Page 99 of Play Your Part

Tears stung my eyes at the memory of what this celebration used to feel like.This one’s for you, Mom.

“It’s good to see you here, kid,” a familiar voice said behind me when I settled back into my seat. Bertram, the friendly older man who held season tickets and always talked my mom’s ear off about the team. “Hasn’t been the same since.”

I nodded at him and allowed a small smile. “Thank you. It’s… good to be back.”

When Alexei tied the game off a power play at the start of the third period, I needed no encouragement from Deandra to get to my feet. He skated across the ice to Zach, who had perfectly placed the pass that led to the goal. The force of Alexei’s hug slammed Zach back into the boards as the rest of their on-ice teammates surrounded them.

The team started to feel like mine again.

Once I was back in my seat, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to send Gemma a text about the post goal hug when I saw an unread message from her.Are you okay?

All thoughts of joking about the hugs left me.Deandra’s here,I wrote back.

The three dots appeared immediately as if she’d been waiting for my response.I know.

I shook my head, glancing at Deandra, but she was focused so intently on the screen—scrutinizing something to discuss with her team later—she didn’t notice.You fucking meddlers.

What are best friends for?

The two teams battled through the rest of the period, each with several close scoring chances. Every near-goal by the Wolves elicited a collective inhale from the crowd, followed by a groan. With less than two minutes left, Alexei scored the go-ahead goal, deflecting in a puck sent toward the net by Briggsy. The crowd went berserk—Deandra and I along with them.

Alexei had been a controversial signing, one many Wolves fans didn’t support. The rallying cry against him grew stronger after the Wolves traded Justin. Now, halfway through the season, the crowd chanted Alexei’s name—Volk, Volk, Volk—as they named him the first star of the game.

I spun in my seat, looking at the large, screaming crowd. My mom would have loved this.

He sat on the empty bench next to a rink-side correspondent for an interview, grinned at the crowd, and said into the mic, “I love you all.”

The crowd’s chantinggrew louder. Alexei’s cheeks flushed, and he gave a little wave.

My heart squeezed—my mom would have loved him too, for this team. And for me.

“Alexei, walk us through that last goal. What was going through your mind?”

He ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair. “I saw Matty coming away with the puck and pushing it up to Briggsy, so I knew I had to get to the goal. Luckily, I got a good bounce and was able to sneak it past their goalie to put this thing away.”

“We’ve watched you play your heart out for this team all season, but it seemed like you dug deep and found another gear tonight.”

He let out a choked laugh. “You could say that.”

“Anything, in particular, inspire you?”

“You mean other than this crowd?” Alexei said, a placating statement the crowd ate up like the last piece of cake before a diet. When they quieted, he leaned closer to the mic. “There’s someone here tonight who I wanted to impress. I wanted to give her a win.”

Deandra nudged me with her shoulder as my breath caught. I didn’t want to admit how much I cared about him, afraid to be left behind because I wasn’t good enough. But pretending I didn’t love him to protect myself didn’t make the feelings disappear.

The interviewer opened her mouth to say something, but Alexei tilted the mic in his direction. “That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

“Can you take me to him?” I asked Deandra.

A devious smile stretched across her face. “Of course I can. Not that you need an escort with your name on the side of the arena.”

I bounced on the balls of my feet. “Okay, okay, can we go?” I wasn’t worried I would change my mind or lose my nerve, but now that I’d decided to go after what I wanted, I didn’t want to wait.

Nerves snuck into my stomach while I stood outside the media room, listening to Alexei charmingly answer their questions. Deandra ran off, I suspected, to get a camera, a thought that made me cringe, but it didn’t last. The first sound of his deep laugh made me forget every worry. I wanted to hear that laugh every day for the rest of my life.

“All right, thank you, guys,” Alexei said. I heard the scrape of his chair, and suddenly, he stood in front of me, halting his steps as soon as his gaze landed on me. His gray Wolves T-shirt looked fresh, and a green baseball cap sat backward on his head.

I swallowed, taking in his muscular forearms and biceps, pressing the limits of his shirt’s short sleeves, until finally, I landed on his face. No trace of smugness lingered there today, only the damned double-dimple grin.

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