19. Breeding Grounds
Breeding Grounds
Bex
I t’s a bloodbath.
The first period is tense and filled with open ice hits, but it’s toward the end of the second period that things take a turn for the worse.
“Oh!” I jump to my feet with the rest of the arena when Connor and Keene seem to have a moment of miscommunication and converge on the puck at the same time… with Kurt between them.
They hit my ex like two freight trains on a collision course, and even someone built like a brick wall like Kurt can’t stay on his feet after that kind of impact.
He falls down to his knees and Connor trips even more, hitting him again and causing Kurt to land face first on the ice.
“Jesus, that looks painful.” Heather winces from her spot on the other side of me.
The referee skates toward the trio of players just as Connor and Keene grab Kurt under his armpits to lift him back to his feet.
The action looks more hostile than friendly, and I can see the blood on Kurt’s face from here.
There’s some kind of animated discussion, and even with most of the arena booing the Bridgeport captain, I can hear Kurt yell.
“They did it on purpose! Are you fucking blind? These fuckers have it out for me tonight. They have been hitting me since the first puck drop.”
I hate to admit it, but Kurt is right.
This is just one of the many contacts between my ex and my guys.
The offensive against Kurt started from the first face-off.
Jamie lost the puck to Kurt, which in itself is strange since my boyfriend has the highest percentage of won face-offs in the entire league.
That meant that Jamie went after Kurt to steal back the puck.
The result was an open ice hit when he caught up with him.
Luke has been playing a hard game, too.
He hit Kurt’s helmet with a fast slapshot, and I’m shocked he didn’t get sent to the sin bin for reckless conduct, but he was able to convince the referee that Kurt appeared out of nowhere after he had taken the shot.
Those are just a few of the incidents that have involved Kurt and one of my guys.
It’s obviously the last straw.
When the referee limits himself to checking on Kurt’s wellbeing without assigning a penalty to the Cove Knights players, my ex loses his temper.
“Shit.” I gasp when he takes his helmet off and drops his gloves.
“Oh, my God.” Candace and Heather both cover their eyes with their hands.
Keene is the one closest to Kurt, and my ex grabs the front of his jersey and jams his meaty fist square in the middle of Keene’s face.
The ex U.S. Army soldier smiles, like he welcomed that strike. His normally white teeth are blood red, and I can’t help thinking how much his face must hurt.
But Keene doesn’t seem affected by the hard blow he just received.
He throws his helmet on the ice and headbutts Kurt, making blood rain from my ex’s nose.
“Motherfucker!” I hear Connor spit from here.
My boyfriend grabs the back of Kurt’s jersey and spins him around, landing another punch on his cheekbone.
It’s two against one, but it doesn’t last long. Luke and Jamie arrive to back their best friends and the rest of the players on the ice follow them shortly.
Before I know it, it’s a full-on brawl between Cove Knights and Bridgeport Tigers. The referees have their job cut out for them in trying to separate the players who take swings at anything that resembles an opponent’s jersey.
When the coaching staff leaves their spots on the benches to join the violence in the arena, I cover my eyes with a groan.
My mind goes to the night I arrived in Star Cove and Connor and Jamie got into a fight on the pier to defend me from a bunch of local thugs who decided they could touch me without my consent.
Back then I was scared that Jamie and Connor could be violent and ruthless like my ex; tonight I know that they’re the total opposite. They would never hurt someone weaker, but they would always step in to protect someone they care about.
Luke was so angry too when he heard about what made me run away from Bridgeport and from Kurt. He promised me that he would leave Kurt alone when they played against Bridgeport; but I know my brother would kill anyone who would even try to hurt one hair on my head.
The one who surprises me the most is Keene. Since the truce imposed by Luke, he’s been nicer to me, but I never would have thought he would risk his good standing with the team for my sake.
Or would he?
He risked everything for his cat when he was deployed. Like Connor, Luke, and Jamie, the former army sergeant is a protector at heart.
“Oh my God,” Candace gushes. “They were fighting your ex for you. That’s so romantic.”
At that moment, the referees finally succeed in stopping the brawl, and my heart literally stops when I see that most of the guys have blood staining their light blue jerseys.
The Bridgeport players, however, aren’t faring any better and are bleeding from a number of cuts and bruises.
There are several bloody spots on the ice, too.
“I don’t know if I would call that romantic.” I sigh. “I hope they don’t all get suspended from the team, or worse.”
Candace reassures me. “I doubt it. I mean, can they suspend everyone on both teams? I mean, even Tucker and the other goalie got out of their crease and joined the fight.”
I have no idea, but in theory both teams could be excluded from this year’s tournament for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“I’m so worried, I’m shaking.” I admit.
The Zeta president takes a pink, bejeweled flask out of her purse. “Open your drinking cup.” She instructs me, unscrewing the top.
I eye the flask suspiciously. “What’s in there?”
“Just some tequila to take off the edge. Trust me, you’ll feel better after that.”
What really makes me feel better is that, after a consultation between the two head coaches and the referees, both teams get a warning and this game is suspended. There’s probably going to be a makeup game at some point during the season.
The warning, however, is that should a scene like the one that just occurred repeat itself, both teams will see more serious penalties under the discretion of the NCAA disciplinary board.
I’m relieved that this is over, at least for now. I know that the guys wanted to make Kurt pay for what he did to me; but I hope that after what happened tonight they understand that the best way to punish Kurt is to beat him at hockey rather than to beat him up.
The two teams were fighting valiantly for the puck, but the game was suspended before either team could score any goals.
The debacle we just witnessed, however, doesn’t dampen Candace’s spirit.
“Ready to party tonight?” She beams, visibly excited. “Tonight’s party is an exclusive mixer with the Gammas at the Zeta house. We have a taco bar and a s’mores station outside.”
“Sounds delicious.” I smile.
Candace rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I had to go all out with some good food and a smaller party to make up for the fact that I’m not caving about redoing the kissing game.
The sisters were very unhappy with me. But by making tonight a mixer, most of the girls are planning to try locking lips with who they think might have been behind the mask during the actual game. ”
“Oh.” I’m not looking forward to the thought that Connor and Jamie will be sought out by a bunch of horny Zetas.
“Don’t worry,” Candace reassures me. “I made it clear that Jamie and Corey aren’t game. They’ll have to guess by exclusion when it comes to them.”
I force a relieved smile onto my face. I can’t say anything about Connor. I trust my boyfriend, though. And actually, if he were cornered by a Zeta trying to kiss him, he probably should go through with it to avoid suspicion. I know it wouldn’t mean anything.
There’s also Keene .
The thought pops into my head, taking me totally by surprise. I don’t know what the heck is going on with me lately. I think this weird truce between us is confusing me. It must be that.
Or maybe it’s that crazy dream I had last week where they were all wearing mask number six. That’s it. I blame these weird feelings on Luke and his insinuations that my mystery kiss was definitely one of my three roommates.
The arena is emptying fast as all the fans leave. The air is thick with disappointment after the initial excitement when the fight broke out.
“Come on, Bex.” Candace rises from her seat once three quarters of the arena is empty and we start climbing our way up and out to the concession stands area.
“Everything is ready at the house, so you and I can go wait for our boyfriends by the players exit. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to this.
I used to be so jealous of the girls who would get to wait for their boyfriends right outside the locker rooms area. I can’t believe I get to do it too.”
I smile at the Zeta president. “I’ll be right there with you. I just need to go use the restroom first. That’s what you get when you finish an entire jumbo drink before the end of the second period. If I don’t go pee now, I don’t think I’m going to make it to the Zeta house.”
“Ok.” Candace smiles. “I’ll come with you then.”
I don’t miss the wistful look she throws to the opposite end of the hallway that leads to the merchandise store and the players area on the other side of the building.
“Don’t worry about me, Candace. I’ll be super quick. You just go ahead.”
She hesitates. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I reassure her. “It’s actually better if you’re there, or the guys might think we’ve already left if they come out before we’re back.”
“Ok.” She nods. “But hurry; the guys will be coming out any minute now.”
I smile before turning on my heel. “Pretty much everyone has left. There shouldn’t be a line to use the bathroom. I’ll be a couple of minutes at most.”
Bex
As predicted, the women’s restroom is deserted, so I do my business and then stop at the line of sinks to wash my hands.