Page 30 of The Comeback

The cheers and pounding of feet are deafening as the announcer introduces us as soon as our skates hit the ice. I take one glance around the packed arena scanning the crowd as I wave at the fans. I don’ t see the one face I’m looking for, but that was expected. I shake off the thought and let myself sink into the zone where everyone else fades away except the players on the ice.

We hit the ground running. The sounds of blades slicing the fresh ice and sticks slamming into the ground is the only one that matters. State’s team is good this year, but not good enough. I dart around their left winger pushing an extra burst of speed into my skates and spot an opening to toss the puck to Jax who flips it up past the goalie’s glove.

My heart soars with pride at the sound of the buzzer.

We almost get through the second period on that one goal, but our opponents manage to slide one past our goalie right before intermission and I groan from the bench. Second line is out on the ice right now and the new guy Cole throws his stick to the ground in anger with a thundercloud storming across his face.

Our whole team groans in unison at the last minute goal that ties up the game. We’re definitely better than these guys we need to go out in the last period and bring it.

“What was that? You boys better pick it up in the final or you’ll be putting in extra drills all week. Jenson, you should have saved that last one. Get your head in the game. As for you two.” He turns to the second line D-Men. “The puck should have never gotten that close in the first place. Tighten it up.” Coach is a man of few words, but his glare contains enough words to fill up a dictionary.

“We can do this. We’re better than them. Faster, tighter, we can do it. Come on. This is our first game and it’s going to set the tone for the entire season, so man up and lets get the W.” Jackson is all smiles and sunshine until game time. Then the goofy grin slides off his face and it’s all intensity and drive. That’s why he such a good captain. I’m going to miss him next year. He’s been drafted by New York, and I’m in limbo. I’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, and I just hope I can prove myself enough to land a spot.

In that brief moment of quiet before we head back out on the ice I hear my name being called and I whip my head around behind our bench. Several rows back. Behind the family and friends seating zone sits a girl with long black hair shrieking my name. She’s not the one who catches my eye, though, despite the spectacle she’s making of herself. It’s the brunette with the mass of unruly curls that’s currently trying to slap a hand over her mouth that has my attention. All of me perks up at the sight of her at my game. Not the time, little buddy.

A grin spreads my mouth out and I give her a wave as I step out onto the ice to the rising cheers of the crowd. A minute later and I wouldn’t have heard her friend calling my name.

I was determined before, but now that I know she’s watching it’s like a reserve of energy I didn’t know I had kicks in and I charge onto the ice with renewed vigor.

Jackson, Beau, and I are on fire like in the games before my injury. It’s like we can read each others moves before we even know we’re going to make them. I’m in position to catch the biscuit when Jax shoots it up the ice and I knock it in to pull us ahead by a goal.

Jenson seems to have taken Coach’s criticism to heart and he blocks anything that gets close.

After stealing the puck from one of State’s d men, I race it back toward their net. I push my self so hard that Jax and Beau don’t even have a chance to get ahead of me and I deke out the goalie one, two, three times before whacking it in for my second goal of the game. I disappeared into the zone while playing, but after Jackson gives me a hug I glance over my shoulder and spot Abby on her feet cheering. Like she couldn’t control her enthusiasm if she tried. She sits back down after I give her a salute, but that doesn’t change what I saw.

The crowd roars as the buzzer sounds to end the game. That’s the best part of playing on our home turf. The celebratory atmosphere when we win a hard fought game. We end up taking it 4-2, and the team drips sweat all over me in a dog pile that drags me to the ice for my two goals.

Well if I can keep this up, I may get my chance. No pressure or anything.

Chapter 23

Abby

Ifindmyselfjumpingup and down screaming along with the rest of the crowd with a huge smile stretching my cheeks out. I forgot how much I love in person games. I didn’t give hockey up all together after Sebastian and I parted ways. I’ve kept up with the Steel who always have been and always will be my team. Ree and Dax always make fun of me anytime I drag them to a sports bar on game night. They don’t quite understand how my hockey fandom fits in with my nerdy fantasy side or my passion for music. What can I say, I’m a girl of varied interests. Nothing wrong with that. I haven’t kept up with any college hockey, though. Not since Sebastian started with the Lightning. He may have been the one who started my passion for the game, but he’s not the reason anymore. Well that is. I didn’t think he was until Aura dragged me here tonight after he sent that text message. That oh so infuriating out of the blue text message. Was he thinking about me like I was thinking of him? Or was it just a random thing. Ugh, totally overthinking.

The guys start to pull away from their celebratory huddle and glide toward the exit and panic slides over me in an icy wave of clammy palms and racing heart. I step out into the aisle and yank on Aura’s arm to pull her with me.

“Come on.”

“What? I wanna go meet the team. Do they specifically recruit them for their hotness or is that just the uniform?”

I roll my eyes at her. “You can’t even see their faces under the helmets.”

“Yeah but I know what they look like. It’s not like they blend in on campus with those bods.” Duh is painted all over her face.

“Well we’re not staying. Come on.” I yank more urgently until she pushes to her feet with a sigh.

“Don’t you want to stay and congratulate Sebastian? The look on his face when he spotted you was priceless.” A giggle escapes her in spite of the eye daggers I shoot her way.

“You mean how he spotted me after you screamed his name so loud they probably heard it in the UC? After promising me he wouldn’t even know I was here.”

He did look happy to see me. I’ll give her that. But it was probably just all that hockey adrenaline and what not putting that look on his face.

“Sometimes friends have to take matters in their own hands and do what’s best for their clueless roommates who have no idea what’s good for them.”

I somehow make sense of her convoluted sentence.

“I did tell you what he did to me, right?” I finally get her to budge and she follows me up the stairs that lead to the exit. The rest of the crowd has decided it’s time to go, however and progress up the stairs is slow to nonexistent.

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