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And I could have sworn, all three of them watched me while I watched them. Every once in a while, when I saw them around the arena, they looked at me as if they knew me. Then they glanced away. I wanted to ask them if they knew who I was, but when I thought about doing something that would seem so crazy, my stomach tightened.
I didn’t want to lose this job…my chance to be here at this arena that felt like home…or the opportunity to catch glimpses of these men who seemed to jog something inside me.
Tonight, it was driving me a little nuts knowing they were out on the ice, hearing the roar of the crowd and the distant sounds of the announcers and buzzers, while I was still stuck at work.
But eventually we came to a lull.
“Take your break, Kennedy,” my manager Todd told me. “You’ve earned it.”
It had been a busy night.
“Thank you,” I said. At first I headed for the little café to try a drink, but then I heard a buzzer sound.
I found myself pulled away, diverted toward the ice.
I shouldn’t be here, but there was no one manning one of the entries to check tickets this late in the game. I slipped through it and stepped through the double doors into the arena.
It was so much louder than it sounded from outside. It was overwhelming, and yet…I didn’t want to leave. I hesitated on the gum-splattered concrete steps, and then I slipped into an empty plastic seat. It felt cold under my butt, even through my jeans.
The arena felt alive with the electric buzz of anticipation, the crisp scent of ice mingling with the noise of the crowd. I usually hated crowds, but this one gave me a rush of shared excitement, making my heart beat faster.
Even before I saw number 27.
Jack.
I’d looked them all up on the internet, adding more details to the faces that stared down at me from posters in the lobby and flags outside the rink. I couldn’t get away from the three of them.
His number had lodged in my mind as I studied the photos of him both in his uniform and dressed up, the way the team was when they traveled. His ash blond hair was disheveled in a sexy way even when he was dressed in a suit, and he’d grinned in the photos in a way that was both rakish and boyish. He was a heartbreaker.
Now I couldn’t see that handsome face, but watching the way he handled himself on the ice was even sexier.
He moved with easy grace with the stick, then suddenly lashed out, moving so fast with a hard, brutal shot. The other team skated forward to block it desperately, and the goalie was on the move, but as I watched, I already knew it wouldn’t matter.
That fierce shot was going in.
The puck caught the corner of the net, going in past the outstretched arm of the opposing goalie.
I grinned. That was poetry to watch.
Down on the ice, one of the other guys threw his arm around 27’s shoulders.
Sebastian.
Their helmets dipped in, close enough they probably clinked together. What were the two of them talking about? I craned forward, as if I could somehow hear from this distance.
Jack clapped Sebastian’s shoulder before the two of them broke apart. They skated back to set up for another round.
I watched Sebastian, who was grinning like he’d scored that goal himself.
But of course, he didn’t often get the chance to score. He was on our team’s defense, and I didn’t know when the hell I had started to think of them asour team. Just because I worked here? Why did I find myself leaning forward, watching every move like it mattered if we won?
Maybe I’d get better tips if we won.
As Jack skated forward, the puck seemed like an extension of his own will. I leaned in, whispering to myself, "Drop it back, Jack," as if he could hear me across the distance, through the barrier of glass and cacophony.
And then, as if connected by an invisible thread, he shot it back, quick and effortless, sending the puck sliding back to Sebastian. Jack didn’t telegraph at all until he was taking the shot. He had incredible speed and decision making. I found myself smiling as if I were proud.
Sebastian, with number 14 flaring on his back, already hovered in the ideal position. "Now, Sebestian, now!" I urged silently.
