Page 79 of Blindsided By the Enforcer

There are a bunch of girls behind us wearing Riverside U jerseys.

Ruby leans into me. “Scarlett is here.”

It doesn’t surprise me from what Cade has said of her being a puck bunny. Now I feel overprotective of Cade.

Ruby points her out to me. I see her wearing the number twenty-eight when she turns to talk to her friend, who is also wearing a jersey.

Finn is at puck drop. They are playing against a team from West Michigan tonight. Everything moves fast. I can’t really tell what is going on, but it is very different than watching Cade coaching the kids. Damn, the girls are right. Watching Cade fight for the puck on the ice is hot.

“Watch this, that guy from West Michigan has it out for Cade,” Charlie says. She would know since she spent first semester as the team’s social media coordinator and attended almost all of their games.

Cade is blocking the guy and passing the puck to Hayden. The guy cuts Cade off and he slightly hits the boards. Hayden has possession of the puck now and takes it halfway across the ice, but then he loses the puck.

“Boy, this is intense.” I blow out a breath. We are so close to the ice that you can really feel the intensity up here.

Ruby and Charlie are cheering. Briar is sitting and watching the game, but she seems less invested than the rest of us.

When Cade gets a hold of the puck I shout, “Go, Cade!”

When I turn around to look at the girls causing a commotion behind us, I see Scarlett with a sign that says: We love you, Cade! It’s circled in a red heart.

The same guy who cut Cade off before circles around him and they fight for the puck. When the guy pulls at Cade’s jersey, he doesn’t respond and shakes him off. He skates across the ice, passing a bunch of players and he shoots a goal. The crowd cheers and so do we.

But the coach looks pissed.

“Why is the coach shaking his head?” I ask Charlie.

“It wasn’t Cade’s job to take the puck across the ice like that. He was supposed to block the rough guy from Michigan,” she explains.

I realize Cade took my advice and is playing his own way. He skates across the ice to me and places his hand on the plexiglass. I place my hand on his.

“Annie, look up,” Briar shouts.

I do and see Cade and I are on the Jumbotron.

“Holy shit.”

The rest of the period goes by in a flash. Cade doesn’t fight with anyone, but I am assuming that maybe he doesn’t fight every game. By intermission I head to the bathroom with Briar.

Scarlett is in line two people behind me.

“Annie, is it?” I hear her say so I turn around.

“Can I help you?” I ask her.

“You think you have Cade, but he’s going to come back to me. He always does,” she says with a devilish smirk.

“I doubt that, Scarlett. Cade bought this jersey for me because he wanted me to wear it when he played. I know for a fact he didn’t buy you that jersey and it’s because he didn’t feel that way about you,” I tell her. I don’t mean to lay it out in a bitchy way, but she started it.

“I’m guessing Cade didn’t tell you the truth about why we aren’t together. What does that tell you, Annie?” Scarlett asks.

“Ignore her,” Briar whispers in my ear.

That’s what I do. But something about her words is cryptic and I can’t figure out why.

I head to the bathroom and then I wash my hands. I see Scarlett again a few sinks over, but I don’t acknowledge her. When Briar leaves the stall, I wait off to the side for her to wash her hands and we go buy some drinks for everyone.

“That Scarlett is a big bitch,” she says.

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