Page 64 of A Scoring Chance

I knew he had more than one brother and that Cole also played hockey, but he is on the opposing team? Damn, that has to double suck for everyone involved, but especially Ms. Melanie. No matter what happens, she has one son who lost and one who won.

“Yes,” he deadpans, not bothering to elaborate. If I were smart, I’d leave it alone. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to talk about it, but my nosiness gets the better of me.

“Is that why you guys don’t speak anymore?”

“No.” Cooper leans over and kisses me, effectively ending the conversation. “The game is going to begin soon.”

I nod and smile before turning my attention toward the ice. The first twenty minutes of the game go by quickly, the puck constantly moving from one end to the other. Neither team has an advantage over the other. I clap and cheer at the appropriate times. Thank fuck for that.

Cooper patiently answers all of my questions, not once getting annoyed with me. And I asked a lot of questions. His eyes stayed locked on the game, coaching the team from his seat right next to me. I offered to stay up here with Alise and his mom so he could get closer, but he declined.

“I would love nothing more than to stay here and be your personal commentator for the game. I just hope we can get a W for your first-ever NHL game.” He smiles down at me, pressing his lips to my forehead for what feels like the millionth time.

No matter what is happening on the ice, he never stops touching me. Whether it is his hand massaging my calves, his fingers threading through mine as we awkwardly attempt to clap our hands, or soft brushes of his lips against my head and cheeks. It’s like he can’t stop touching me for fear that I might disappear, but he never kisses me, much to my dismay.

“Leon angles and Cole Hendrix swings back through center. Three abreast of the attacking line, but Cole can’t split the seam there and misses an opportunity for the Wolverines to get on the scoreboard.”

I have no idea what any of this means, but Cooper lets go of my legs and moves to the edge of his seat. I move my legs to the floor, anticipating that it might be time to jump up and cheer. My eyes focus on every moment Cooper makes as the announcers continue with their play-by-play of the game.

“Richards carries back through neutral, only as far as the Wolverines line, and shoots on the run. Harvey stops the puck on the line, saving the Wolverines once again and allowing the Timberwolves to get the lead. But here comes Bower, stealing the puck on the rebound, and he scores!”

Cooper and I both jump out of our seats. The arena erupts in a roar of cheers as the Timberwolves finally score after two periods of nothing. I jump up and down in celebration, but my eyes remain locked on Cooper. He’s happily cheering for histeam before he turns and lifts me into his arms, crashing his lips to mine. Joy bubbles in my stomach, a combination of our team scoring a goal and finally getting another kiss from Cooper.

“I think we need to score more goals soon.”

“And why is that?” Cooper’s eyes are alight with excitement as he kisses the tip of my nose.

“Because I get kisses when we score.”

“You can have a kiss any time you want, Beauty.”

“I know, but they seem more special if they come after we score.”

“Fair enough.” Cooper kisses my forehead before lowering me back to the floor, but neither of us takes our seat. A new type of energy hums in the arena, hunger for another goal gripping every Timberwolves fan.

“Five-on-five play continues as the Wolverines turn over the puck again in the Timberwolves defensive zone. Bower passes to Crosby in the center. Crosby races to the outside, performs a beautiful curl and drag around the back of the net to the goal mouth and scores! The Timberwolves are up 2-0.”

Cooper doesn’t even bother to cheer before curling his arm around my waist. My eyes slip shut as he cups my cheek and uses his tongue to part my lips, deepening the kiss. We both get lost in the moment, only breaking apart for a few seconds before leaning back in for a second time.

When we pull away a second time, Alise is pointing toward something. “I hope you two weren’t planning on keeping this a secret.”

My eyes widen in horror as the kiss Cooper and I just shared is replayed for everyone in the arena to see before flicking back to a live feed. Cooper shrugs before leaning in again for another kiss.

“It seems like Cooper Hendrix is doing a lot more than watching the game tonight.”The announcer chuckles as the arena erupts a second time.

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the world found out that Ramona King and Cooper Hendrix were a couple.

Chapter Twenty-One

Cooper

“Rice gets knocked against the boards, and the puck is intercepted by the Timberwolves. Matthews pushes the puck over to King in front of the net. King moves to his backhand and scores. The Timberwolves 1, the Winterhawks 0.”

The crowd erupts in cheers as we score the first goal of the game in the second period against the Winterhawks. I thought the rush of scoring a goal was the best feeling in the world, but I was wrong. Watching these boys develop into better hockey players is better than anything I could’ve imagined.

The youth hockey season is in full swing. We had our first game about five weeks ago, and things are looking good for us to make the playoffs this year. Although the club had to do some creative rescheduling when I let them know I was returning to practice with my team, things have been running smoothly. The boys still practice three days a week, but we’ve also incorporated some weight training, as well.

---