Page 88 of The Spice Play

Matty nodded ferociously, his eyes locked on Seb below, and I turned, watching as he spun a pass off to who I was almost positive was Luke, the two of them passing itbetween them until Seb rocketed it off toward a center, nearly missing, and?—

“GOAL!” Matty screamed, leaping up in excitement as the horn blared from above.

We’d scored, thanks to Seb’s assist. I clapped and hollered along with the crowd, caught in the infectious energy of everyone’s excitement. The part of me that felt heavy and conflicted over being here at all became smaller, tucking away neatly in the back of my mind.

The game continued, and I found myself relaxing, bit by bit, even when the other team scored and we sat in a tie. It was impossible to fight it with Matty’s excitement beside me and the never-ending happy shouts from around us, and for the first time in days, it didn’t feel like the hurt I was carrying was all I had. It felt like I could handle them. Like I could still enjoy things, enjoy people and nights like this, enjoySeb,even with it raging inside of me at the level it was.

It felt like maybe I could make room to feel the way I felt and still be okay.

Chapter 36

Sebastian

The game paused after the first quarter, and I left the ice, panting and bleary-eyed as I popped my skate guards on. The referee was double-checking the replays of a score by the Sharks after Coach had raised an issue, and now we sat in limbo, waiting for a result.

Luke stayed on the ice and chatted with a couple of members of the opposing team, going over what we believed happened versus what they did, but I needed the quick break, needed a sip of water, needed to calm down after the explosive start I’d had.

Nelly was in the audience tonight. I wasn’t sure if I was so on my game because of that or despite it, but I’d proven myself already — I’d nailed every single forward cross-over and maximized my speed, pulling off the one pass I’d struggled with formonths.

“Heard Luke say Nelly’s here.”

The cocky grin I found myself face to face with lit my veins with rage the moment I clocked him. We’d managed to avoid each other at practice, but I should have known I’d see him here tonight, should have prepped myself better,because dear God, I wanted to punch that smug expression off Bryan’s face again.

“Do us all a favor and don’t fumble the fucking game because of it, Bluesy,” he said, jutting his chin out at me and flaunting the busted lip I’d given him. My eye, at least, wasn’t swollen anymore — but the skin around it was still tender and bruised to high hell. Coach hadn’t asked any questions, but he’d absolutely eyed the two of us the day after.

I didn’t take the bait from Bryan this time. I was on an adrenaline high, anyway, and his words didn’t hit me the way they normally would. Nelly was safe and sound up in the crowd, and if I couldn’t locate her while on the ice, neither could he. “Pretty sure it was my assist that scored us the first goal,” I retorted, shooting him a grin. “Besides, Addaway, if we lose today, it’s on everyone. Not just me. We’re a team, remember?”

Coach shifted slightly beside me as he leaned onto the boards, his head turning just an inch in my direction. I couldn’t tell if he was aiming his ear at the two of us or his other at the men on the ice.

Bryan’s lip curled in disgust. “I’m not on your fucking team,” he snapped, leaning forward with his elbows resting on the tops of his thighs. “It’s every man for himself out there. And the moment Coach pulls you and puts me in,I’lldrag us tooth and fucking nail to victory.”

“Whatever—”

“Addaway,” Coach hissed, turning his head further until he was looking fully over his right shoulder. “Consider yourself benched for the rest of the game.”

Bryan pushed up from his position almost immediately, his feet steady on his guards. “What the fuck? Why? I’msupposed to play in the second half, Coach,yousaid it this morning.”

“That was before you copped that fucking attitude,” Coach said. He turned, leaning the left side of his body on the boards, and looked between the two of us. “Are you a child? Do I seriously have to tell you that there’s noIin team?”

“Don’t act like you don’t evaluate us all individually,” Bryan spat, pulling his hand and wrist guards off, his knuckles still bruised and torn from the single punch that he had landed during our fight.

“Of course I do. You all need help with specific things. And clearly, yours is your selfish point of view,” Coach said, his voice calm and level-headed as he watched him. “You’re benched. No fighting it. And after tonight, we’ll be reviewing your contract. Understand?”

Bryan’s head cocked to the side, that sneer deepening. “You wouldn’t.”

“I absolutely would,” Coach deadpanned. “There’s no room for that on the Atlanta Fire.”

Relief flooded me the moment Coach spoke those words. Bryan could be removed. Bryan likelywouldbe removed, and that meant he’d be away from me, from Nelly, from Matty, from anyone close to me that he could so much as get his grubby fucking hands on — and it meant I couldbreathe.

And considering Bryan was already throwing a tantrum and pulling off his skates, I was pretty sure it meant he’d be leaving sooner rather than later tonight. And that, in turn, made me feel twenty times better about what I planned to do.

Chapter 37

Nelly

“Ididn’t know you liked Whoppers,” I said, my brow furrowing as I looked down at Matty after he’d loudly proclaimed his order to the man behind the concession stand: one juice box and a pack of Whoppers. “You didn’t get them at the last game.”

“The last game wasn’t playoffs,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

---