18. Bryce
Bryce
“There he is,” Colt says loudly as I enter the locker room for morning skate. “Mr. Front Page himself!”
After Hadley and I hung up last night, I looked up the article online. Never in a million years did I imagine that a young photographer who seemed so unsure of himself would land us on the front page of a local newspaper. “You’re just jealous you’re not in the newspaper,” I counter.
“Nah,” Micah says, snapping his towel in Colt’s direction. “He’s jealous no one is looking at him like your girl was looking at you in that photo.”
The mention of the photo sends warmth through my chest. The soft smile on her face, her hand on my chest like it belonged there… I might have called our PR person and asked her to see if she could get her hands on a copy of that photo. I want to frame it.
“Hey,” Colt says. “I’ll have you know. Women look at me all the time.”
“Yeah,” Tyson says. “They’re trying to figure out what’s wrong with you.”
Colt rolls his eyes. “The only thing wrong with me is that I’m not going to settle for a puck bunny.”
My eyes snap to his. “That might be the first mature thing you’ve said this entire tournament.”
“On that note,” Tyson says. “We did well during practice yesterday. Let’s make sure we're on point for today’s game. If we lose this one, we’re done.” He grimaces. “I don’t know about you guys, but that’s not how I plan to go out.”
Morning practice goes smoothly. It seems like we’ve finally found our rhythm on the ice. That’s the hard part about these kinds of tournaments. Practice time is limited, and it takes time to learn each other’s rhythms on the ice.
“Now,” Coach says as we cool down in the locker room. “Skate like that tonight, and we have a real chance at winning.”
“Yes, Coach,” several guys say at the same time.
Once everyone’s cleaned up and back on the bus back to the hotel, I pull out my phone and check my messages. I smile when Hadley’s name pops up on the screen.
Hadley: What do you think?
It’s a picture of her in my jersey, a USA flag on one cheek, and a star on the other. Blue ribbons are woven through a complicated braid that falls over her left shoulder.
Hadley: Paige thought I should step up my game.
She’s adorable, but she’d be amazing even without the extras.
Bryce: You are gorgeous.
Bryce: You didn’t need to do that for me. Wearing my jersey is more than I could hope for.
Three dots appear indicating that she’s typing. They stop and start several times before a message finally comes through.
Hadley: I wanted to. I’m excited to be there and cheer for you tonight.
Those words hit something deep inside me. Having Hadley excited to wear my gear, to cheer me on… That’s a rush that feels a lot like stepping onto the ice before a big game.
“Aww,” Colt says, peeking over my shoulder. “She’s wearing your jersey again?”
I clear my throat, swallowing down the lump of emotion threatening to choke my voice. “Yeah,” I say, holding my finger on the picture to save it to my phone. “She is.”
Tyson leans over the back of the seat to get a better look. When he sees me saving the picture as my phone's wallpaper, he grins. “Oh, he’s gone, gone. Bryce Chambers is in love!”
I shove the back of the seat in front of me, but I can’t bring myself to deny it. “Mind your business,” I mumble instead, causing an eruption of laughter to break out.
“You know Taylor’s going to insist you two come to dinner after the game, right?” Kingston says. “I’m sure she’ll want to introduce her to the other wives and girlfriends.”
Colt elbows me. “You’ve got yourself a Wag, now, Chambers.”
“I don’t know,” I say, hedging. “Hadley works in the morning. She might not be able to stay out.”
“That’s okay,” Kingston says. “If I know Taylor, she’ll make it a point to find her during the game, anyway.”
I make a mental note to warn Hadley later. When my teammates aren’t busy trying to read my texts like nosy school girls.
Back at the hotel, I opt out of eating lunch with the team, deciding to take my food to my room instead. Tonight’s a big night, and I could use some quiet before we head back to the arena, and these guys haven’t been quiet since we left the arena.
The chirping hasn’t stopped since this morning on the bus, but honestly, I don’t even care.
It’s worth it.
She’s worth it.
I can’t wait to see her tonight, dressed in my jersey again and cheering me on.
I just hope that the other women don’t scare her off. Because the last thing I want is Hadley to decide that this world—my world—is too much for her.
Hot water beats against my shoulders as I scrub shampoo through my hair, trying to clear my head before tonight’s game. In hockey, routine matters, and after so many years playing hockey, I’ve learned not to mess with mine.
I tip my head back, letting the water rinse the shampoo out of my hair. When I reach for the soap to wash my body, I notice the suds are green.
That’s weird. I wonder if someone dropped something in here earlier.
I make quick work of finishing my shower and drying off. I’m walking past the sinks and my reflection in the mirror catches my attention.
My heart stops. “What the?—”
I jerk backwards, slipping on the damp floor and nearly busting my butt. I grab hold of the sink and catch myself, though that puts my face closer to the offending mirror.
“There’s no way,” I say, unable to believe the sight in front of me.
My hair, my brown hair, has been dyed green. Not a subtle shade of green, either. Bright green. I look like the Grinch.
I grab a towel and rub it over the offending locks trying my hardest to wipe the green off. When that doesn’t work, I finally accept my fate. I’m cooked.
There’s no time to fix this before the game.
I stomp into the dressing room, my eyes darting around the room until they land on Tyson. “You,” I shout to be heard over the snickering that’s erupting in the locker room. “Did you do this?” I point to the shock of green atop my head.
Tyson throws his hands in the air. “It wasn’t me, man. I’m not behind the pranks.” He chuckles. “Though, I have to say this one might be my favorite yet. Did you ask your mascot? Isn’t your bear from Denver notorious for his pranks?”
I’m about to let out a string of words that would make my mother disappointed in me when Coach comes around the corner and stops dead in his tracks.
The room goes quiet.
“Chambers,” Coach asks, slowly as if he’s afraid I’ll startle like a deer in the forest. “What happened to your head?”
My head whips around and I stare at Tyson. “Someone,” I say, emphasising the word for good measure. “Switched my shampoo for green hair dye.”
“Well, wash it out, it’s almost game time.”
“That’s not how hair dye works,” Kingston says, still chuckling. “It probably has to fade over time.”
“What?!” I shout. “NO way am I sporting GREEN hair for longer than tonight. It’s bad enough I can’t get it fixed right now.”
Oh no! Hadley?!
She’s going to see this mess.
Everyone is going to see this mess.
I groan and cover my face with my hands.
“Well, you can’t go on the ice looking like that,” Coach says.
“What am I supposed to do?” I ask.
“He’ll be fine,” Stone says. “It makes him prettier. Besides, he’ll have his helmet on during the game. No one will even notice.”
Coach grunts. “Fine, but I expect it to be fixed before Game 5.” He shakes his head. “If there is a Game 5,” he mutters under his breath as he walks away.
“It really wasn’t me,” Tyson says again when I give him one last glare before getting dressed for the game.
“Well, whoever it was, better hope I don’t figure it out, because payback is mine!”
I make it onto the ice just a few minutes after everyone else. I’m stretching my quads when I hear the announcer’s voice say my name and the words ‘new hair’ in the same sentence.
“So much for no one noticing,” I mumble. I don’t dare look in Hadley’s direction. I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s thinking.
I go through warmups, stretches, and pre-game stuff all while trying to block out the chirping from every single player on the ice and in the dressing room.
Of all the games to be pranked… It had to be Game 4.
With so much riding on the line, I can’t afford to let it get in my head. So, I do my best to tune everyone out and focus on the game.
The game starts fast. Both sides are determined to play hard and win.
Too bad for the Stripes this little hair stunt has given me the fuel I need to play harder. So when the first period ends, and we’re up 2—1, I feel pretty good about our odds. “Nice play,” I tell Tyson, who’s scored both goals this period.
“Thanks,” he says between breaths. “I’m feeling good.”
I nod. “Me too.”
I sneak a glance at Hadley, who’s talking to Taylor, and remember that I forgot to warn her. I grimace. My only saving grace is that Taylor is a sweetheart, and I’m sure she’ll make sure Hadley’s not too overwhelmed.
The second period starts, and it’s even more intense than the last. Liam Maddox gets an unassisted goal in the first five minutes, and after two more go in, I’m starting to think we may not have this in the bag after all.
Finally, Tyson gets his hat trick with an assist from Stone and Levi, tying the score to 3—3. Hats rain down and the arena is loud. Fans are cheering and booing so fast that it’s all blurring together. Then, Dante scores, and I jump up and whoop. We’re back in the lead.
My eyes find Hadley again, and she’s bouncing up and down. Her face is lit up with a gigantic smile.
“It’s nice, right?” Kingston says, grabbing his water and chugging.
“Being up?” I ask, confused.
“No.” He nods toward the spot where Taylor is still talking to Hadley. “Having someone who matters cheering for you.”
My eyes find Hadley again, and I smile. “Yeah, it really is.”
“Let’s win this and take our girls for some dinner, shall we?”
If the first two periods were tough, the third period is a dogfight. We’re not even on the ice for five minutes when Dante gets hit with a five-minute penalty for high-sticking Taz Houlihan, causing him to bleed onto the ice.
We’re halfway through the period, and no one has scored.
Then, it’s like the ice opens up and we score two in less than five minutes.
I see an opening. I skate hard, swipe the puck from an East player, and aim a wrist shot toward the net.
It goes in, and I drop to my knees in celebration.
As I stand, my linemates skate over to celebrate with me.
My eyes find Hadley in the stands and I blow her a kiss.
We’ve taken the lead!
When the buzzer signals the end of the game, the bench explodes in celebration. Sticks slam against boards as the guys leap over the boards and out onto the ice, shouting and cheering like mad.
We did it! The series is tied and we’ve survived to play Game 5.
I skate up to the glass where Hadley’s hugging Paige and shake off my glove. We press our hands to the glass in a high five that lingers, full of meaning. I nearly tell her I love her right then and there. The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I bite them back.
“We did it!” I shout instead, before skating off to join the handshake line.
“Tonight’s third star of the game,” a deep voice booms. “Bryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyce Chambers!”
The announcement doesn’t register at first. Then Tyson shoves my shoulder. “That’s you, idiot.”
The crowd cheers as I skate out into the center of the ice and wave my stick in the air, my eyes on Hadley the entire time.
She’s beaming, and it makes this moment so much sweeter.
Our mascot, Liberty Bear, thrusts a rolled-up t-shirt into my gut and I throw it over the glass.
For a second, I contemplate the chances of the man under the suit turning my hair green.
He knows my routine, but this kind of prank isn’t his style.
Levi gets the second star, and Tyson takes the first star with his hat-trick performance.
“Well done,” Coach says once everyone’s in the locker room.
“Maybe you should keep the green hair,” Tyson calls out, grinning. “Seems to be good luck.”
I laugh, too excited over tonight’s win to care about the hair right now.
“NO!” Coach says, pointing a finger at me. “I still expect—he waves his hand in a circular motion—that, to be fixed before the next game.”
“But Coach! We won! He can’t change it now!” Xavier argues.
“Even I’m not that superstitious,” Coach says, shaking his head.
The guys keep chirping about my hair as I strip out of my gear, but I barely hear them. All I can think about is getting out of this locker room and finding Hadley.