Page 64 of Ice Bet

“We’re on the same team.” My snippy response bit through the air like a snapping turtle, and I was so on edge that I almost bit him while I was at it. “As long as we both do well, there isn’t an issue.”

Sully hummed. “Something really must be off with you. Are you sleepy from yourgamelast night?”

My blood ran cold.

“Excuse me?”

“I heard you were up late…playing with the coach’s daughter.”

I pulled my glove off, canceling out the sound of the roaring crowd. The lights changed from multicolored to bright, telling us that the game was about to start. “Careful what you say, Graham.” I grimaced and tried to reel in my temper.I needed to be careful too.“I could get you kicked off this team if I wanted, but I care more about our chances at winning the cup than I do about your infatuation with me. You’re a good player, but remember, skill won’t keep you afloat forever. We work better together, so get your fucking head in the game.”

I was one to talk. If I wasn’t thinking about Riley and her sweet laughter last night after she got over the initial shock of being on the ice, then I was thinking about Savannah’s little brother and how he had been waiting for this day for a long fucking time.

Sully scoffed. “You could get me kicked off the team? That’s unlikely.” He pulled his mask down as we headed onto the ice. “And no offense, butyouneed to get your fucking head in the game. What the hell was up with that warm-up?”

He looked past my shoulder. I didn’t question the flicker of realization because I didn’t have to. The wind of someone skating too closely behind me told me who it was. “Remember me?”

I squeezed my stick and stared into the stands, trying my best to avoid anyone wearing green and black.

“I know who you are,” Sully said.

He directed his next sentence to me. “And now, I suddenly know why you’re distracted.”

He skated away, and it was just Van and me.

“Too much of a pussy to turn around and face me like a man?”

“Not a pussy at all,” I said, skating around quickly and flinging ice up in my wake.Don’t let this fuck with you, Aasher.“It’s called being civil. We have a hockey game to play, and I plan to win, despite your obvious attempt to bring personal shit onto the ice.”

I learned a long time ago that when players chose to taunt you on the ice, it was because they were fearful about losing. They wanted to get in your head. Sully had done it every single time we played against one another, and it was because he didn’t have the confidence he has now on our team. But Van had a different reason for badgering me, and knowing his father, it was probably premeditated.

“I’ll never be civil with you.”

I laughed sarcastically, keeping my eye on the referee in the middle of the ice, holding the puck steadily in his hands. “Savannah warned me that you’d be like this, and I know she told you to drop it, because the truth is, her issues had nothing to do with me.”

“Don’t you dare say her name.”

I sighed, knowing this game was going to be tougher mentally than it would be physically. I pushed away and got into my position on the ice. I shut my eyes and waited for the horn to blow, trying to calm down. At the last second, I looked up in the stands and saw Riley sitting with Sutton, Taytum, and Theo’s roommate. Riley’s smile was like the sun—so warm it melted the chill I felt from Van.

At least I had one good thing going for me tonight. I knew the moment I was cross-checked by a player in a green-and-black jersey, I was either going to end up severely injured or in the sin bin for the majority of the game.

I wasn’t sure which option was better.

* * *

“What the fuck is going on?” Coach grabbed me by the mask, pulling me in so closely I could smell the blue Gatorade on his tongue.Like father, like daughter.“Tell me right now what you did to them.”

“I did nothing.” Everything was tight. Even my words.

“Then whose sister did you fuck, Matthews? Because they are all targeting you.”

I ignored the question.

“And why the hell are you taking it?” That came from Berkley. He skidded next to me and glanced at Coach. “Can I fuck them up? They’re literally targeting him.”

They were. I had fallen more in this game than I did collectively last season. Green University players were more like hound dogs at this point. It was so bad that the audience grew quiet after every fall. Whether they felt bad or were waiting for me to explode didn’t matter. I was getting eaten alive, and the refs weren’t calling them out either.

“No! We play clean. It’s part of our reputation. But I need to know what the hell is going on. Right now.”

---