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I swung my arm back to lay him out, but it was caught behind my back.
“Relax,” Alex said, dragging me backward. “You know anything that happens at warm-up is a multigame suspension. Leave it till the game.”
I shrugged off his hold but followed him to the side our team was practicing on. Jax and River were running through plays, and I grabbed a puck, quickly passing it to Alex, who tossed it over to River and back. We went through the gameplays that had been drilled into us until they were pure muscle memory and zero thought. When I missed my third pass, I slammed the blade of my stick down.Fuck.
Alex skated up to me and gave me a cocky smile. “You’re playing like absolute shit.”
I raised a brow. “You look pretty fucking punchable right now.”
Alex laughed and shifted away, holding his gloved hands in front of him in retreat. “I think I know how to snap you out of it?”
“How?”
“Her.” He pointed behind me, and I snapped my gaze to follow him. All the air left my lungs as I met sky-blue eyes.
Piper stood at the glass, wearing my jersey and the number thirteen painted on her cheek. She smirked at me as I skated over to her, and my heart pounded in my ears, blocking out all noise. I shook my glove off, placed my palm on the glass, and sucked in a breath when she overlaid hers on the other side. I shifted my gaze to her face, where she was already looking at me with warm eyes.
“I’m so sorry.” My voice cracked as I pushed out the words I’d sent her in countless messages.
She nodded, the corner of her mouth curving. “We’re okay.”
“What?” I wanted to break the board so that I could hear it again.
Her smile widened, and she shouted, “I said we’re okay. We’ll figure it out.”
I collapsed against the glass, damn near falling on my ass as her words wrapped around me.We’re okay.Vaguely, I could hear the guys getting off the ice and going back to the locker rooms, but I couldn’t leave her. I ripped my helmet off and leaned my forehead against the glass. Piper had to stand up on the ledge in order to bring her face level with mine.
“I love you, Piper. I’ll just change and be out in a minute.” I didn’t give a single fuck about hockey. The coach could kick me off the team if he wanted to. All that mattered was that Piper and I were okay.
“Are you kidding me?” She gestured to herself. “I’m all decked out to see you win this game. Don’t let me down, Knight.”
I searched her face, and a lightness filled my chest. This girl was perfect for me. I brought my mouth close to the glass and huffed out hot air until a section the size of my head was fogged over, then drew a heart with a P + L in it.
Piper traced the letters from her side of the glass and bit her lip before her eyes met mine. “Go kick their asses, then take me home.”
It was like she breathed life back into me, and adrenaline built inside my veins. I skated backward toward the bench and said, “This one’s for you, baby.”
THIRTY-THREE
PIPER
My gaze trackedLucas as he skated down the rink from my spot next to the glass. He’d been on fire the entire game, and it was obvious his energy as the captain was thrumming through his team. As a defenseman, his job was to keep the puck on the opponents’ side of the blue line, and he hadn’t let up the entire last period.
Both Jax and Alex scored twice, leaving the board at four to zero for the Huskies.
“Hey, you can’t be here wearing that shit.” A hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned to see a giant of a man sneering down at me. You’d think university-level hockey would be pretty chill, but clearly not.
“I came up to see the other team.” I shrugged, but his hand stayed on my shoulder, pushing me back.
“Then wait for them outside.” He directed me toward the stairs and forced me down several steps.
“Back off, buddy.” Misty tried to come between us, but her tiny size made her more adorable than threatening.
This guy wasn’t letting up, and there was no way I was getting into it with them. I’d just have to wait by the bus until the guys came out. “Fine, whatever.”
“Next time, don’t bring your puck bunny ass down here.” He slurred his words, and the hair on my neck stood as the realization that this asshole was drunk sank in.
I lifted my hands in agreement. “Okay, I’ll leave, and I won’t be coming back.”
