Page 75 of Scoring Grey

This game has been a nail-biter. The Kings have only maintained a two-goal lead for the first two periods, with both teams playing their hearts out. Two goals are better than none, but we’re four and two. We score, and then they score. Everyone wants to go into the best of seven with the first win. Cal has looked like a different man out on the ice tonight. I know I’m partial, but he’s playing some of the best hockey of his career.

“Oh shit,” Dash says at the same time I clench my fists and we both shoot up out of our seats to get a better look at Cal.

The other team’s defensemen just slammed him hard into the glass. It’s not the hit that has my heart beating out of sync but rather how he took it. He just got blindsided. Cal drops to his knees, and the glass and ice between us feel like a thousand miles. I wish I could go to him, but then his right arm comes up and his glove forms an O before he slowly gets back onto his feet.

“That’s going to piss him off,” Dash adds as Cal skates over to the bench.

He doesn’t look at me, but I can see from his expression that he’s livid. The guy who hit him may as well not come back because I know the second Cal’s back out there, he’s going straight for him. He enters the bench. Coach Beck says something, and Cal motions out to the ice.

“There’re only two minutes left. That guy isn’t coming out of the penalty box this game, but you know Cal isn’t going to forget.”

“I know…” I say anxiously, squeezing my hands together at my front until finally, his eyes flash over to mine.

His irritation shrinks for a second when he sees the worry still etched on my face and he shoots me another O and mouths, “Give me a K.” I take a deep breath, so deep I question if I’d stopped breathing the second I saw him take the hit and make the letter K with my fingers. My man is out there playing his heart out. This is what he’s done his whole life. There are days when his anger is mine, and the hits he takes roll off me the same way they do him, and then there are times like now when it feels like I could lose what’s become my other half.

It feels like I blink, and he’s back on the ice for another face-off. The guy who illegally blindsided him is still in the penalty box, but I can tell from Cal’s stance he’s ready to send a message. Cal gets the puck and passes it to Roe, who takes his shot. The Stars defenseman blocks the hit and shoots it back toward the center line, but Austin manages to keep the puck in play and feathers it blindly back to Callum, a move that shocks the hell out of me. Austin is a glory chaser, and I know he wants to be responsible for getting points on the board in a playoff game, but apparently, he knows when to put his team over himself because Cal is open and in scoring position and takes his shot.

“That’s in!” I scream as the buzzer sounds, and the stadium goes wild. Dash and I hug and jump up and down. The energy of the fans is electric. Our bodies are buzzing, and all the anxiety I felt moments ago is washed away and replaced with pure elation as the team skates onto the ice to celebrate their first win against the Stars in the second round.

“Where do we meet Cal?” Dash yells over the roar of the crowd.

I’m just about to answer when Cal breaks from his team as they celebrate their win. They start skating toward the bench to exit the ice and head to the locker rooms when Cal veers right and comes around the partitions, causing a scene. Fans slap him on the back and try to get autographs, but once they see his destination is me, they start moving out of his way, eager to get a shot of him with his girl. His eyes finally clash with mine, and he purses his lips in an attempt to hold back the huge smile that can’t be contained as I close the distance and jump into his arms. He’s sweaty and musty, but his hug is everything. I wrap my legs around him, not wanting to let go but knowing I need to. The people got their pictures, and we need to get out of the spotlight before we get swarmed.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” I say as he holds me tight. “It’s going to be a nightmare getting out of here.”

“I couldn’t help it. I had an important question to ask you that couldn’t wait.”

I pull back and look at him quizzically. “And what’s that?”

“Whose name is that on your jersey?”

I roll my eyes at his antics. “Balfour.”

“God, I love that,” he says, his smile growing impossibly wider.

“Your name?” I tease.

“No, you saying our name.”

Now I’m the one smiling like a fool. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You haven’t proposed yet.”

“Nah, proposing is overrated. It gives you the option to say no, and you, Eloise Grey, do not get to say no. My name was always meant to be yours.”

He pecks me on the lips, and the crowd goes nuts.

“Okay, Romeo,” Dash says behind us. “I think you staked your claim. Everyone knows who she belongs to. Now let’s keep it moving.”

Cal sets me back on my feet. “Mine.” He smacks my ass before grabbing my hand and tucking me behind his back, walking us toward the player tunnel that leads to the locker room. As we make our way through the throng of fans with flashing lights, whatever fear I thought I had of this moment fades. I was already strong on my own, but I feel invincible with him by my side. I might be his, but that means he’s mine, and what is mine is mine. I won’t lose him again.

“Hey, pull over here,” Dash says, gripping Cal’s shoulder from the back seat. “This is the place. Are you sure you guys don’t want to come in? Moon, Roe, and a few of the others are inside. No Austin.”

I look at the packed bar.

“There’s a band tonight, too.”

“I’m not really dressed for going out,” comes out even though I fit in perfectly. Everyone from the stadium has flooded the streets, celebrating the Kings’ win tonight, but I can’t decide if I want to go home and have my man all to myself or go inside the bar.

“We’re coming,” Cal says, deciding for me as he pulls into a front-row spot where another car is vacating. “My girl is wearing my jersey, and I’m not done making sure the world sees it.”

---