Page 11 of Going All In

Chapter 3

“Well, shit. Jake’sback in the box again,” Ally said as they watched Jake skate toward the penalty box.

“He seems to be there a lot,” Darcy said, trying to tamp down the panic she’d felt when Ethan had gone down. The game was violent, and she didn’t get it. Sure, it was exciting, but at what cost to the men on the ice? She’d read more than one article on the damage these men sustained and how it affected them down the road.

Testing and statistics didn’t lie. The game might be exhilarating for the players and fans, but it was also dangerous.

And Jake. He was reckless on the ice. Penalties and fighting. Not that she’d watched a lot of hockey to know what typical player behavior was.

“I can’t fault him that much on this one,” Ally said. “He was sticking up for my brother. That Smith guy is a dick, and Ethan really could’ve been injured. It was a bad fucking hit, and the guy should’ve been sent to the bin immediately. At least he’s in there now. Five for fighting for both of them, but that asshole should’ve gotten more.”

“Ethan will be okay, right?” Darcy asked.

“He had enough time to have words with Jake before he got off the ice without help, and the concussion spotters will probably want him to be watched for the rest of the game. He won’t be back on the ice tonight, most likely, but I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

Ally took out her phone and sent a text. “Penny will let me know if there’s something wrong. She’ll probably muscle her way into the locker room if she can,” Ally said with a smile, clear affection for her brother’s girlfriend in her voice.

“He told me that he didn’t fight unless necessary,” Darcy said, her eyes glued to the penalty box. She couldn’t see into it from their seats on the end behind the Strikers’ goalie, but she couldn’t take her eyes away from that spot.

Just like she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off of him every time he was at her end of the ice. It was a problem. He was a cocky asshole, and she shouldn’t be interested. When Ally asked her to come to the game, she should’ve said no. She had grading to do and she needed to be ready for classes tomorrow. But here she was, shoving nachos in her face and jumping up from her seat with every goal.

Because that’s what everyone else was doing.

“Who? Ethan?” Ally asked. Her tone said she knew that Darcy wasn’t referring to Ethan.

“Obviously Jake. He’s the one in the box for fighting,” Darcy replied.

“You guys talked about hockey? I thought the only thing you told him was how much you didn’t like the sport. Yet it took very little convincing to get you to come tonight,” Ally said with a smirk.

“I can leave you here, you know.”

“Uh, we took public transportation, Darc. That’s not really a threat.”

“Fine. Yes, so maybe we talked about hockey a little bit,” she muttered, focusing back on her nachos. Damn, they were good. She’d almost grabbed the fried Oreo sundae, but the nachos and peanut M&M’s were enough for tonight.

“Jake has always had a bit of an edge on the ice. He gets reckless, and after last season, it was a mess.”

“What happened last season?”

“Not great numbers, and off-ice he was out of control. Rumors and a bit of a scandal. Who knows what was really true, but Ethan said he was looking for a fresh start here.”

Scandal? Sounded about right. Now she definitely needed to stop thinking about him.

“Maybe he just needs a little love and support from his new girlfriend,” Ally said, a singsong tone in her voice.

“Shut up, please. Obviously I’m not really his girlfriend. I just said that to get my mom to back off.”

“Yes, but she might back off more if she found a picture or two of you when she’s social media stalking you.”

“You make a good point, but that’s not happening. How would I explain that? Hey, Jake. We got off to a great start the other night. How about a few pics of us after I told you I didn’t like the love of your life?”

“Aren’t you the love of his life?”

“Very funny, but that title belongs to hockey,” Darcy said, rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to the game—and not the penalty box.

“I still can’t believe you told your mom you were dating Jake.”

“I just threw that name out. I didn’t mention he was a hockey player. I could’ve been talking about Jake in my master’s seminar.”

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