Page 109 of The Pucking Wrong Rookie

Midway through the first period, they started to find their legs. Their top line came at us hard, pushing into our zone. Camden, always steady, threw himself in front of a blistering slapshot, the puck bouncing off his leg as he winced but didn’t flinch. He got right back up, fighting through the pain, clearing the puck out of the zone.

“Atta boy, Hero!” I shouted over to him as he skated by, his face twisted in determination.

The period ended scoreless, and Walker was buzzing as we got back into the locker room. The energy was intense. No one spoke much—we knew what was at stake. Lincoln stood at the doorway when we headed back out.

“Finish,” he told all of us as we bumped fists.

The second period was chaos. Both teams were pressing harder, the stakes growing with every passing second. Their team caught a break when one of our defensemen, Peters, slipped, sending their top forward streaking toward Walker, on a clean breakaway.

Walker? Calm as ever. He tracked the guy’s every move, following the puck like it was a magnet. The forward snapped off a quick wrist shot, aiming for the top corner, but Walker’s glove flashed out, snagging the puck mid-air like it was nothing.

“That’s my goalie!” Lincoln shouted, skating over and banging on his mask.

I was pretty sure that Disney busted a nut over Lincoln’s compliment.

Third period and the clock was ticking down, one minute to go before the game ended. We were cycling the puck in their zone, the pressure building as we tried to break through their defense. Lincoln won a key faceoff, sending the puck back to Ari at the blue line. Ari, his eyes locked on the net, unleashed a rocket of a slapshot. The puck flew through traffic, and for a split second, I thought it was going in.

Their goalie made the save, but the rebound kicked out hard. Lincoln swooped in, firing a quick shot, but it was blocked again.

The puck landed right in front of me, bouncing in the blue paint. I didn’t hesitate. I lunged forward, my stick connecting with it just as the goalie scrambled to cover the net. Time seemed to slow as the puck slid under his pad, disappearing into the back of the goal.

For a second, I didn’t hear anything. The arena went silent, like the entire world had frozen. Then, the explosion.

The noise hit me like a wave, the crowd roaring so loud it felt like the building was shaking. I fell to my knees on the ice, my heart pounding out of my chest.

Fuck. I was going to faint.

Lincoln slammed into me from behind, knocking me forward.

“Fucking Rookie!” he yelled, his voice lost in the chaos as the rest of the team piled on. Camden, Ari, Walker—they all crashed into me, laughing, shouting, their faces lit up with disbelief and pure joy.

“We’re the fucking champs!” Ari screamed, grabbing my helmet and shaking me like I wasn’t already dazed.

Camden screamed right in my ear. “That Cup’s coming home, baby!”

I could barely breathe, crushed under the weight of the team, their shouts and cheers echoing around me. I felt like I was floating, the reality of what had just happened slowly sinking in. We’d done it. We’d won the Stanley Cup!

The arena was still shaking as I struggled to break free from the pile, my legs wobbling beneath me as I skated toward the boards. The noise was deafening, the crowd chanting, screaming, and waving flags. But I wasn’t looking at them. I was looking forher.

Family members of the team were flooding the ice, and I scanned their faces, my chest heaving as the exhaustion started to settle in.

And then she was there, throwing herself in my arms, her eyes wide, her face a mix of disbelief, pride, and something else I couldn’t quite place.

I kissed her, pouring everything I had into my girl.

She gasped when I let her go, her lips curving into a smile that made my heart race all over again.

“What about now?” I shouted over the noise, grinning like an idiot as I stared down at her because this series had literally changed my life.

Her smile widened, her eyes bright and shiny like she was about to cry. For a moment, the mayhem of the arena faded away, and it was just the two of us, caught in the moment, everything else falling into place.

Slowly she nodded, and a strange buzzing filled my ears as she leaned in close.

“Yes, Logan York. I’m falling in love with you.”

The words echoed in my ears, and I wasn’t ashamed at all as a tear slipped down my face.

“Fucking finally, Calloway,” I groaned, my lips crashing down on hers once again.

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