Page 1 of Halftime

1

Sebastien

Sophomore year is going to be so much better than freshman year. For starters, I’m entering the arena at Burlington University to watch the freshmen at their first on-ice practice. Last year, I was in the locker room sweating my balls off, wondering if I was going to make it or not.

I mean, I knew Ishouldmake it. I’d done well on my Junior A team back in Canada before earning a scholarship here, but sometimes my nerves got the best of me. When I was in a new situation, I was always afraid I wouldn’t be wanted.

This year, I wasn’t new. I spotted a bunch of the guys sitting a few rows up, so I headed to join them. I felt my phone buzz and pulled it out of my pocket as I climbed the steps. I smiled when I saw it was my girlfriend texting me a photo.

That’s another thing that’s going to be better than last year. This time last year, I didn’t know it, but I was about to lose my girlfriend. Faith had been a senior in high school. She’d wanted to break up when I left for college, but I’d convinced her long distance would work.

Long story short, it didn’t.

This year, it’s different. Holly and I started going out the end of our freshman year, and being a lot smarter, we took a break over the summer. We reconnected a few days ago and decided to get back together.

Much better way to handle things. I’m learning.

I sat down beside my teammates, still looking at the photos Holly sent me, and got some teasing from the guys. That was the other thing that was so much better this year. I knew these guys. After a year together, we’d bonded. We were family. I didn’t have any other family worth talking about.

“Is that Holly texting you?” Cooper, a junior defenseman, asked. He’d adopted me last year after the big breakup with my girlfriend. I’d needed somebody then, and he’d come through, in aces. I owed him.

I nodded, flipping between two photos Holly had sent me. She wanted to know which I liked better. Hell if I knew. I mean, the photos weren’t that clear, and she looked good in both of them.

“What’s she sending you photos for when she’s not naked?” Cooper leaned over my shoulder to look at the photos. I elbowed him. Cooper’s a player, the off-ice kind, so not really a guy to ask for advice on relationships.

“She wants to know which one I like.”

He shrugged. “Whichever one shows more skin.”

I shook my head, then took another look at the photos. Maybe he had a point.

Next thing, Holly sent me two more photos, and I was looking for a way to bail. I wasn’t Dr. Phil, but I could see a lot of ways this could go bad if I picked the wrong one.

I heard a whistle from Forts, our captain, and looked up. Our freshmen weren’t on the ice yet. The women had first dibs on the ice today. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the women’s team, because my ex, the one that broke up with me last September, played hockey. Nothing against the Moo U women hockey players, but I didn’t need the reminder.

The guys were watching one of the goalies on the ice. The women had wrapped up most of their practice, best I could tell, and were just shooting at the net. And the one player? The goalie?

Damn, she was good.

Really good.

Déjà vu good.

I didn’t know how to describe what was happening to me. My cheeks were warm, but my body was cold. My stomach was ready to hurl my lunch, and an unseen weight pressed down on me.

And through it all, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

I knew it was her without seeing the face hidden behind the mask or the name on the back of her jersey. I knew those moves, the way she slid across the crease, the quick flick of her blocker to deflect a shot. She was even better than she’d been a year ago. No wonder the guys were watching her. She didn’t play like a freshman goalie. She was confident and focused and…

And she hated me.

“Who’s that?” I heard Cooper say, and there was no doubt who he was talking about. There were six of us sitting there, and all six of us were watching her.

Just her.

“Dev.” I heard my mouth speaking but had no memory of making it happen. “Her jersey says Devereaux, right?”

I figured it out. I was dreaming. That was why I felt so weird. That was why my mouth was spitting out words when I hadn’t given it permission to. It was some weird dream, probably connected to this being close to the anniversary of our breakup. I waited it out, knowing I’d wake up long before I had to see her face. Sure, this dream felt almost real, but it couldn’t be, because Faith would never come to Burlington, not when she knew I was here.

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