Page 30 of Slap Shots & Sweethearts

"Or what?" he taunts. "I'm a big boy, maybe a big girl like her would want to?—"

The puck drops and I don't care as I slam into him to shut his mouth. He shoves me back just as hard, and drops his stick. He doesn't want to play he wants to fight. I'm not sure who throws the first fist, but we're both swinging when the whistles blow and I still don't care. No one says those things about Hannah.

The crowd's cheers blend into a distant roar as I focus solely on making him regret the words that came out of his mouth.

Suddenly, hands grab me and pull me away. Someone else pulls him away too, and a ref intervenes before the fight can get bigger.

"Beat him on the scoreboard," Nate tells me. "Whatever he said, it'll hurt him more when you put points on the board."

Finally, the chaos subsides, and we're both escorted by refs to the penalty box. I throw my stick down before sitting on the bench. Adrenaline and frustration are running high. And I look at number eighteen sitting in his own box. His head is down, and I know I've made my point. No one insults Hannah and gets away with it.

While I'm stuck in the box, The other team scores a goal. We're now tied and the clock is dwindling. Nate's advice is ringing in my ear and I'm furious with myself for falling for his taunts, and I promise myself I'll make it up to my team.

By the time the clock hits zero for me, I'm bursting out of the box ready to join my team. Coach signals me to the bench and I skate as fast as I can to get there.

Someone else goes out as soon as I jump the boards.

Coach is watching the ice as he asks. "Your head fixed?"

"Got it figured out," I tell him. "Put me in."

"Go."

I swap with a teammate and I'm in the game. Nate nods to me when he sees me. Acknowledging my return, he fakes as if he's going to pass to Lou, but sends it my way instead. The defenseman on me isn't as good as eighteen was and I'm able to get some breathing room with the puck as I break away towards the goal. I'm moving hard and fast as I fake out the goalie as if I'm going to shoot a backhand. Instead, I switch and slap shot it into the corner of the net.

The horn blares and the crowd goes nuts as my goal is announced around the arena. I've redeemed myself and it feels good. But seeing the smile on the pretty blond sitting behind my spot on the bench feels even better.

After the game, we head over to Karaoke, everyone on the team that is except Nate. He's busy with Lia and Penelope. I look around for Hannah, but don't see her anywhere in the bar. There are tables and a few booths with padded benches and she's not sitting at any of them.

Lou claps me on the shoulder, before telling me. "I get first dibs at the mic."

I groan. "Come on man, why do you have to ruin a good night?"

He laughs. "I sing like an angel."

"Did your mom tell you that?" I ask.

His smile gets even bigger and he hurries to the stage.

Dan the goalie moves next to me. "You had one job."

"Eh, let him sing one song. Then I'll distract him with the smoothie bar."

Karaoke is the only bar Coach lets us go to after a game, thanks to the headlines the goons made after one too many drinks. If we wanted to drink, our options included soda, smoothies, or fancy protein shakes. Coach had been sober for the last nine years and no one on the team was going to risk him breaking that streak because he felt he had to babysit us. So we bought out the bar for the night and they only serve non-alcoholic beverages while we're here.

The music for a familiar pop song starts playing, and Lou belts out the first lyric so off-key I can see a collective wince go around the bar. Lou's singing can only be described as the sound of a rooster going through puberty crossed with the sound of a donkey's laugh. I wince and look at Dan who wears a similarly pained expression. For a guy with a naturally deep voice it's amazing he can produce some of the sounds he does.

"Please," Dan pleads. "My ears can't take any more of this."

"I'll get him off the stage."

I walk up the stage steps, and when Lou sees me coming, he starts dancing around the stage so he can keep the mic away from me. He knows the words by heart so there's no need for the screen listing the lyrics.

"Lou come on," I tell him. "Take mercy on us."

"Sing with me, Matt!" Lou says into the mic.

The team cheers at the suggestion, and a sound guy steps up on stage to hand me a mic. It's the same song and dance we do every karaoke night. When I inevitably end up on stage to get Lou off, he only agrees if I sing it with him. I don't sing with the same abandon that Lou does, but I hit the notes a lot better, so I sing louder to try and drown out Lou. The sound guys must turn off Lou's mic, because he looks at them and taps his mic.

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