Page 84 of His Jersey

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@NumberTenFanNumberOne: This is more like it. Thank you for returning to hockey news.

@TiffOnFleek: Update on @QueenAston. She’ll be attending her stepson’s next game so be sure to say hello to her and get a selfie!

>>@QueenAston: Hey girl, hey! I’d love to take a selfie with you. Let’s meet at Club Luna. Message me and I’ll give you the deets.

@WriterOnTheStorm: Go away.

@NumberTenFanNumberOne: We finally agree onsomething.

@GoldefortheGoal: You guys are harsh.

@WriterOnTheStorm: Doesn’t she have something better to do, like a makeup tutorial?

@JoesHereforHockey: Okay, so with Jack on the frontline, Liam on defense, and Hudson in front of the net, Badaszek is right. That also means my fantasy team is going to crush it!

@WriterOnTheStorm: You’re missing a few players.

@JoesHereforHockey: I know that, but those three are a force of nature.

@WriterOnTheStorm: Jack is a menace. All of them are. But I’m glad the Storm are rid of him. Maybe they’ll start winning again.

@TimTimTimmy: My bets are on the Knights.

#GoKnightsNation

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32

JACK

The restof the week passes with practice, training, and game prep. Plus, long runs or walks with Bark Wahlburger and Ella.

Tonight, we’re facing off against the LA Lions. Thanks to Leah, Ella has already met some of the women associated with the team.

She’s all smiles when I spot her in the VIP area when we take to the ice on game day. Likely, there are a few other people in this arena wearing my jersey and while I appreciate the fans, none of it measures up to seeing Ella with my name and player number across her back. Not to get all cheesy, but it makes my heart want to take flight—or fight harder for the puck to make her proud. Glad I got to keep the ten spot.

To my surprise, Aston is here, too, but I don’t see my father. I hear my name announced amidst cheers, but I don’t get too puffed up. Today, I have to prove myself to the team and Badaszek. Ella, too above all.

My ego took the hit when we lost the first—and only—game of mine she watched. But this one is going to be better. I can feel it.

The LA Lion’s best player just came off an injury and instead of taking it easy, Miller goes all in, heating up the ice from the second the puck crosses the crease. It’s a race against the clock as they score in the bottom of the first period.

During a break, Micah nudges his chin in my direction and says, “Dude, you’re exceptional. A better center than I ever was, but the guys are used to my center play style.” He gives me a few tips. “You do you, but keep that in mind and anticipate their reactions and reverse engineer your position and passes if need be.”

Just months ago, when I played for the Storm, if a teammate said something like this to me, I would’ve whacked him with my stick. But I take Micah’s advice and meet the guys in the middle. I can’t very well transform the way I play and match Micah’s in a single game, but until they get used to me and we practice more together, I adjust my moves, which means more assists and two goals.

The third-period score has us leading by a point. But it’s not time to slack. Despite being relatively quiet, Hammer doesn’t miss a trick and blocks three shots. Hayden Savage gets in the corner with two Lions on him but does a nifty little move, sending the puck sailing my way. Our defense runs cover for me as I glide toward the goal, dodging sticks and skates. Finding an opening, I shoot and can hardly look until I hear the roar of the crowd, telling me I succeeded, slotting the puck past the netminder. Relieved, I blow Ella a kiss because it turns out that everything I do, I do for her.

A woman like Ella Hibbert wouldn’t have liked the hotheaded, selfish, showboating center I was on the Storm. But this guy is going to leave an epic legacy.

After the final buzzer, our theme song comes on, and we do a victory lap and line up with the visiting team.

When I get to the warm room, still in full gear, I’m of a single mind. There’s only one thing that could make this win better. Pressing my lips to Ella’s.

She’s talking with Leah and a couple of other women I recognize as being either wives or girlfriends of some of the other Knights. She’s smiling and at ease, not on guard like at the Storm game, where she got dubbed the Puck Princess, but she does sneeze.

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