Chapter 43 Cameron
forty-three
Cameron
The thrill of facing off tonight against Jack Ledger is intoxicating.
Almost as intoxicating as being with his ex-girlfriend.
Zhuri isn’t some consolation prize in this decade-long petty rivalry between us, but knowing I’m giving her what he never could makes me a real smug bastard.
“Listen up!” I shout, Zhuri standing next to me as we look out at our rowdy teammates crowding in the tunnel to the rink.
“We might not be at home, but that doesn’t mean we can’t treat this like a home game.
There’s a lot of purple and cyan out there tonight in the sea of red and black, so we have plenty of fan support even here in LA. ”
Zhuri adds on. “Play like you did last night, and I know we can take this win over the Lasers. Jack Ledger might be their best center, but Cam and I went to college with him. We know his weak spots. Listen to what we tell you, and he won’t get anything over on us.”
“And if you get a chance to smack him,” I smirk, “feel free to do so.”
Asher chuckles. “No love lost between you two?”
“Fuck no. Jack and I hated each other. But we also stand up for our teammates, and he’s Zhuri’s ex.”
Michael looks at me curiously. “Why do you care who she dated?”
“I don’t,” I lie, trying to play it off because I really don’t like the fact that he asked that question, and I hope that’s not written on my face. “I’m just encouraging us to stand up for our co-captain.”
He stares at me for another few seconds before seemingly accepting that.
Nico looks at Zhuri. “I didn’t know you dated Jack Ledger.”
She rolls her eyes. “We broke up a decade ago. I don’t give a shit about him anymore. Nobody needs to hit him on my behalf.”
Theo smiles deviously. “Fine, but if he has words about my co-captain, I’m dropping the gloves.”
The team laughs because it’s exactly like Theo to pick a fight. He’s known as a bruiser for a reason.
Z says something positive to encourage the team before the game gets started. We’re called out to the ice, and while we are booed, there are still a good number of fans cheering loudly for us.
When the Lasers come out, I do my best to ignore Jack. The last thing I need right now is for him to get under my skin.
Once the anthem is sung—their singer isn’t nearly as good as Ivy, according to Nico—we line up for the faceoff.
With Jack now standing in front of me, I physically can’t ignore him.
And he fucking knows it.
“Long time, no see, Kovacic.”
“Saw you last season when the Lizards kicked the Leopards’ ass in the playoffs. It’s not been long enough, Ledger.”
“Not happening today,” Jack affirms. “You got lucky with your win against the Axolotls last night, Cam.”
“Cameron,” I correct, looking him straight in the eyes. “Only friends call me Cam.”
Zhuri shouts over at me. “Just ignore him. He wants to get under your skin, Cam.”
Jack raises his eyebrow at me, and I just shrug. “Like I said, only friends call me Cam.”
“Wow,” he laughs. “I actually feel bad for her.”
Zhuri rolls her eyes. “I don’t need or want your fucking pity, Jack. Pay attention, and play the damn game.”
Pride courses through me.
Zhuri has never needed anyone to stand up for her, and it’s sexy as hell how she won’t take anyone’s shit.
Probably why I fell in love with her.
…
What?!
Where the fuck did that come from?
Who am I trying to fool?
It’s pretty obvious that I’m in love with Zhuri. We’ve only been together for a month after spending more than a decade hating each other, so I have no plans to tell her any time soon, but finally admitting it to myself feels really damn good.
If only there weren’t the complication of her being my teammate to prevent us from going public.
I guess we’ll both retire eventually…
The ref gets our attention now, and the game starts. The Lasers manage to win the faceoff, but we snag the puck quickly, though Wes’s shot doesn’t go in.
We go through multiple line changes before Nico finally sinks one in on his second shift.
The rest of the first period is scoreless. We might not get any more goals, but at least Lev doesn’t give any up either.
Jack seems to have made it his mission to fuck with my head now.
We line up again for the faceoff at the start of the second period, and Jack smirks at me, trying to get under my skin.
“What’s it like being friends with Zhuri?” he asks. “You used to fuck any woman that gave you the time of day.”
“That’s not who I am now.”
He keeps prodding, but I keep ignoring him.
When the ref drops the puck, I smack it over to Wes, who starts heading down the ice. Jack covers me while I follow after him, determined to not let me get by.
Wes passes the puck over to Zhuri before one of the Lasers’ defenders knocks him into the boards. Z snags it but can’t go anywhere since she’s surrounded.
“Cam!” she shouts, passing it over to me right between Jack’s legs. I take control of the puck and speed down the ice, Jack still on my tail but falling further behind.
I bring my stick back for a wrist shot, and I send it right into the back of the net.
The buzzer sounds, and the Comets fans in the stands cheer as my teammates congratulate me on my first goal of the preseason.
We start skating back to center ice for the faceoff, and Jack follows me like a shadow.
“Nice shot, Cam.”
“Cameron,” I huff.
“I don’t believe that you’re not fucking around anymore,” he smirks.
“Then it’s a good thing I don’t care what you think.”
“I’ll tell you anyway,” he says, speeding up and stopping right in front of me. “I think you want to have some fun with your ‘friend.’”
I try to shove past him. “No-fraternization clause, dumbass.”
“So?” Jack eyes me. “Zhuri’s always been a little rebellious when no one is looking. She was a lot of fucking fun in the bedroom.”
“Watch it, Ledger,” I say through gritted teeth, and his smile only grows because he knows he has me.
“She was great on her knees. So good at sucking dick.”
All I see is red as I drop my gloves and rip off my helmet. Jack laughs as he follows suit because this is exactly what he wanted.
“Watch your fucking mouth,” I shout, swinging my fist at his face. “Keep Zhuri’s name out of it.”
“Such a strong reaction for being friends,” he smirks, dodging my next punch. “Seems to me like you want your own dick sucked.”
He lands a punch on my face, and I can feel blood coming from my lip. It doesn’t seem bad, but it still stings.
I push him down on the ground and grab him by the collar of his jersey as I straddle his legs. The refs are blowing their whistles and darting to us, so I make sure I can finish this quickly.
“She already did, motherfucker.” I lean closer, getting right in his face.
“Zhuri’s mine now, Jack. I don’t want to ever hear her name from your mouth again.
You’re no one to her, just the piece of shit ex that decided what she wanted wasn’t what mattered.
But don’t worry. I’m taking better care of her than you ever did. ”
I take one final swing at him before the refs pull me off, and my fist lands right over his eye.
Good. He deserves a black eye.
Zhuri stares between us wide-eyed because she knows that she’s at the center of this.
I just smile at her sheepishly, my teeth probably red and bloody.
Jack and I both receive 5-minute major penalties for fighting, and I get a 2-minute minor for instigating on top of it.
I reacted to Jack’s words, sure, but from what they could see, I started this fight.
Bullshit, but whatever.
I skate over to the penalty box with pride. I’ve never been a fighter, preferring to let my teammates handle that, but I’d fight Jack again a thousand times over to keep him from talking about my girlfriend that way.
The team changes lines for the faceoff, and Zhuri skates over to the bench.
She keeps glancing over at me, trying not to make it obvious, but I see her anyway.
She wants to tell me that I didn’t need to do that… but her smile tells me she’s glad I did anyway.
I think I catch a few glances from Michael as well, but that’s probably just in my head.
Clara scores a goal in the third period, and we win the game with Lev getting his first shutout of the season.
But all I care about right now is getting Zhuri alone.
With all the adrenaline running through me after the shit Jack said, I want to show her exactly how much she means to me.