Page 100 of Unrecognizable Player

A couple of minutes into the third period, we win possession in the neutral zone and Pawlowski comes powering through Harvard’s defense to find me in a perfect position to shoot. I catch his puck on my stick and shoot into the right top corner. Harvard’s goalie doesn’t even manage to get a glove up and it goes in the back of the net. Bringing the score to 2-2.

Relief floods me as I skate over to the bench to slap hands with the rest of the team. But I have to stay calm and not let us get loose now. There’s still a way to go before we can make this a win.

As I skate back for the face-off, I catch sight of my dad on the front row, watching with the same intensity as always. His hands clasped tightly on his knees. That ultra-focused look on his face. The only time the focus drops is when he’s cheering or celebrating my goals. He never shouts or berates me when I’m playing badly. I don’t know if I’d prefer that. At least that would get it out of the way. Instead of having to wait until the end of the game to know what he’s thinking.

I try to put it out of my head, but I know I’m distracted. I lose the face-off, and it’s a disastrous loss, because Harvard breaks away with the puck and immediately scores to bring it to 2-3.

We’re scrambling now to level the score and I know we’re messy, but it works, because we’re in Harvard’s faces more than they’re in ours.

I tell myself it’s only a matter of time before we level the score. If we can just do it before the game ends, we can take this into overtime.

In the last minute, Chung scrambles with Harvard’s D-men to win the puck and takes a shot on goal, squeezing it in past the goalie, and taking us into overtime.

We jump all over him, and I don’t dare look into the crowd. I don’t wanna see my dad before we go into O.T to fight for our lives.

Coach comes into the locker room to give us a pep talk.

“We’ve got this men!” He roars. “We’ve got them rattled. Let’s go out there and give our home crowd a show!”

He slaps me on the back on my way out of the locker room. “Good job Captain.”

I let thatgood jobbolster me, even as my shoulder starts to ache. It’s been a while since I played a game this competitive into overtime. And my body is really feeling the strain.

Our band starts playingSeven Nation Armyas we skate out onto the ice and as Pawlowski looks up into the crowd to lookat Alice, I follow his gaze to find Stef sitting near the band, all wrapped up in his cute little duffle coat and a scarf. His light brown hair making a little halo around his head. He’s cheering and clapping, even though he’s probably confused as hell. Seeing him doesn’t distract me the way seeing my dad does. It pumps me up. Knowing he has my back.

I share a look with Pawlowski before going into the face-off. We’ve built up ways of communicating without words over the past four years that gives us the edge against teammates who have only known each other for five minutes. And we use that edge when I win the face-off to get the puck through the neutral zone and into Harvard’s end. Attacking the net and putting pressure on their goalie from the off.

I take a hit in the right side corner behind the goal, but I block out the pain that follows in my shoulder. Everyone in the NCAA knows I had serious shoulder surgery before coming here, and you’d best believe they take advantage of it any time they can.

I push through, long enough to see Pawlowski score the winning goal and send us one step closer to making it to the play-offs this year.

I let myself celebrate,trying not to think about what my dad will have to say when I get out there. I spot Stef waiting with Alice and follow Pawlowski out to the stands to say hi to them. When I see my teammate greet his girlfriend with a kiss, it sets off this bitter, jealous reaction in me I don’t like. It’s not their fault I can’t kiss my boyfriend in public. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine for being so chicken-shit.

Stef looks fucking beautiful, with his nose and cheeks all rosy from the cold. His big brown eyes looking up at me as he says hello.

“I’ve gotta go and find my dad, he’ll probably be waiting outside.” I tell him.

“Okay.”

Alice gives Stef a hug and leaves with Pawlowski, and the thought of leaving Stef there alone kills me.

“Come with?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ve met your dad, let me introduce you to mine.”

“I’ve met your dad.” He reminds me.

The way my dad was with Stef last time gives me pause for thought, but I know I won’t let him be rude this time.

“I know, but I mean, let me introduce you properly.”

His eyes go wide.

“Not like that. Not yet.”

“It’s okay, I know what you mean.”

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