Page 67 of Penalized Love

“There we go!”Wilder exclaims, pumping his fist.“That’s what I’m talking about!”

The goal energizes the Titans, and they control the play. But the Sharks aren’t going down without a fight. Their goalie makes a series of spectacular saves, if I say so myself. Because of that, it robs the Titans of what looked to be several goals. Fuck.

As the clock winds down on the last period, the tension in the room is almost back to where it was when Knox and I were talking, but for a different reason. With just two minutes left, the Titans pull their goalie for an extra attacker. It’s a risky move, but they need a goal.

Everyone in the room is on the edge of their seats as the Titans swarm the Sharks’ zone. Passes are flying, and shots are being fired from every angle. The Sharks’ goalie is making saveafter save. If they weren’t up against the Titans, I would be impressed, but how well they are playing only irritates me.

“Come on, come on,”Levi mumbles under his breath, his eyes glued to the TV screen. I’m not sure if he realizes he said the words, but I agree with his sentiments.

With just thirty seconds left, the Titan’s defenseman, Caleb Raine, winds up for a slap shot from the point. The puck rockets through a maze of bodies and finds its way into the back of the net.

“Yes!”I shout as I jump to my feet.“Fucking finally!”

The room feels like pure pandemonium. We all exchange high fives, and there might have been some beer spilled, but we can deal with that later. I swear it has been some time since we’ve felt this joy from our games.

The game isn’t over yet because it heads into overtime with a tied score. My leg is bouncing up and down as it begins, and I’m not sure if I’m going to make it through this alive, given the anxiety that I’m feeling. My heart threatens to leave my body unassisted the longer this game goes on.

Although both teams have the opportunity to score, neither one of them can make a goal happen. I rub a hand across my face when it’s becoming more apparent that we are heading for a shootout. I look to my left and find Knox pacing back and forth, clenching and unclenching his fist. A lot must be riding on this bet he took, and I can’t help but wonder why. However, now that we are just back on good terms and with the high stakes of this game, this isn’t the time to ask.

But then, with just over a minute left in the extra period, the Titans’ forward, Luke Drake, picks up a loose puck in the neutral zone and makes it all the way to the goalie.

I swear the room holds its collective breath as Drake makes his move. Forehand, backhand, forehand again. The goalie bites, and Drake tucks the puck into the open net.

Game over.

Titans win!

“Oh my—”An explosion cuts my words off.

“Unbelievable!”Wilder yells, spilling his beer again.“What a finish!”

Knox lets out a triumphant shout, pumping his fist in the air.“Yes! That dude is going to pay up!”

I turn to him, grinning.“Looks like your bet paid off, huh?”

He nods, a smug smile on his face.“Never doubt the Titans, man. Never doubt them.”

Levi leans back on the couch with a grin on his face.“That was one hell of a game. Reminds me why I love this sport so much.”

“Couldn’t agree more, brother,”Blaise says as he reaches for another slice of pizza.

As the post-game analysis starts on the TV, I look around at my friends and teammates, happy to have them all here to experience this with me.“You know,”I say, grabbing a slice of pizza myself,“this is exactly what I needed tonight.”

Levi raises his drink in a mock toast.“To the Titans and to nights like this.”

We all raise our cans in agreement, and for a moment, everything feels right. No stress, no pressure, just a bunch of guys enjoying the sport they love.

There isn’t much better than that.

26

ISLA

Ican’t believe I’m doing this.

My fingers hover over my phone screen, my heart pounding as I debate whether to send the text. After two days of bottling up my emotions, I finally feel ready to face Asher after his help while I was dealing with a very heavy period. Not to mention, we need to get back to filming the short-form content that Bailey and our social media followers absolutely love.

When he was there for me, it was just like he used to be years ago.

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