Page 78 of Puck Shots
“I will,” Calvin continues. “I’ll also get over it the second you’re home, though, so I guess I can spare my cheering section for Cosmo, if he makes it.”
“When,” I correct, and he rolls his eyes.
“Sure, when.”
The energy shifts in the crowd, like someone just upped the wattage on their energy. The announcers kick off, and the team skates out from the opposite side of the rink to where we are sitting.
“Wooo, go Cosmo!” I cheer, and Rachel glances back at me before standing right in front of her mother, raising her arms in the air, and cheering the same, only louder.
“Sit down, Rachel, you’re not made of glass,” Lyn says, and Rachel wiggles her ass in her mother’s direction.
“How cool would it be if I were though?” she asks, plonking down in her seat.
The rink is packed, and it’s nice to see a bunch of frat brothers here supporting the guys, too. There are about ten of them seated to the right of us. They’ve painted their faces in the team colors and have large painted letters in their hands that, when lined up, spell, “KOKS 4 EVA!” It will make zero sense to anyone who doesn’t know the frat, but it will mean a lot to the brothers on the team. Especially seeing the press and VP are two of them. As much as Cosmo and Sam give it to each other about which is the better sport, they’re still brothers, and seeing them here supporting each other reminds me exactly why I decided to join KOK. I wanted a place I could belong, could fit in, and make connections that could last me a lifetime. Did I expect to totally fall in love with the frat bro asked to keep an eye on me? Hell no. But I wouldn’t change that part for the world either. Coming here, pledging KOK, and meeting Cosmo has been the best year of my life. And when he gets drafted, if he decides to leave college and start playing for the NHL as soon as he can, we’ll figure out a way to make it work. I’ve already found five different internships at research labs around the country. Where he goes, I go, because the only thing I know for sure is that I love him.
The first period starts and ends in a blur of back and forth, up and down the rink. Neither team scored, and if I’m honest, the puck spent way too much time up near Reddy, our goalie. Good thing he’s playing an amazing game. No wonder he was drafted last year. He’s finishing off his degree, though, before he’ll go pro; he’s saved almost thirteen percent more shots on goal than any other college hockey goalie this season. I pulled stats for Cosmo to show him how much he’s improved his game this year compared to last, too.
Sure, he’s been a rock star on the ice since high school, but all those nights out partying in his first year of college really put him in a bad light with a few of the scouts. Or all of them, according to him. This was the year he wanted to show them thatthe person they thought he was, is not the guy they’ll get if they draft him. He’s committed to the game, to developing his skills, and doing whatever he can to get the win.
After a quick trip to the concession stand to grab us all popcorn and another bottle of water each, Rachel turns in her seat again to chat while we wait for the Zamboni to resurface the ice and the second period to start.
“So, Eli, I’ve been trying to think up a good way to get Cossie back for the pool on New Year’s, any ideas?”
I shake my head. “Sorry, I’m not the pranking type.”
“You’re a KOK brother now, though, so you’ll have to have some ideas.”
“Rachel, turn around and stop trying to corrupt Eli. Cosmo has enough going on at the moment. You can save your payback for when he’s home next,” Lyn reasons, but Rachel is not having it.
“Come on, there has to be a way I can get him back that doesn’t derail his focus on hockey or classes. What if I hide a snake in his bed?”
Before Lyn can respond, she clarifies.
“A non-poisonous one. Like the cute one that the zoo guy was holding in the underwear photo shoot.”
“Didn’t he hold a spider?” Ash asks, and Calvin fakes offence.
“How do you know what he was holding?” Calvin asks.
“I’ve got eyes, and those ads were everywhere when it first came out.”
“I’m sure he was the reason a few guys came out.” Rachel chuckles, and Lyn just shakes her head. Jo hasn’t said a word since we got here, but that’s not unusual for him. He’s a quiet guy, but even a quiet guy has his limits.
“No snakes, turn around, and get ready to cheer again because here comes our boy,” Jo says, and all of our eyes go to the other side of the ice as Cosmo’s team comes back out. They’re skating tall, determined, ready. He’s got this.
***
When he got back on the ice before the end of the second period, he made a killer pass to Hewie, and they scored. He was close enough to take a shot on goal himself, but Hewie was wide open, and Cosmo had the attention of the goalie and one of their defenders. He totally had them fooled. He raised his stick to take the shot, then swept the puck over to Hewie, who sent it in. The way they all celebrated was intense.
Luca practically launched himself into Cosmo’s arms, and when Chang met up with them, they head butted each other. I learned a few months back now, that the head butt thing is a good luck ritual they started forever ago and like all other good luck things these guys believe in, the superstition will hold strong even after we’ve graduated and possibly retired.
We’re up by one, and everyone is watching the clock as the timer runs down the last three minutes, but I’m watching Cosmo. He hasn’t slowed down since he stepped on the ice, even when his coach called him back onto the bench, he was up and down from his seat, calling out to his teammates. Not that I think they could hear him over the deafening crowd.
Reddy is a ninja tonight. He’s saved thirty-seven shots on goal and looks just as fired up now as he did when he stepped in front of the net.
Two minutes left. The other team has the puck, Cosmo is after them, but before they even cross into Boston’s side of the rink, the guy shoots. The puck hits the back wall to the left of the net, and the players all move over to one of the circle things.
“Why are they going up there again?” I ask as the players head into the opposing team’s side of the rink.
