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As Coach finished his speech, the locker room erupted into a loud cheer, with everyone shouting and pounding their sticks on the ground. The energy in the room was electric, and a surge of adrenaline rushed through me as I tightened my skates one more time.
"Let's do this, boys!" I yelled, my voice barely audible over the noise of the others.
The guys around me were all fired up, slapping each other on the back and exchanging fist bumps.
That feeling. It was what every fucking competitor on earth lived for. The feeling you could do anything, your team could do anything…the energy was contagious. We were ready to win.
I gazed around the room, taking it all in, reminding myself how lucky I was to be here. I could never forget this. Could never forget the sacrifice that had gotten me here.
My brother’s sacrifice.
This wasmyteam. The guys I'd gone to battle with countless times before.
“Fuck yeah!” screamed Ari as we headed down the hallway, into the arena.
It was game time.
* * *
The puck dropped, and it was on. The crowd roared as the players raced down the ice, and I lost myself in the game. The sound of the skates cutting through the ice, the slap of the puck against the boards, it was all music to my ears.
The energy of the crowd was on crack as they cheered on both teams. Thanks to Ari and I, the team had amassed quite the following over the last few years, and we could be assured of having a good turnout of our fans at every arena in the country.
We were getting close to scoring, and I could feel the tension building. Suddenly, the puck was flying towards me, and I saw my opening.
I deftly maneuvered around the defender, and with one swift move, I flicked the puck towards the goal. The goalie never had a chance as the puck sailed past him and into the net.
“Better luck next time, boys,” I crowed as I skated past Boston’s goalie—a douchebag if there ever was one.
And then I got a brilliant plan. Before I could get tackled by my teammates, I skated right up to the glass in front of Monroe’s seat, just a few rows up, and I stared right at her. She’d been screaming and cheering for me along with most of the arena—even Boston fans loved me—but she quieted right down as I stood in front of her. Monroe eyed me warily, and it only made my grin wider about what I was about to do. I pointed right at her…and then I made a fucking heart sign with my hands as I stared. The crowd went fucking wild, people starting to point at her.
Monroe wasn’t going to play along, though. She shook her beautiful fucking head and stared off…like I’d been throwing up a heart to someone else.
Alright, dream girl. It was on.
I obviously would have to make it clearer.
The second goal I scored was even better. Ari had just slammed an opposing player into the boards, jarring the puck loose. I had already been charging towards the goal, and as soon as I saw the puck come free, I made a quick pivot, snatched it up, and took off with a burst of speed.
I was skating so fast that Boston’s defenders couldn't keep up with me. I faked left and then right, and then deked the goalie so convincingly that the prick was left sprawling on the ice. The puck sailed into the net with a satisfying thunk, and the crowd went wild.
I went right to the same spot in the glass, catching Monroe’s eye. Once again, I pointed at her and made a heart sign with my hands. The crowd erupted into even louder cheers. Monroe looked away again, a dark blush creeping up her cheeks, but she was grinning that time…and she didn’t shake her head.
Progress.
“Get it, Linc!” Ari roared as he tackled me against the glass, joined by Peters, Jones, and Fredericks.
The adrenaline coursing through me was making my head spin. What a fucking game.
I scored two more goals, and every time, I repeated my actions.
After the fourth goal, when I immediately skated up to the glass and made the heart sign, she didn’t look away. Instead, she finally met my gaze and held it for a long moment, before smiling and glancing down at her lap.
The crowd’s roar almost burst my fucking eardrums. There was definitely no doubt in anyone's mind at that point that I was talking to her.
As the final buzzer sounded and the game ended–with a Knights win, of course--I skated over to the bench, a heady sense of satisfaction floating through me that I hadn't felt on the ice in a long time.
I knew I’d played my heart out tonight, both onandoff the ice.
