Page 220 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
“She deserves better than you,” I retorted.
“While she tries her best, she’ll never deserve better than me. Clark maybe, given he’s practically trailer trash. He’s been after her for so long. It’s pathetic.” He swung for me and I dodged.
“They’re nottrash,” I growled, tackling him to the ice and pounding his face. While I’d slammed him a few times, I’d been wanting to do this the entire game.
How dare he insult them? The Deloittes might be rich, but they had trashy values. They gave factory owners a bad name, with the way they tried to exploit their workers.
The ref blew the whistle again as Jonas pulled me off him, and I got sent to the penalty box for fighting.
Shit. I couldn’t protect her from here. However, there was less than a minute left. She’d be okay. I made a heart with my hands, when she looked at me, and she made one back.
It was the longest fifty-seven seconds of my life as I sat there in the box, watching the game, helpless.
At least her asshole ex was in the box, too. And he was bleeding.
Grif went in for his third goal of the night, and Ty stopped it, surprise evident.
Number 17 took the puck and barreled down toward Gwen as the seconds ticked down on the screen above. They wouldn’t win, but honor was on the line. Clark stole it and went back for the Gears’ goal.
Standing, I cheered for him, wanting him to get another goal. Number 18 stole it back and swept it across the ice. They kept going back and forth as the seconds ticked down.
Number 18 got close, but instead of going in for the shot, he feinted and passed it to Number 17, who was on the backside. He took the shot and Gwen dove for it. I held my breath as she stopped the goal.
“She caught it. Yet another amazing save from Di Rossi as she steals the goal from Deloitte. Nothing gets past her. Is it the pink gear?” the announcer said.
The buzzer sounded. “Dare I say it? It’s ashutoutfor the Knights as they win against the Gears. What a game!”
The crowd roared as I tumbled out of the box, desperate to get to Gwen. She patted the goal posts.
The announcer continued to talk about how historic the game was and the last shutout with an EBUG was when Maria Barilla herself made her debut with the Knights. Huh, I hadn’t known that.
The team rushed over and tapped their helmets to hers. Clark picked her up and spun her around on the ice and they laughed and danced. My heart squeezed. Yes, we’d have a good talk. I missed them so much.
Maybe I didn’t need space. Perhaps I neededthem.
I joined them and swept her up. “I’m so incredibly proud of you.”
A shutout. Sure, she only played one period, but she still kepteverypuck out.
“Thanks. All the tacos belong to me,” she laughed, her minty scent pungent and laced with sweat, anxiousness, and happiness.
“You got a goal. That is amazing,” I told Clark.
He ducked his head. “I don’t know if it really counts. Maybe I won’t buy a figure.”
“It totally counts, and you were going to buy an Aquatica one. I’d say scoring a goal in the home opener was better than a blowjob from a dinosaur.” Gwen smirked at me.
I growled a little. “Don’t be bratty.”
“What are you going to do about it?” While her tone was teasing, that was pure challenge.
The ice crew came out and dumped plushies on the ice.
“Goalie hugs.” Dean came onto the ice and stole her from us before I could answer, hugging her tight. While her skates and gear added a lot of bulk, and he wasn’t wearing his pads, she still looked so small in comparison.
“Should you be out here?” Worry coated her scent.
“I’ll be okay. They’re just being cautious. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.” He put an arm around her.
