Page 108 of Justice for Puck Bunnies

To Mason.

He takes the slapshot.

The goalie lunges for it.

But it’s not fast enough.

The alarm over the net lights up in bold red and signals the goal.

The crowd explodes in a cacophony as the music blasts loud enough to deafen.

Concrete shakes under my feet and adrenaline rockets through my veins. An animation of a cannon blowing a hole in a net fills the massive overhead screens while the lights flash.

The Airmen call a time-out and everyone sits for the first time since the period began.

The crowd calms with the adrenaline dropping off, and I take the opportunity.

“VIN FOR THE WIN!” I scream, and he pauses to turn to me.

He knows my voice.

There’s no way he actually heard me over the crowd.

Yet this ridiculous man still turns and points his glove at me. The audience erupts in wolf whistles.

I blow him a kiss, and his helmet shakes while he turns back to his crouched position.

Fuck, I love this.

It’s the highest high watching them play.

For the millionth time, I skim through the texts with Brad this morning.

A little thrill raises the hairs on the nape of my neck every time I read it.

He’s finally giving in.

It’s perfect timing. If all it took was a heat, I’d have stopped the suppressants months ago.

Brad clocks my interaction with Vin though.

He’s stewing on the bench, his face turned to me in the stands beyond Vin. His skin flushes red.

Good. He still has to follow through. If Vin and I can still make him jealous, then it’ll push him more certainly toward what I want.

The game proceeds and another eight minutes of gameplay are tense. Both sides trade the puck but every shot is caught.

My Cannons are up two-nil, so they only need to maintain momentum.

The Airmen push in close to the Cannons’ goal. Vin perches in the crease, his attention ping-ponging between players as the puck is passed mercilessly.

The players drift right. They’re so close to the net they could touch it with their sticks.

The Airmen have two players beside each other jockeying with Brad and one of the Cannons’ defensemen.

The Airmen make a shot, but it bounces off Vin’s leg pad. It rebounds and skids to the grappling players several feet away.

The clashing players drift closer to the net.

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