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A body slams into the glass in front of me making me spring into the air, proving the exact opposite. There’s no way I’m invisible now.
The player from the opposing team laughs at my reaction, before bouncing his eyebrows. I glance behind me to see who he’s looking at and he laughs again, pointing at me with a wink before skating away.
“That was weird,” I say to my new friend as she stares at the departing player.
“Do you know him?” she asks, and I don’t even have to think about it.
“I’ve never seen him in my life.”
“Huh.” She shrugs. “Strange.”
We go back to watching, with Amber relaxed and smiling, while I’m tense with pursed lips.Again, how do people do this?
Jesse comes back on the ice and steals the puck in his first few seconds, sending my pulse skyrocketing once more, while my heart lodges in my throat. I swear I’m going to need to lie down after this.
Without missing a beat, he passes to his teammate before racing forward to secure the puck again. It all happens so fast that if you’d blinked you would have guessed it had never left his possession.
We barely get a second to be impressed before he takes a shot at the goal, the puck gliding perfectly into position. Actually, I’m not sure “gliding” is the correct term considering the force with which it hits the back of the net.
He did it!
I jump in the air, cheering proudly as a pump-up song blares through the speakers. A song Pippa tells me is specifically for Jesse. I smile wide as I stare at him across the ice, and I’m so lost in the moment, watching his celebration, that it takes me a beat to realize he’s staring back at me, a bright smile on his face and warmth in his eyes. He mouths something, but from this distance I can’t make it out, though I think I understand and it makes my heart happy.
I’m here. Watching in this moment. I’m with him.
The second period ends almost as quickly as it started, and before I know it, we’re ten minutes into the third.
I’ve finally managed to get my heart to settle down when the player from earlier pounds on the glass again, pointing directly at me. My brow furrows. I’m pretty certain I don’t know him or any other players apart from Ryan and Jesse, and it’s creeping me out.
Before I’ve had the chance to look away, the guy licks his lips suggestively, making me squirm, then laughs as he turns around, clearly happy to have rattled me. He glances back over his shoulder to wink, mouthing something I don’t understand, though it doesn’t take much to guess it wasn’t pleasant. He smirks again when he notices my unease until a large body crushes him into the wall, wiping the smile from his face. I squeal as I jump in shock.
Jesus! This sport.
At first, I assume it’s part of the game, but when I realize it’s Jesse, my heart jolts.
A fight begins and within seconds, Jesse’s punching the guy like an untrained boxer, laying into him with full force. The guy punches back and Jesse loses his helmet at the same time someone screams. Me. I’m freaking screaming. I don’t want this. He’s doing this for me.
The referees all stand close by but no one seems to be doing anything. I want to yell out, demand that they stop it, but it’s no use—no one would hear me over the excited crowd. A few players take charge, trying to join in, but they’re held back, kept away from the action until another fight breaks out.
Pippa groans beside me, drawing my attention, and I gasp when I see it’s Ryan, now in the thick of it.
My face tenses as I struggle between wanting to look away and needing to know what happens, but as soon as Jesse has the guy on the ground, banging his helmet against the ice, the refs step in, putting an end to the madness.
Jesse and the creepy guy are immediately sent to the bench, along with Ryan and whoever he was fighting.
The crowd continues to cheer while I just stare at the penalty box, watching Jesse, my lungs finally filling with air after holding my breath the entire time.
“What the hell just happened?” I ask anyone who’ll listen. This wasn’t the first fight for the night, but it was definitely the most intense.
Pippa laughs. “That was Jesse staking his claim after some douchebag tried to get your attention.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
I did, but what? “What a dick.”
“I know. They do it to mess with the players’ heads. If you’re sitting here, it’s usually assumed that you know or belong to someone on the team. And no one would have missed Jesse smiling your way. No one.”
