Page 50 of Unmasking Love
I pull the sheet up over my chest. Seeing me naked will lead to more questions than she can even imagine. She has no idea what hides against my skin.
Promise?
Pinky promise. But who the hell is Jared?
I’ll tell you after I see you naked.
***
I try to make the most of sitting on the bench. I watch for kids who scramble to the tunnel and toss towels or practice pucks their way whenever I can. I also enjoy my little jump seat during the games but I haven't enjoyed it nearly as much since Harper sat on the other side of the glass.
Tonight the Forever Home puppy people are there again but this time it’s a blond guy and a brunette with a high ponytail holding the dogs. I admit the little black dog with a white spot between his eyes and two white front paws, like he stepped in paint, is cute. And the way he bumps his nose along the glass and then sniffles to clear his nostrils is adorable.
I've managed to only watch the pup during stoppages like this one. He spotted me this time so we're pawing at each other through the glass.
The crowd giggles and "awwws" at something on the jumbotron and so I look up to find my face on the twenty foot screen. I blush under my D.C. Renegades special edition hat and I turn my attention back to the team who are also cooing at the image. Felix skates over to the glass to get the pup's attention.
"I wish I could sit on the bench and play with puppies. You've got the best job in the world, Young Gun."
"Yeah, it's all fun and games over here." I mutter. If you consider living in perpetual fear you'll be traded again, fun. Or if managing the pressure of being the guy your team relies on in an emergency you can't plan for, a game.
The ref whistles us back from the TV timeout and I pivot towards the ice. We've got twelve minutes left in the period and it's tied 1-1. This could go either way. Both goals were scored in the first so neither team had a momentum swing going into the third. This is grind it out, get pucks to the net, dirty hockey.
The boys cycle through their lines, Coach is moving everyone through quickly to keep legs fresh. He'll put the first string on for the final minute and a half so the final ten minutes of the game are broken down into thirty second increments for the defense and twenty for the offense. Gavin is playing smart and holding the puck for a whistle at the right time or shuffling it out to the boards when they're changing lines.
Hockey is a game of constant motion. Even when play is stopped the boys are moving around. The puck never stops moving and when your team is in control the world feels hopeful.
Like now, with three minutes left in the game, Emmett and Bryson hop over the boards and break up the play at center ice, pivoting it towards our offensive zone.
Bryson fires it across the ice to Emmett who takes it into the zone. He's pulled both defensemen to him and I see the goal as it unfolds.
Bryson moves straight to the net and Emmett lines up in what looks like a shot. Their defenseman drops to a knee to try and block the shot but instead it flies past him on his backside, through the second defenseman who just now remembered to cover Bryson. Boder redirects with a quick wrist flick and the puck sails over the diving goalie's shoulder and into the back of the net.
The buzzer sounds, Renegades starts to blare from the speakers, and the boys pile on Bryson to celebrate.
The final two minutes of play feel like a penalty kill. They've pulled their goalie for the extra man. We're protecting the crease and they can't get the puck down low. Bryson blocks a shot up high but can't quite scramble to the rebound.
Another shot gets fired and Gavin knocks it down to the side with his blocker. We let one of their guys hold it behind the net and scramble to cover the other men on the ice. Our guys stick to them like glue. Getting into the passing lanes.
Twenty seconds left and this is their final chance. They swing the puck out wide to the far side. A shot from the slot gets blocked and the puck ricochets to the corner where Felix protects it, killing time, keeping the puck in place under his skates so they can't get a final shot.
The game buzzer sounds and the tension melts off the bench as we all exhale.
It's October hockey, there are sixty eight games left but you'd think we just won the first game of the finals.
That's the level of intensity this team brings to the ice. Every game.
But it's countered by the playfulness and camaraderie off the ice.
Bryson gets selected for the "Star of the Game" and has to give a quick interview. I catch it on the screen as I get to the locker room.
"What went through your mind ahead of the game winning goal?" The reporter asks.
"Coach was barking for me to line change, so I'd be fresh for that final push but I saw how both defensemen were pulling towards E.T. and I knew there'd be an opening." He drags his hand through his sweaty hair. "I felt like a kid flying on the pond giving the play-by-play for his breakaway. It was fun and I'm proud it got us the win."
"How are you going to celebrate? Happy Birthday, by the way."
Bryson laughs, "Thank you! Yeah, I don't know what we're going to do but a shower and post game meal are my top priority."
