Page 47 of Between the Blue
I glance up, seeing blurs of all the players in green celebrating on the other end of the ice, the same player that was just slammed up against the glass in front of me being extra enthusiastic about it, spinning around and pumping his fists into the air.
A few seconds go by before an announcer comes over the speaker. “Texas Storm Goal! Number nineteen, Rhett Sutton!”
Everyone around me stays standing, their cheers only growing louder. I shift my gaze up towards the scoreboard, seeing that the goal that was just scored put the Storm up by one. I also notice the clock ticking down, showing that there are less than ten seconds left in the period.
“That’s a goal from Sutty! Assisted by number twenty-four, Be–”
A loud buzzer goes off, drowning out the announcer and signaling the end of the game, and, in my head, the end of my last chance to decide if this is something I really want to go through with.
My mind instantly starts spinning as I pull my phone from my pocket, deciding to read through Tiffany’s email one last time, trying to convince myself that maybe she included a line at the end that I hadn’t noticed before with a possible alternative to this.
As I scroll through my email inbox, the announcer comes back over the speaker again. “The final score is the Calgary Bulls, three, and your Texas Storm, four! That’s a Texas Storm win!”
Hoots and hollers sound from around me, and the young boy to my side is literally jumping up and down as he chants “Texas! Storm!” on repeat.
I decide to stand as I continue reading through the email, ready to file out with the rest of the attendees as soon as they start to move towards the exit.
“And now,” the announcer continues, “it’s time for the three stars of the game! Up first, from your Texas Storm, number nineteen,Rhett Sutton!”
I lift my head, watching as the curly-headed, near-brawling player from before makes his way back onto the ice, waving towards the crowd as he skates to the far corner of the rink, tossing a puck up and over the glass to a group of pretty girls all losing their minds over him.
I can’t exactly say that I blame them.
I watch on the jumbotron as he shoots the girls a crooked grin and a wink before skating back off the ice and can’t help the smile that involuntary graces my face.
I shake my head, my gaze shifting back down to my phone screen. I click on Tiffany’s email, opening it and scanningthrough the words included along with the tickets to the game that I’ve read a hundred times now.
“And now, for the second star of the game,” the announcer calls.
I lift up my drink cup, taking a sip of soda as I find there is, in fact, not anything new that I missed in this email before.
Maybe she sent a second email, I think.
“From your Texas Storm…”
I should check my spam folder.
“Number twenty-four–”
Just so I know that I’m certain of all my options, of course.
“Your captain–”
Regardless, I should talk to Tiffany one more time just to make sure I understand what I’d really be signing up for here if I were to take this position.
“Bennett James!”
I mean, it’s just the responsible thing to do–
Wait.
My spine steels, my brows pulling together.
What?
I lift my head, and my jaw nearly comes unhinged.
I don’t think I’ve been so completely and utterly shocked and baffled in my entire life as I am at this moment.
