Page 77 of The Break Out

She spins, making the jersey rise a little bit, but not enough to reveal anything. “Thank you, so do you. I’m sure Brentlovesyou wearing his number.”

I roll my eyes. “He couldn’t give a shit. He used to bring me to every game and even then, wouldn’t make me wear a jersey.”

“And what does Colton think?” She gives me a knowing look.

My eyes widen at her. “He shouldn’t care.”

She looks me up and down with a smirk, “He’ll care.”

“You’re crazy. No alcohol for you tonight, you’re already on something.”

She laughs. “Just high on orgasms, my friend. Always just high on orgasms.”

I bite the corner of my mouth on a laugh, turning to hide the blush because I’m not going to admit I know how that feels. She would never judge, because Audrey is the least judgmental person I know, but I still can’t bring myself to tell her.

“But seriously, I’m drinking. Do you want anything?”

“I’ll take a seltzer, but I’ll come with.”

After we grab our drinks, Audrey convinces me to go down to the ice level with her for warmups. I’m reluctant because I have seen hockey players stretch more than I ever should in asingle lifetime, but she guilts me by bringing up that Chandler isn’t here to do it with her because Evie is struggling with sleep, and she was actually asleep when she would’ve had to leave for the arena and wasn’t going to mess with that.

Which is why I’m standing here as the players skate out of the tunnel. Audrey cheers next to me, especially when she sees Charlie. After the guys skate around for a minute, and shoot some pucks toward the net, Charlie skates by where we’re standing, taps on the glass with his stick, and winks at his girlfriend.

My eye catches on another player who is currently across the ice, on his knees, stretching out his groin. His gaze is locked on mine as he does the warmup exercises.

“Your boy is showing what he’s going to do to you later,” Audrey jokes.

I snort out a laugh, breaking the intense eye contact with Colton. “He wishes.”

“I bet he does,” she says, bumping my shoulder.

After warmups are over, we head back up to the suite. I’m still nursing my drink, but Audrey gets another one on the way up. We’re joined by a few other WAGs who have always been decently nice to me, but I think it’s because I’m a family member, not a WAG, so they don’t hold the same judgements I know fall on Chandler and Audrey.

I’ll always stick up for them, even though I know Audrey can more than handle anything thrown her way.

The game starts and I can already tell this one is going to beintense with the way both teams are going at each other from the second the puck drops.

Throughout the first period each team draws multiple penalties, but it’s the second period when things start to heat up. Vince gets checked face first into the boards so hard he falls, and Matt is on the other player within a second, but the whistle blows and they’re pulled apart before anything else can happen.

My eyes find Colton, unsure of how he would react to the scrum because he’s always down for a fight, but I don’t know if he would actually defend any of his teammates. He’s standing, leaning on the boards like he’s ready to jump out onto the ice.

The player who checked Vince gets a boarding penalty and the Dragons start their power play and try to use the one-man advantage to score the first goal.

I notice a certain player keeps messing with Colton, enough to be annoying, but not enough to draw another penalty. I’m impressed as Colton focuses on the puck and doesn’t give in to the antagonizing.

That is until that player gets the puck on a breakaway and all the energy is on chasing after him to stop him from getting into the Dragons zone. Colton tries to regain possession of the puck, swinging his stick, doing his best not to draw a tripping penalty. He doesn’t get it before the player reaches Colver, and instead of trying to shoot from a normal distance, he keeps going way too fast, then trying to shoot when he’s too close, hitting Colver with his stick moments before crashing into him.

The arena erupts in anger for the outrageous move by the opponent. The anger quickly turns to cheers as Colton hasgrabbed the player by his jersey, yanked him up, and is pounding his fist into his face repeatedly.

The rest of the team joins in, causing an all-out line brawl. Colton and the other player are the center of it all, and despite the efforts from the refs he’s not letting up. They’re both on the ice, helmets knocked off, blood contrasting the white. I find myself biting at my thumb, worried for the source of the blood, but from the look of everything I don’t think it’s from the man I know.

The brawl is put to a stop, and I watch as Colton and the player are separated and sent to their respective tunnels. Other players are sent to the penalty box, but it’s clear those two have been ejected.

“Well shit, your boy is in trouble,” Audrey says.

“He’s a dumbass.” I shake my head.

“You going to go check on him?”

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