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Adrenaline is coursing through me, my palms sweating in my gloves, and I know that I can’t worry about impressing Phillip; I have to impress this scout. He’s my future. He’s Claire and my future. I can’t fuck this up. I have to win, and I have to impress.
For Claire.
I want to give her the life she deserves, and the only way I can do that is by being signed by a great team. That’s probably the only way Phillip will ever respect me, and since I want those two things more than I can breathe, I am going to play my heart out every single game I play.
Rounding around the goal, I take a puck and practice my puck handling as I continue making my circle. When I hit the blue line, I turn and take a shot, getting it right past Shane. He gives me a look that says I got lucky, but I know the truth – I’m the best out here. With a grin on my face, I turn around the goal again, and this time, I find Claire behind the visitor’s bench, her hands on her hips, holding pom-poms. She looks hot as hell in her little Bullies uniform. It may be a little tight, but I’m not complaining at all.
Seeing her smiling face reiterates how important this game is as well as the rest of my college career. I have to make sure we’re good. I have to give her everything she wants because not only does she deserve it, but I want to do it. I want to treat her like a princess, just like Jayden said.
When warm-ups are called, I go out to the blue line, lining up with my linemates, including Jayden. As a little girl sings the national anthem, I close my eyes and send a little prayer up to the heavens. I know I’ve got this, and as I line up for the puck drop, my opponent meets my gaze and I ask, “You ready to lose?”
“Fuck you,” he sneers and I smile.
When the puck drops, I win it back for my defensemen and head up, waiting for them to pass me the puck. I look back to see Jayden with the puck, deking around a player before shooting it up to me. Hitting my blade, I dig in, going around one player, putting my hip into them as I turn, passing the puck to Martin. Pushing off the jerk, I head to the goal, blocking the goalie from being able to see. He pushes me in the back, but I stand strong, blocking him and waiting for the puck to come my way. Jayden gets the puck and lines up the shot, shooting hard, but a defenseman gets in the way, blocking it with his shin. Luckily though, it lands in front of me, and I quickly backhand it over the goalie’s shoulder and into the back of the net.
My arms go up as the goalie pushes me away, and I skate toward my team, getting wrapped up in a tight hug as the crowd chants for us. Scoring used to be my ultimate high before being with Claire, and while it doesn’t hold the same feeling that kissing Claire does, it still shakes me to the core. Skating toward the bench, my gaze catches Claire’s and she’s grinning from ear to ear, her arms up in the air, shaking the pom-poms.
That was for her.
Hell, everything I do is for her.
We won.
Three to zero.
Just like I knew we would. I had two of the goals, and while I wish I had scored all three, I’m just glad we shut them out. The locker room is jubilant, and we’re ready to win the rest of the season. We will win the championship, and I will go into the draft a winner. That’s my plan, and I hope that every game ends with me off to meet Claire.
After showering, I head out of the locker room with Jayden to find Claire waiting for me. Her face breaks into a grin, her eyes bright as she pushes off the wall. Like me, she wears Bullies sweats, but still has her makeup and hair done from earlier.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I say, slinging my arm around her shoulders.
“Hey, hotshot, great game.”
I smile. “Thanks, babe. That first goal was for you.”
“Aw, really?”
“Yup, really, both of them were.”
“Ugh, I can’t stand you two,” Jayden says, walking faster and away from us.
I laugh as her grin grows, her face turning a pretty pink. “I like that a lot, and you’re just jealous, Jayden!”
He scoffs as he shakes his head, and I smile before meeting her gaze. “You killed it out there, baby.”
“Thanks, it was a great performance, and seeing you there made it even better.”
“Good, it was a pleasure watching you,” I say before kissing her temple as we head out into the lobby.
I see Angie first; she’s running to me, her arms out as she calls, “Ude! Ude!”
I drop my bag and pick her up, kissing her loudly on the cheek. “Hey, girlie! You like the game?”
She nods quickly and the
n reaches for Claire. She takes Angie, kissing her cheek and talking sweetly to her as the rest of my family reaches us. I don’t hear them congratulating me and Jayden on a good game though, all I see is Claire loving my niece like she’s her own. She’s so good with kids, and it does something to my heart to see her with children.
“Hey, Claire. Wow, you are a great dancer,” Mom says, and Claire grins at her.
