Page 151 of Unmasking Love
I'm startled out of my concentration on Aiden when the horn sounds and Renegades starts playing.
"Really?!" I yell as Caroline and Danielle pull me into hugs. I have no idea who scored but it doesn’t matter. A goal is a goal. I’ll catch the replay if I can tear my eyes from the ice.
"Oh my god! Okay, okay, settle down, three minutes left." Danielle says as she rubs her hands together.
"I'm gonna pee my pants." Caroline says as she takes a seat.
"I'm gonna barf," I admit as my stomach rolls with nerves.
"I'm gonna streak through the arena if they win," Caroline says and we both look at her. "What? Boys pop their tops all the time, if they score and win the game before overtime I'm going to rip my shirt off in celebration."
"You're making a bet with yourself," Daneille laughs.
"Fine, if they again score before the end of regulation you have to take your shirt off too." Caroline's grin is evil as she stares me and Danielle down.
"Deal," Danielle shakes her hand. "Harper?"
"Nope, not me," I try to laugh it off. What if a client is here? What if they show us on the jumbotron? What if someone takes a picture and it gets shared on social media?
Caroline looks ready to tease me but the whistle sounds and it's time for a faceoff.
I don't think I breathe for the next three minutes.
We keep pressure on their goalie. We're chasing down rebounds and throwing everything at the net. Aiden has skated to the top of the circle and is ready to head to the bench.
At 1:20 I hear "Go!" from Coach Bradford and Aiden skates as fast as his goalie gear will let him to the bench. Johnny flies over the boards to take his place as the sixth skater.
He drives the net, screens the goalie with Bryson, and there is so much pushing and shoving I can't keep track of the puck.
Emmett shoots and we hear it ping off the goal post and the entire arena groans in disappointment.
Danielle gasps next to me and I look to see if she's okay and when she leans forward I turn back to the ice.
Felix winds up and shoots a one-timer from Crosby and after a deflection from Bryson's stick it tumbles into the back of the net.
The Kofee Center erupts again and when I turn to Caroline to give her a hug she's whipping her Sawyer jersey over her head and screaming at the top of her lungs. I get slapped in the face by fabric from my other side and see Danielle has pulled off her team jacket and is slapping it against the railing in front of her.
"Hell yeah! That's it boys!" Daneille yells.
"Girls, we better all get pregnant tonight, that was so hot." Caroline says as she slowly mellows.
There's one more faceoff. Dallas has pulled their goalie but Aiden is back in net. The final seconds tick down and the arena continues to pulse with energy. When the horn sounds you can barely hear it over the cheers.
"God, that was wild." Danielle says as she slides her jacket on.
"Amazing," Caroline says as she fans herself. "I’m too hot to put this back on."
We giggle as we clearout of our seats and move into the suite. Other wives, girlfriends, and family members are hugging; everyone is smiling wide.
"Did you drive Aiden tonight?" Daneille asks.
"Uh, no, he rode to the game. I'll probably drive him home."
"Okay then come with me," She leads the way to the elevators, giving fist bumps to the security guards and staff members she sees along the way.
We wait outside the locker room and can hear the team cheering and when Coach's voice booms over the rest Danielle blushes. "They're going to be insatiable tonight."
"Yeah, I know." I bite my lip because I might be insatiable tonight too. The winning feeling is contagious. My body is buzzing and I can barely remember a time before I watched every game and let the outcome determine my mood.
