Chapter 51
Nick
Adrenaline slams through my entire body. It feels like fire is blasting through my veins.
I’m breathing hard, shaking with the urge to beat the shit out of this motherfucker for hurting Poppy.
He stares up at me, his face covered in blood, his eyes big with fear.
“Did you hear what I said?” I grit out.
“Y-Yeah.”
“Stay the fuck away from her. If you so much as look at her again, I’ll fucking kill you with my bare hands. Understand?”
When he nods, I punch him in the stomach. He screams in agony, but it just pisses me off more.
“Don’t nod your head. Say you understand me, motherfucker.”
His face twists in pain. “Okay! I understand!” he cries out.
A second later, two security guards appear.
“What’s going on?” one of them asks.
I let go of Brody’s jacket, and he falls to the ground. “This piece of shit physically assaulted my girlfriend. Get him out of here.”
The security guards pull him up and drag him away. I turn back to Poppy, who’s standing up now, staring at me with big eyes.
I walk over to her and cup her face in my hands. “He won’t hurt you again. I promise.”
I scan her face, my entire body tense and on edge.
I think back to a minute ago when I glanced up from where I was standing on the ice with my teammates, waiting for the officials to figure out the penalty they were about to call.
That’s when I saw Brody grabbing Poppy. The angry look on his face. The fear on Poppy’s face. The way she winced when she tried to pull away, and he wouldn’t let her go.
I was off the ice in seconds, scaling the stairs to make it to her. I didn’t think. I just reacted.
I needed to get to her. I needed to protect her.
She wraps her hands around my wrists and gives me a soft smile. “I’m okay, Nick.”
“You’re sure?” I ask.
She nods. “You need to get back down there. You’re in the middle of the game.”
I softly kiss her lips. When we break apart, and I start to walk off, I notice all the people looking at us. I notice all the phones are pointed at me.
I let out a heavy breath. That’s gonna be on social media. Fucking great.
As I hit the ice, everyone is staring at me. Teammates, officials, players from the opposing team.
A rush of self-awareness finally hits me. What I did was against the rules. Fighting isn’t allowed in college hockey on the ice or in the stands.
One of the officials nods at me. “You’re out of the game, son.”
Blake, the alternate captain of our team, starts to argue with the official.
“Look, I know it’s against the rules to do what he did, but he was defending his girlfriend from being attacked,” Blake says. “There should be an exception for something like this.”
The ref doesn’t budge.
Blake starts to put up a fight, but I shake my head at him.
“It’s okay, man. Really,” I say, patting his shoulder before heading off the ice.
I catch Coach Sawyer glaring at me. My stomach sinks. I’m in for the ass-chewing of a lifetime when this game is over.
I don’t regret what I did, though. I’m in for a world of trouble, but I’d do it again. Because I did it to keep Poppy safe, and she’s worth anything.
I sit in Coach Sawyer’s office, in front of his desk, my nerves firing off inside of me as I wait for him to arrive.
A minute later, he walks in and shuts the door behind him. I look over at him, waiting for him to walk over to his desk, but he doesn’t. He just stands there, glaring at me.
I take that as my cue to stand up.
“Coach, I can explain—”
He holds up a hand, cutting me off. “You can explain in a minute. Right now, I’m gonna speak.” He pulls off his suit jacket and tosses it aside. “You’re currently suspended for the next four games.”
I swallow.
“I just got done talking to the half-dozen pro hockey scouts that attended this game. They were all impressed with your performance tonight, until you ran up into the stands to beat the shit out of that guy. They’re wondering if you’re even worth pursuing now.
They’re concerned you’re a hothead that’s going to be a liability to their team if they were to draft you. ”
Disappointment flashes through me.
“On top of that, I have the dean of the school calling me, threatening to fire me since I’ve lost control of the captain of my team.”
Guilt sinks deep into the pit of my stomach. “Coach, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to affect you.”
His hard gaze sharpens as he focuses on me, his hands on his hips. “Are you proud of yourself? Are you happy for the shitshow you caused because you lost your temper?”
I huff out a heavy sigh and shake my head. “No. I’m not.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, studying me. After a tense moment of silence, he speaks. “What the hell was going through your brain, St. George?”
“I didn’t think, Coach. I saw some guy putting his hands on my girlfriend, and I just reacted.”
He lets out a bitter laugh. He scrubs a hand over his face. “That’s just great. I’ve got a romance hero on my team,” he says sarcastically.
Anger pricks up inside of me. It’s fine that he’s mad. I understand that completely. But I’m not going to let him belittle or dismiss what actually happened.
He shakes his head as he scowls at his phone screen. “I hope you’re happy,” he mutters.
“I’m not. But I also don’t regret what I did.
He looks up at me. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t regret it, Coach. Because it was the right thing to do.
” I take a breath and look him in the eye.
“You have every right to be mad at me because you’re right.
I broke the rules. But I did the right thing.
I was protecting my girlfriend from being attacked.
I would hope that you would do the same if you saw your wife or girlfriend being assaulted.
I would hope that you wouldn’t give a shit about the rules when it comes to the safety of the person you love most in the world. ”
He just stares at me, his expression unreadable.
My heart is hammering in my chest. I’ve never talked this bluntly to my coach before. But I can’t help it. He’s probably on the verge of kicking me off the team for good, and this is the only chance I’ll have to talk to him honestly.
“I’m sorry that you’re getting flak from everyone about what I did,” I say. “That’s not fair. But I’m not sorry for what I did. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. And if you don’t want me playing for you because of that, then fine.”
I walk out of his office before he can say anything, adrenaline pumping through me. When I walk into the locker room to grab my stuff, Blake, Travis, and Leo are standing there. Everyone else must have already left.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask.
“We wanted to see how things went for you after meeting with Coach,” Blake says.
A small bit of the anxiety and frustration bombarding me eases seeing my friends here to support me.
“It went about as well as you’d think it would,” I say, tugging a hand through my hair. “I’m suspended for the next four games. And I might be kicked off the team for good.”
Blake’s brow hits his hairline. Same with Leo. Travis looks pissed.
“What the fuck, how could he do that?” Blake says. “Your girlfriend was being attacked.”
“Yeah, did he seriously think you were going to just stand there?” Leo says.
“This is fucking insane,” Travis mutters.
I sit on the bench in front of my stall. I rest my elbows on my knees and let out a heavy breath. I suddenly feel exhausted. I’m glad I showered before meeting Coach because I don’t have the energy to do anything right now.
For a long moment, my teammates stand around me in quiet support. It’s exactly what I need right now. They don’t bother with words of comfort or encouragement. They know I don’t want that. Just seeing them here with me is enough.
“I’m gonna go,” I say. “I need to clear my head.”
They all say they understand.
“Text us if you need anything,” Travis says. “We’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, guys.” I grab my gear bag and head out. I check my phone and see that my parents and Anna texted to check on me. I message them back and let them know that I’ve been suspended and that my status on the team is up in the air.
After I was kicked out of the game, they came to check on me.
Because they were all gone when Brody attacked Poppy, they didn’t see me go into the stands, so they were confused about what happened.
After I explained it to them, they told me they stood behind me one hundred percent, which means a lot.
I walk down the hall, turn the corner, and see Poppy standing there. My girl.
She walks up to me, her beautiful hazel eyes big with worry as she looks at me. She hugs me. I wrap my arms around her tight, burying my face in her hair. I breathe in her sweet scent and relax into her hold. The tension in my muscles starts to fade.
She’s all I need right now.
“Are you okay? How’s your arm?” I ask.
“It’s fine.”
I lean back and gently take her arm in my hand and push up the sleeve of the jersey she’s wearing. When I see the beginnings of a bruise, that rage from earlier starts to flare up inside of me.
I hate that motherfucker for putting his hands on her—for hurting her.
“Nick. I swear I’m good,” she says softly. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “I just finished up a meeting with Coach.”
She cups my face in her hands. “What did he say?”
I tell her everything that went down in our meeting.
Her eyebrow furrows in concern, her eyes teary. She shakes her head. “What? But…Nick, they can’t suspend you. That’s outrageous. You were doing the right thing. You were protecting me.”
I rest my hands on her waist, pulling her close. “They don’t care. All that matters is that I broke the rules.”
“That’s such bullshit.”
I let a small smile break free.
She stares up at me. “What?”
I swipe a chunk of her hair out of her face. “You’re cute when you swear.”
The corner of her mouth lifts like she’s trying not to smile. A second later, her expression sobers. “I’m just so angry for you. It’s not right that they’re trying to punish you for doing the right thing. It’s so unfair.”
I shrug. “Shit’s unfair sometimes.”
She tugs at her ponytail and wipes at her face.
“Hey.” I hold her cheek in my hand, brushing away another tear as it streaks down her face. “Don’t cry, honey.”
She sniffles. “I feel so awful. You might lose out on playing hockey—the thing you love most—because of me.”
I shake my head. “None of this is your fault, Poppy. Don’t you dare even think that.”
Her lips wobble, and my chest feels like it’s going to crack in half. “I’m so sorry, Nick…”
“Don’t. You didn’t do anything wrong,” I say softly.
“But what if this is what costs you your shot at playing pro? I’ll never be able to live with myself.” Her voice breaks.
Emotion surges through my chest. I can’t stand seeing her like this. I can’t stand the thought of Poppy feeling guilty for any of this.
I kiss her softly. “Honey,” I whisper against her lips. “I’d do it all over again for you. No question. If it happened a hundred more times, I’d do it over and over.”
She blinks at me, her big eyes teary. She looks so surprised.
“You would?” she asks.
“Of course I would. You’re the most important thing in my life, Poppy. More important than hockey, more important than making it pro, more important than anything.”
My entire body buzzes as I build up the nerve to say this next part. But I have to say it. I need to say it.
I’m tired of holding it in. I’m tired of hiding my feelings for her.
“I love you.”
Her mouth parts open, and her eyes are as big as saucers.
I swallow hard, my heart thrashing in my chest. “I know that probably sounds crazy, but it’s true. I’m so fucking in love with you.”
She’s quiet as she looks at me.
“I know you’re probably freaked out at hearing me say that, but I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life than how I feel about you, Poppy. And look, I’m not saying this to get you to say it to me, but I just want you to know how I feel and how I don’t regret—”
She presses her mouth against mine, cutting me off. She kisses me hard until I’m panting.
When we break apart, she looks me in the eye and says, “I love you too, Nick.”