Page 119 of Stick Side
“So, you’re saying you’d be happy to just be my friend?” she sought to confirm.
Nolan shifted more upright. “Let me return your honesty with some of my own, Melody,” he said clearly. “I will respect your relationship if you decide to continue being in one but make no mistake: I want more from you than friendship if that’s on the table, but I’m willing to wait to pursue anything romantic until you’re officially single.”
When she responded, her voice was barely stronger than a whisper. “You make it sound like it’s a foregone conclusion that Ben and I won’t weather this. What if we do? What then?”
“I don’t know,” Nolan admitted. “Let’s wait to cross that bridge until we get to it.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with that? You seem like a really great guy and the last thing I want to do is risk leading you on.”
“You aren’t,” Nolan said with a conviction she found reassuring. “You’ve been straight up with me and this is the decision I’m making. Do I hope things don’t work out with this other guy? I won’t lie. Selfishly, I do hope that. I find myself unwilling to give up on you.”
Melody looked askance at him.
“Because I feel like you’d be a mighty fine lady to know—in any capacity,” Nolan shared.
Whoa, boy.How was a girl to resist a sentiment and an offer like that? Her heart might still be set on Ben, but it couldn’t help but flutter at Nolan’s incredibly kind words.
Chapter 60
Ben
Benskateduptheice as the clock ticked down, searching for an opening. They were tied 1–1 with minutes left in the third period, and damned if he was going to let his personal life get in the way of his game again. He’d worked too long and too hard—not to mention given up too much—to throw it all away now.
It took some fancy footwork, but he managed to carve open a great spot in front of the net. He caught Knight’s eye and called for the puck. It was a beautiful pass, landing right in the pocket of his stick, but the puck somehow managed to glance off it.
The puck was picked up by Anton Minkowski, one of the Avalanche’s leading scorers. Ben cursed and chased the puck down the ice, determination fueling his every stride.
With a physicality he wasn’t known for, he checked Minkowski into the boards and regained possession of the puck.
He spotted Volkov in the goalie’s blind spot and took an extra millisecond to line up his pass. Volkov took the opportunity he was given and tapped the puck through the five hole. Cheers erupted from the Challengers’ bench.
Ben hustled over to the box for a line change. Once seated, he flipped up his visor and chugged some water. Relief coursed through his system. He might have screwed up out there, but at least he’d corrected it. Now, all the current line had to do was maintain their lead and the win was theirs.
Richie tapped Ben’s padded legwith the flat of his hockey stick. “What the hell was that out there? I’ve never seen you check a player into the boards like that.” His tone was bewildered but lacking any true censure.
Even though Richie was about as physical a player as they came, Ben reflexively scrunched up his shoulders. “It was a clean hit,” he stated defensively.
“That hit was textbook perfect,” Volkov added, his Russian accent somehow always more pronounced after burning it up on the ice.
“I guess I felt I had something to prove,” Ben admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck as best he could with a gloved hand.
“If that’s the way you prove your point, Logan,” Coach Dodds interrupted, while still keeping his attention primarily on the ice, “feel free to keep asserting yourself,” Dodds said in as close to a compliment as Ben could have hoped for.
Dodds shot him a quick look before adding, “Next time, just be sure to also keep the puck on your damn stick.”
Ben acknowledged Coach Dodds’ point with a tilt of his head, not that Dodds was looking at him to see it.
Ben was a good shot, but his real skill as a player lay in his ability to see empty space, lead a play, and pass the puck to execute the vision. If he could add a few good hits to his repertoire, great, but not if it came at the expense of the skills that made him the player he was. The Challengers didn’t need another grinder. If they did, management would have traded for one instead of a playmaker like him.
Ben turned his attention back to the ice. The Avalanche were frantically trying to tie things up in the remaining two minutes. Luckily for Ben and the rest of his team, Colorado’s desperation was making them sloppy.
Avalanche defenseman Gordon Alexander overshot a pass and iced the puck.
Alexander lined up with Phillips in the Avalanche’s zone and waited for the puck to drop.
Ben heard Coach Dodds groan when Phillips lost the faceoff, giving the Avalanche another chance to score. Never one to quit, Phillips raced up the ice, fighting the clock with every glide of his skate blades.
Somehow, Phillips managed to overtake Alexander and steal the puck. With an agility one wouldn’t expect from such a big guy, Phillips turned around and sped back up the ice.
