Page 16 of Playoffs & Promises

She's standing next to what I assume are her friends in the crowd. She screams and jumps up and down in excitement with her friends at my wave. It's the same reaction I've seen from so many others. She turns around to show me that my number is glitterified in a hot pink color on the back of her jersey. It's definitely not something purchased from the team's store.

I'm stunned by all the glitter, and staring at her when she blows a kiss to me over her shoulder at me.

The rookie defenseman, Brooks, skates up to where I've stopped to wave to them as well. He's got a bit of a reputation on the team for being a player. The woman drops her poster and fans her face with one hand even as she uses her other hand to wave at him.

"Careful Brooks," I tell him.

"Afraid I'm going to steal glitter girl?" he teases.

I shake my head, "I'd have to have a girl in order for you to steal her."

Pretty boy follows me back toward where our team is lining up for the national anthem.

"I was just playing back there."

"Don't worry about it." I tell him. "I don't want glitter girl anywhere near me for multiple reasons."

"You know her or something?" he asks.

I shake my head. "Rookie, glitter spreads faster than fleas and good luck trying to wash it off."

He looks thoughtful for a moment, but I can see from the way he looks back at her that he doesn't seem to mind glitter. I don't bother to tell him that in my early days, I thought women like glitter girl really wanted me, but I learned the hard way. At the end of the day, they're all the same. Chasing the high of celebrity infatuation, they just want a guy in a jersey, any one of us will do. Being the object of that attention quickly lost its appeal.

Now, there's no way I want someone like glitter girl anywhere near me unless the boss upstairs says I have to.

I see Nate wave to Penelope and Lia up in their seats behind our team bench, Lia is giving Nate heart eyes, and even without a glittery poster it's more real than glitter girl or her friends.

A familiar dark-haired beauty stands next to Lia, and the slight frown on her lips when she looks at me is so honest I could kiss her. I won't though?—

The pregame music cuts out and the announcer asks the crowd to give a warm welcome to the singer for the national anthem. That's the last moment of the game I feel hopeful. Everything goes downhill from there.

Nate gets the puck down in the face-off and hits it to me. I take off with it down the ice, skating hard and fast. I wind up to shoot, and a defenseman for the other team slams into me. I hit the ice so fast I see stars as the fans for the other team cheer. Shane offers me a hand to help me to my feet, and I see that Dan is already having to defend our net.

Shaking off the hit I get right back into the game and work to help get the puck back. Brooks gets the puck from the other team, and slaps it to Nate and once more we move back to the other team's goal. Back and forth we go, skating from one end of the ice to the other, neither team scoring.

Brooks gets hot-headed and brings his stick high, immediately getting a penalty and put in the box for two minutes. Down a man, and with the other team in possession of the puck I move into position closer to help protect Dan and the goal.

I'm off to the side of the goal, when the other team skates close trying to get a shot off. He moves his stick and I see an opening to steal the puck away from him. I snatch the puck with my stick, and hit it behind me for Dan to hit off to Nate.

Instead, the goal siren goes off.

I look in horror at Dan, who looks at me in shock. Then I look up at the replay overhead and watch as they replay me stealing the puck from the other team and slapping it into my own goal. The crowd boos, glitter girl tears the poster with my number in half, and Coach calls me to the bench.

"Get checked out." Coach tells me. Sending me to one of the medics. Alexis meets me off the ice, and out of sight of the crowd that is still yelling their displeasure.

"Worried about the hit to the ice?" I ask her.

Alexis smiles. "Doesn't hurt to look does it."

I sit where she tells me to and I answer the questions she asks. Then I follow her fingers.

Clearly the hit to the ice earlier had to have messed with my head.

None of this would have happened if I'd had a lemon bar.

Six

LOU

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