AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1
I stared up at the Snow Globe Arena as if I hadn’t practically grown up in the place. I had been inside the walls of the hockey arena countless times over the past twenty-one years. Almost every home game during the regular season, my family and I were in the stands, cheering on the New York Blizzards. It was my home away from home, and I was finally back.
Except I wasn’t walking through the big, arching entrance at the front. I was taking the players’ entrance because I was the New York Blizzards’ first female goalie.
Okay, I realized I was being a little dramatic. Hell, I had already been inside the stadium this morning to sign my contract and for morning skate, but it was finally happening! I was going to play my first NHL game. After spending my rookie year riding the bench with the Seattle Blades and barely setting foot on the ice, it was looking like I would be doing the same this season. Then I got traded to New York, and not just any New York team—the Blizzards. I held in my girlish shriek.
A car alarm beeped, followed by the sound of a grumbling man-child. Ah, right, the reason I was staring up at the building and not entering it.
“Come on, Mason,” I shouted, my breath puffing out in the chilly air.
Mason shot me a withering look as he grabbed his backpack and slammed the back of his neon green Jeep closed.
“Hold your fucking horses, Riley. And don’t call me that,” he yelled back.
While he slowly got himself together, I took a quick selfie in front of the sign and sent it off to my brother. Drew hadn’t been to the stadium in years. We’d stopped going to games after the plane crash that took our parents away five years ago, but now that I was part of the Blizzards, he was coming back. He wouldn’t miss my first time starting foranything.
Just as I was about to say, “fuck it” and ditch Mason, he caught up to me, backpack over his shoulder, sipping his coffee, and looking nowhere near as excitedas I was.
Since my car was still in Seattle, I recruited Mason as my reluctant chaperone. But had I known waking him from his nap two hours ahead of his regular schedule would be like dragging a corpse across town, I would have just taken a cab. The guy looked like he was about to keel over, but that may have had something to do with him trying to follow my mad dash from his car to the doors. Mason didn’t like to exercise when he didn’t have to. Ironic, for a professional athlete.
Not willing to wait a second more, I grabbed his arm and towed him toward the entrance reserved for players and staff. Two guards opened the doors, and the arena underground unfolded before us. The large concrete tunnels bounced dozens of echoing voices across the space. I shivered at the blast of warmth, happy to escape the freezing February air, and clenched Mason tighter.
“Shit, Riles. I know I’m not the best player on the team, but we really don’t need another injury right now.” He shook his arm. I loosened my grip but didn’t let go. He had a point; Blizzard players had been dropping like flies lately. The only reason I was traded was because Travis Hall, the Blizzards’ backup goalie, tore his ACL.
I smiled up at him. “You’re totally right. You’re not the bestplayer.”
He snorted and wrestled me off him. “Rude,” he said, but his dimples flashed with his perfect smile. He looked out of place in the chilly New York weather. With his sun-tanned skin, longish brown hair with light highlights, and sparkling green eyes, Mason was your stereotypical Californian surfer boy. Except for the fact that he had never been to California nor touched a surfboard inhis life.
Security wanded us and our bags as we passed, heading toward the locker rooms. “It’s weird being back here with you,” I said as I took in the tunnels for the second time today.
“I know. I feel like we’re kids again. Do you rememberthat day?”
“Of course. New York vs Colorado. Goss made that beautiful diving save against Brockovich in the second. It was gorgeous.” Damn, just remembering it gave me chills. I hadn’t even gotten close to stopping a shot that legendary in my short career, but that was going to change.And soon.
“What? No, you asshole! When we met.”
I snapped back to reality and smirked. “Oh. Yeah. That was good too.”
Mason socked me in the arm playfully, and I scrunched my nose atthe sting.
Wehadmet that day. Midway through the first period, I wanted a closer view than I had from my family’s box. So I escaped and ran down to the rink, where I found a twelve-year-old Mason with his face smooshed against the glass. I joined him, and when the period ended, I took him up to our suite for milkshakes. By the time my mom called his, apologizing that I kidnapped her son and inviting her up to join us, we were best friends and there was no separating us.
After I found out we were the same age, I abandoned my pee-wee hockey team and made the hour trip to the Bronx three times a week to join his. Then, with a little help from my lawyer parents, I transferred to his middle school, and we had continued our careers and lives together ever since. That was until we got drafted to different cities. I went to the Seattle Blades’ farm team, and Mason got to stay home in New York to play for theBlizzards.
But Lady Luck was on my side, and I was back and ready tokick ass.
I followed a step behind Mason as we made our way through the circular hallways. The tunnels down here were confusing, even after the short tour I had been given this morning by management. We took a left at the 1962 team poster, and the players’ lounge entranceappeared.
I stopped before the lounge doors like I had at the arena entrance a few minutes ago and earlier this morning. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to this. I thought my star-struck days were over with my rookie season. But…”
Mason chuckled. “It’s just because it’s our home team. Go on, take a picture. You know youwant to.”
“Not with this many people around.”
We looked around and caught the eyes of more than a few people.
“Right. You’re still a novelty,” Mason said under his breath and raised an eyebrow at an arena worker whose gaze didn’t flick away from us fast enough.
