out of your goddamn head.” I wasn’t sure Jordan’s motivational speaking skills were that good when Asher was his audience.

“Son, are you sure you need to step aside?” Coach Murray asked.

Before Asher could reply, Caden jumped in. “He’s staying, Coach,” he insisted. When he turned to Asher, I was in awe. He threw his arm over Asher’s shoulders and pulled him close, yanking him free of Jordan’s grip. “You know how this goes, Asher. We get humiliated for twenty minutes, but we get to know our enemy. Nobody’s blaming you, man. We all fell short out there. But now’s the time to get it together and show those bastards who they’re messing with. Just by getting absolutely wrecked in the first period, you have more experience against the Vikings than any of the guys on the bench. And we’re gonna show them where to stick it. Isn’t that right, Captain?”

I blinked, surprised as much by Caden’s easy tone as I was by Asher’s newfound calm and determination. The guy straightened and inhaled, then nodded.

“That’s right, Jones,” I said with all the bravado I could gather. “If you paid attention, you’ve noticed it already. They are quick; they are mean. But we can fool them. They think we’re a defensive team. I didn’t waste any energy trying to push through their lines. We can’t take them by surprise, but we can let them get cocky. I need you all to think with a single mind, boys. Nothing fancy in the second period, alright? We’re serving them the usual.”

Murmurs of assent went around the circle and we returned to the game with a newfound courage. If I had hoped to catch Caden alone in the short break, I knew deep down it was impossible. I hadn’t even tried.