Page 30 of Busted Dreams

Tonight was more of a nightmare.

After ten minutes of overtime, Rhys got the winning goal right at the buzzer. All the die-hard Grizzlies fans jumped up with hellacious exuberance, spilling beer and nacho cheese on their seat neighbors. It was wild and crazy. Confetti raining down from the ceiling would have fit here perfectly.

“Yeah! Whoo!” Jonah yelled next to me, pumping his fist in the air as he bent over the sticky seat in front of us. I jumped at the sudden ebullience from him. It just wasn’t in his personality to be that excited.

Still, it was a time to rejoice, so in a very uncharacteristic move myself, I stood and stuck two fingers in my mouth, blowing the loudest whistle I could muster.

Look at me now, acting all normal and stuff.

Rhys yanked off his helmet and held it up as he skated around the rink, giving several whoops of his own. This was the game he’d been counting on. And he’d smashed it. I couldn’t have been more proud of him. And like a good little photographer, I got some great shots.

For a minute, I thought he was going to actually fight. A couple of the underclassmen did exchange a few nasty punches to keep that asshat from touching Rhys. Two of his teammates had held him back, not letting him anywhere near the fray. Jonah had hugged me to him as I watch the refs break it up and send a few players from each team to the box. My stomach was still knotted up from the high tension of the twenty seconds that could have changed Rhys’ life.

Funny, there hadn’t been this type of aggression in the other games I’d watched. At least not on that scale.

“Come on, let’s go down to the lobby where the guys will come out at the locker room. If we’re lucky, Rhys will have a few minutes to chat with us before he has to get on his luxury charter bus.” Jonah sneered at the end, bringing him back to the snarky nerd I knew and loved.

Laughing, I let him lead me down the escalators, using his body as a shield to clear the way through the crowd.

“That was a killer game, wasn’t it?” I grinned up at Jonah.

He nodded and looked out over the bustling, rowdy crowd. Distracted and pensive. The way his moods swung tonight was giving me whiplash, even though they weren’t really directed at me, I was just within range to experience them.

When the doors to the locker rooms burst open, the people within a twenty-foot radius started cheering again as if we were watching the winning shot all over again. This time, I lifted my phone from my pocket and snapped a few shots of the crowd, taking special care to capture the almost reverent look on a child’s face as one of the hockey players ruffled his hair.

It was awe inspiring to know in that moment, that player probably changed the child’s life. If not changed, then he definitely made a memory tonight that was seared onto his soul forever.

Then Rhys was walking out in a black hockey sweatshirt and a pair of fitted gray sweatpants, his bag with his gear slung over his shoulder. He shook his hair out when he reached us and little droplets of water splashed over us as he grinned.

“Great game, right?” His grin slid into a full-blown smile as he tucked a strand of loose hair behind my ear. He had a barely there bruise along his right cheek, but it didn’t seem to faze him at all.

“Hell, yes,” I said, pushing my phone back into my pocket.

“It was intense, brother.” Jonah clapped him on the back and smiled. It was genuine and heartfelt, making my own heart so joyful with how far he’d come with the guys.

Leaning down, Rhys gave me a gentle kiss, then pulled back. “Listen, there are some recruiters that want to talk to me and Coach, and I have to ride back with the guys. I’ll see you at home?” He lowered his voice on the intimate question. A shiver raced down my spine at the innocent implication.

“Yeah,” I whispered.

Jonah stepped up to join our private bubble. “Hey, not to be a downer, but why is the other team giving you death glares?”

Rhys flicked his gaze in the direction Jonah was looking and sighed. “Because this game was just as important to them too. They played well, close game. It could have easily gone either way. They’re just butt hurt they didn’t win. The recruiters will still want to talk to their star players.” For a moment, he wasn’t the golden boy flying high on the magic of an epic game, he was the jaded man explaining the horribly rude moods of others. And I felt for him. How much of his life was spent dealing with people who were so envious, they were downright nasty to him? Too much.

“Give me a sec.” Rhys sauntered over to where the other team had congregated and held out his hand. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying over the volume of the crowd.

The tallest guy among them, who Rhys was facing directly, sneered and slapped Rhys’ hand down. His teammates made encouraging sounds, probably hyped up by the potential of more violence. Only Rhys lifted his hands, palm out like no harm no foul, and backed away.

For a moment, the tall guy rushed forward like he was going to attack Rhys, but his teammates held him back. A hush had fallen over the crowd, and as soon as the guy realized it, he forced himself away from the team and straightened his T-shirt, not making any move to head after Rhys.

Even though he must have heard the scuffle, Rhys continued back to us without looking back. And I could see on the other team’s faces that that too was an insult.

And ridiculous. If they were going to be petty little boys, then they didn’t deserve the kindness and sportsmanship Rhys tried to extend to them.

“That went well.” Rhys gave us a wry smile.

“Ha!” Jonah barked. “About as well as sticking your hand in a barrel full of cacti.”

Rhys snickered and wrapped an arm around my waist. “See you at the house.”

---