Page 83 of The Fake Play

But I’m not going to take the bait. Not tonight. Tonight, I have bigger things to worry about.

I cut to the side, trying to outmaneuver him, but he just shifts back, blocking me out, his stick raised like he’s daring me to take him on. What the hell? We’re teammates, not opponents. Everyone else is too busy executing the play to notice.

I lock eyes with him, feeling the tension simmering between us. “Whose side are you on, Lucas? Because it looks like you’re playing for the wrong team.”

“You’re in my spot.”

“Get out of the way, Lucas.”

He just grins that cocky grin and shrugs. “You’re too slow, old man. You can’t stop me.”

I’ve worked too damn hard to let a kid with a bad attitude knock me off my game. Fine. If he wants to make a fool of himself, I’m going to let him.

I hang back, watching as he skates into my line, fully expecting me to play along, to give him what he wants. But instead, I reach up, unclip my helmet, and let it drop.

“Go ahead! You want to act like a kid, that’s on you. I’m not fighting you.”

He falters when he realizes I’m not playing into his plan. Fans take note, and a lot of eyes turn to us instead of the actual game. I hold my ground, watching as he charges forward, expecting me to retaliate. But instead, I stand there as he comes at me, and at the last second, I twist out of his way, forcing him to swing at nothing but cold air.

Lucas goes down. Hard.

He hits the ice with a dull thud, sliding a few feet before coming to a stop, his stick clattering beside him. A hush settles over the arena, everyone waiting to see what will happen next. I skate over to him and look down at his sprawled form, resisting the urge to laugh. But I refuse to prevent the smirk that’s forming on my face.

“Get up,” I tell him, extending out a hand. “And stop acting like a kid. We’ve got a game to win. We’re a team, remember?”

He glares up at me, his face flushed with embarrassment and anger, but after a moment, he reaches up and takes my hand.

I’m relieved.

As I pull him to his feet, the crowd cheers for the camaraderie on display. I half-expected him to curse or insult me, spout out some bullshit excuse.

But he doesn’t.

Instead, he swings.

Pain explodes in my jaw as his fist connects, a sucker punch that knocks me back. My vision blurs and I stagger, my legs buckling as I fight to stay upright. I know I’m going down. The sound of the crowd, the lights, everything fades into a distant hum as I feel my head hit the ice.

Then everything goes black.

When I open my eyes, I’m staring at my team, standing surrounded around me, Coach charging through them to reach me. He kneels and asks, “You good?”

I was. I feel no pain. “Yeah, I’m good.”

He turns and shouts, “Someone grab Lucas!”

I hear a skirmish as Coach and Seb pull me to my feet, but I’m too busy checking out the crowd to know what it is. All eyes are on me, so I offer a sheepish grin and wave, the arena bursting into cheers.

After being checked out by the medical staff, it’s game on.

I’d given it everything I had and when the final buzzer sounds, the crowd explodes, chanting, “Fire! Fire!” We won. But all I can think about is the one person who wasn’t there to see it.

I walk off the ice, my mind focused on Keke. I’d held out hope that she would show up and see the changes I was making, but in my heart I knew it was foolish. She didn’t owe me anything. Still, I want her to know I’m trying, that I’m ready to be the man she and our child need.

As I leave the arena, the cool Atlanta night wraps around me, and for the first time in weeks, I feel something close to peace. The kind of peace you feel when things are finally clear in your mind. Like I was floating within myself. Serenity? Perhaps. I’d never felt that, save for the times in bed with Keke.

Damn, I miss that girl.

As I’m thinking of her, she comes around the side of my car, wearing a wedding dress. She is absolutely stunning. My bride. I’m the luckiest groom in the world. My car fades away, replaced by my team, all suited up for my wedding. No longer in the parking lot of the arena, we are now on the coast for a beach wedding.

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