Page 34 of Final Score

Jenner skated towards me; his green eyes shining. “Hi.” I mouthed over the noise. “Hi.” He mouthed back, placing a gloved hand against the glass. I opened my mouth to speak as a whistle blew to my right. Coach glared in Jenner’s direction, motioning for him to hurry before pointing back towards the ice. “Later?” He asked, tapping the glass three times. I nodded as he skated backwards, his eyes never leaving mine. Testing the waters, I blew him a kiss and watched as he caught it in midair before tapping his closed hand against his chest.

Maybe we fix this after all.

CHAPTER 23

I have the unfortunate dis-pleasure of facing off against Kat’s ex for the ceremonial puck drop. The bastard oozes confidence, skating to a stop in front of me, tossing ice shards across my skates. What a tool. I wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his sorry face.

“I’m really disappointed Kat won’t be here to see you lose.” Noah taunted.

“Who said she wasn’t? I’ll enjoy watching you cry again when this is finished.”

The ref looked nervously at us. No doubt wondering if he was going to have to break up a fight before the game even started. Keeping the onslaught of insults on myself, I waited. The second the puck dropped onto the ice, I snatched it away from my overly confident opponent.

Our team went into attack mode as the buzzer sounded, signaling the beginning of quarter one. The first few minutes of a game set the tone for the entire night. We needed those first few moments in our favor. Any player worth their salt knew just how quickly things could change, especially during a high stakes game like this one and I wasn’t about to let go of the puck, as I raced towards the goal.

It was then you could tell just how much the other team wanted to win. I was surrounded by a sea of green and gold when I spotted the tiniest opening. I shot the puck to Oliver, who carried it the rest of the way, right into an open net.

Score one. The Saints could think they were going to win all they wanted, but I wasn’t about to let that happen.

Of all the games I’ve played in my career, this had to be the toughest most satisfying of them all. The Saints were down 3 points going into the second quarter and we were out for blood. Neither team was willing to go down without a fight.

There had already been multiple calls for stick checking and aggressive hitting. We all had a few bumps and bruises from hitting the glass at the wrong angle. But the other team was far worse. One of their players was currently sitting in the penalty box, which meant we had the advantage of having more players on the ice for two minutes. Don’t fuck it up boys.

Noah was right on my heels, matching my every turn, as we fought for control of the puck. He pushed me from behind. I slammed into the screen, rattling the glass, the crowd booing and cheering against my skull. Gritting my teeth, I raced to catch up with the asshole. I wasn’t going to let that slide.

Where Noah made up for in confidence he lacked in technique, his coordination and control of the puck was sloppy. He wasn’t even aware he had given me the perfect opening for a steal until it had already happened.

This was it. Moments like this were what I lived for. It was the closest I would ever be to flying. My skates moving smoothly against the ice, my heart pounding in my chest, muscles burning as I pushed myself faster.

The puck soared into the net as Noah came to an abrupt stop to my left. He was pissed. The crowd roared, we gained another point, and I scored a hat trick, my seventh this season. Nothing was going to ruin my day.

Yelling over the crowd, Noah taunted me, “You know, I never got to thank you.”

“For what” I asked, annoyed that he was trying to make conversation in the middle of the game.

“For teaching Kat new things. She was mediocre before, but I bet she’s an even better lay now. She’d have to be to keep you entertained for so long. I think I’ll fuck her one more time, just to see now that you two are over.”

My gloves came off and I didn’t even think before landing the first blow across his sorry face. My fists flew. One, two, three times. I blacked out as my knuckles bruised with each swing. This had been a long time coming.

CHAPTER 24

“Hell yeah!” Fallon yelled. My blood boiling, as we watched Jenner punched Noah right in the mouth, his head snapping back at an odd angle.

“Ouch! That’s got to hurt.” Trey winced as Mr. Blackwell sighed. “I told him not to start anymore fights.”

“This one is well deserved. That guy is Kat’s ex.” Fallon exclaimed, not taking her eyes off the bloodshed.

“Then it’s excused.” Jenner’s father laughed, shaking my shoulder.

The refs swarmed both men, pulling them off each other. Jenner took another swing, as blood ran down his chin. Noah’s left eye was swollen shut, and his nose was gushing blood. He’d most likely lost a tooth or two as well.

Each player was then escorted to an individual penalty box on either side of the ice. Like children, they were placed on a two-minute timeout for fighting.

Screw this. I stood rushing towards the penalty box only a few feet away. Empty seats lined either side as I banged on the glass to get Jenner’s attention. He turned, startled, wiping blood from his lip with a clean towel.

“What the hell was that?” I screamed, undoubtedly looking like a crazed fan to anyone who didn’t know about our relationship. The one I was trying to repair, without my current boyfriend killing my old one.

Jenner smirked, his green eyes bright, wet hair dripping against his face. “I’m not supposed to talk to you when I’m in the penalty box, love. But I’ve gotta know. Are you mad that I hit him? Or are you mad that you didn’t get to hit him first?”