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They would also blow the whistle when a period started and ended.
Three periods, each one ten minutes long instead of the standard twenty.
That rule actually worked in Team Gray’s favor, ’cause they would have the chance to recover every now and then.
Case must’ve had another person doing his bidding, because the arena exploded with music the moment he set a skate on the ice. And he’d left the ’90s behind for the ’80s with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
Gray’s mouth twisted into a grin, and he removed his mouthguard and skated over to the center line where Abel and Shay waited.
Case and Boone were gonna be easy. They could barely skate. Boone looked like he wanted to join the people watching.
Ryan and Darius spoke quietly to each other, nodded, and put on their helmets.
“I told you we should’ve practiced,” Case gritted out.
“I didn’t think it was gonna be so damn difficult,” Boone snapped back under his breath.
“Unless they’re trying to pull a fast one, we can count those out,” Shay said.
Gray agreed, but like he’d said, they could be bullshitting. Case and Boone weren’t known for playing fair—or abiding by laws.
“What are we waiting for?” Ryan asked.
“You, sunshine,” Gray drawled, resting his arm on the top of his stick. “We’ve been ready for ten minutes.”
Ryan narrowed his eyes, then turned to Boone. “You can wait on the bench.”
“Thank fuck.”
“Chickenshit,” Abel coughed.
Boone spun around so fast to glare at Abel that he stumbled and fell on his ass.
A handful of kids giggled in the stands.
Oh, this was gonna be so fucking fun.
Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose and seemed to count to ten. Or a hundred, maybe. Then he put on his gloves and jerked his chin at the three guys off the rink. “Okay, we’re ready. Blow the whistle when we drop the puck. Ten minutes.” Then he addressed his team. “Helmets on, mouthguards in, gloves on, visors down! We’re gonna crush these punks.”
Gray snorted and started skating toward the benches. “Hold on, Ryan, lemme just go grab some bullshit remover for you.”
Shay and Abel let out a guffaw while Ryan clenched his teeth and rolled his shoulders.
“I guess I know what game you’re gonna play today, and it ain’t hockey,” he griped.
Gray blew him a kiss before he skated over to take his position in the defense with Shay. The two would protect the goal, guarded by Gabriel, while Abel and Gideon played on the offense—with Gray assisting when it was possible. Without rules for offside and such, their dirty-playing enemies could position themselves wherever the hell they wanted.
“Are you seriously using two goalies?” Abel blurted out.
Gray looked across the ice and rolled his eyes. Both Ethan and Madigan stood there, though only Ethan was decked out in goalie gear.
“Never you mind how we play, boy,” Darius said gruffly.
“Are we playing today, ladies?” Gabriel called from the cage. “Come on, we’re putting our audience to sleep!”
Their supportive family members in the stands applauded and cheered.
Thanks for the love, Mom.
Gray took his position and bent over a little, letting the blade of his stick rest on the ice. Shay mirrored his stance, and Ryan, Reese, and Darius joined Abel and Gid for the face-off.
It was completely fair for a player to drop the puck.
As the music changed, morphing into Shinedown’s “Asking for It,” Gray took a steadying breath and found his concentration. Apparently they were going to play with the music blaring.
It didn’t matter how many grunts they pulled out as forwards, because as soon as Ryan dropped the puck, Abel took it and passed it to Gideon, who pushed straight ahead and then played it back to Abel.
What the fuck was the other team doing? Rather than having their defense chasing Abel and Gideon, their forwards crawled back to chase the puck, and River, Avery, and Case moved toward Gray’s side.
“Get him!” Reese shouted.
Ryan rammed straight into Abel, but that was after he’d passed the puck back to the center line, where Gray waited and took over. He jumped into action and skated between River and Avery, and he heard the shouting getting louder as he faced Darius and Reese. He passed the puck to Gideon and stopped abruptly, only to fly left and put the enemy offense behind him. Then when he got the puck back from Gideon, Gray was free right in front of the goal, and a simple shovel shot flipped the puck right into the upper right corner of the net.
Mom hollered from the stands. “Good job, sweetie!”
“Yay, Daddy!” Justin yelled. “That was Daddy Gray, right, Nana?”
Gray skated around the net, patted Madigan on the shoulder, and returned to his half of the ice.
“Team Gray scores first,” Jesse announced.
“Are we ready to try Darius’s strategy now?” Reese asked dryly.
They had more than one?
“Behind you, Shay!” Abel shouted.
