Chapter 30
LIVELY
“You cocky son of a—” Brad started forward, but Derek grabbed his arm. His other teammates stood behind them, their faces slashed with enraged frowns that only made me grin even wider.
What, was he going to throw a punch when proving his shit on ice was the only way to go here? I didn't mind him doing that, since it'd only prove how much of a bitch he really was.
“ Fine ,” Derek spat, his face mottled with rage. “Secondary rink. Twenty minutes. First to three.” He spat and spun on his heel, stomping away like a tantrum-throwing toddler.
“Make it five,” I called after their retreating backs. “Wouldn't want anyone saying you didn't have a fair chance when we're done embarrassing you.”
When they were gone, I turned to find Hailey watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read.
“I don't need you to defend me,” she said, but there was something in her voice I'd never heard before. Something that made my heart skip a beat. It made her tone soft, even though her words carried an edge to them.
So, I met her gaze steadily and gave her my honest answer. “I know. But I wanted to anyway.” I said. “Besides, those bastards should’ve faced me , not you. I was just reminding them who their opponent really is.”
She studied me for a long moment, her brown eyes shuttered.
I honestly couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
Did it matter? Yes, of course, there was never a time when I didn’t want to know what exactly she thought when she looked at me but, right in this moment, I just really loved how her eyes were on me .
“And, hey, I’m sorry for including you in the match without asking you first. Are you gonna be up for it?”
Hailey huffed out a near soundless laugh. “Listen to him asking me after the fact. What are you going to do if I refuse?” She asked, one brow arching up.
I visibly deflated, but she had the right to. I couldn’t force her to play with me no matter how much I wanted it.
“Oh, my bad,” I said, pasting on a wooden grin, “I can ask Dylan. I’m sure he’ll—”
Hailey rolled her eyes at me, and turned, already moving with that predatory grace I loved watching. "Let’s get those practice nets first.” She said and I held my breath.
Shit, shit, shit. I’d messed up, hadn’t I? Of course, she’d probably be uncomfortable playing against those two assholes—
Hailey turned to look at me and, for the first time since meeting her, her lips curved into a small smile in front of me, and it literally transformed her entire face.
Her sharp cheekbones melted into something softer, and it was such an ethereal vision that it made my chest squeeze painfully tight.
Holy shit. She was smiling at me. Actually smiling at me .
“Then, we can go remind those assholes why they never make it past the damn preliminaries.” She said, and even though I heard what she said, I couldn’t repeat it with a gun to my head.
I blinked, still staring at her mouth. “Do that again.”
The space between her brows creased with confusion. “What?”
“Your smile.” The words tumbled out before my brain could catch up with my mouth. “Do it again.”
That crease deepened into an exasperated scowl, and I realized people could grieve the death of smiles. Even the small ones. Especially the small ones. Because I was grieving right now.
“Are you a fucking idiot?” She snapped, facing forward, “Now I can’t even tell if we’re going to win this match anymore with your brain going off on stupid tangents like that.”
“Hey, wait up!” I called after her, jogging to catch up. “You don’t have even a little faith in me?”
“No.” Her flat reply came, but I could hear the edge of sarcasm in that one word.
This was going to be so much fun.
“Are you both crazy?!”
It was going to be fun. It was. I just—I just had to weather the storm of our coaches' collective rage first.
“You’re supposed to be the Captains here.” Coach Hawkins stepped in, no doubt to give Coach Gunner some time to calm himself down before he ruptured a blood vessel. Especially the ones in his eyes. They looked so bloodshot that, if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he was high as a kite.
And that’s your fault. Well, potato, potahto , you know?
But Coach Hawkins wasn’t any better. Oh, she was calm, but I could feel the anger radiating off of her. “Both of you are meant to be the ones keeping your teams in check. But, instead of that, what do you do? Challenge the Riverside Rebels to a match?”
Yes, basically . I pressed my lips together, however, glancing at Hailey who stood, arms folded, at my side.
She had a determined glint in her eye that made me tremble with anticipation.
I knew that look. It was the same one she wore before demolishing her opponents on the ice—the one that made something warm unfurl in my chest every. Single. Time .
“They insulted both our teams. Did you expect us to stand by and just let them get away with this? Save the lecture for when we win this.” Hailey cut in, her voice carrying that edge of cold steel I'd come to associate with her game face.
I winced. Maybe not the best thing to say to our fuming coaches, but damn if I didn't admire her spine of titanium.
The rink around us was charged with electricity.
On our side, the Blizzard Belles and Rink Runners had formed a united front—enemies turned allies in the face of Riverside's continued jackassery. It had to be damn art if they’d managed to piss the Blizzard Belles off as well.
How the hell had they even had the chance to cross paths with female athletes in a whole different division?
Across the ice, the Rebels lounged against the boards, all fake casualness and smug grins. The air between our teams crackled with years of bitter rivalries and cheap shots.
“Those assholes really think they can get away with this?” Dylan scoffed from somewhere behind me.
“It’ll be fun watching them get crushed.” And I was pretty sure that was Zoe, her fiery temper shining through the words.
Yeah, both our teams were eager for this showdown match. I and Hailey were representing both our teams right now, and I wasn’t going to let them down. Not in this.
Coach Gunner had, at least, gathered himself, even though his expression was stone cold. “If you’re determined to do this—"
"We are," Hailey and I said in unison. I caught her quick glance my way, something unreadable flickering in those brown eyes that made my heart stutter.
"Then don't embarrass us," Coach Hawkins finished, her voice tight with barely contained fury. But there was something else there too—a glimmer of pride, maybe?
All three coaches, including Riverside's Coach Evans, gathered at center ice, their heated discussion carrying across the rink in indistinct waves.
I took the moment to study our opponents.
Derek and Brad were doing their pre-game stretches, deliberately showy, trying to intimidate.
Classic Riverside tactics—all flash, no fucking substance.
“Time,” Coach Evans barked.
My heart kicked up as Hailey and I glided onto the ice. The familiar bite of cold air, the scrape of blades—I knew this was going to be an all-in game. We took our position opposite Derek and Brad, who wore matching sneers.
“Hope you're ready to eat ice, princess,” Brad drawled at Hailey.
She didn't even blink. Her focus was laser-sharp, body coiled like a spring. I recognized the stance—a predator waiting to strike. God, she was magnificent when she got like this.
“And I’ll personally feed it to you when you lose.” I bit the words out at them, and their focus snapped towards me, their lips curling downward in a way that made me want to knock them the hell out.
“Listen to the soy boy running his mouth.” Derek laughed before wearing his helmet so that his eyes gleamed bright and fucking crazy behind it.
Alright, bet . I thought, jaw clenched. Kicking their asses was the best answer.
The puck dropped.
Derek lunged for it, but Hailey was already in motion, a blur of calculated grace.
She knocked it free with a precise flick of her stick, the puck sliding perfectly between his skates.
I scooped it up at full speed, cutting wide as Brad barreled toward me like a freight train.
These guys always telegraphed their moves—all brute force, no finesse.
“Baleman!” I called, sending a backhand pass her way just as Brad crashed into me.
The hit rattled my bones, vibrating through my chest, but I absorbed it, kept my feet.
The pain was worth it to watch Hailey execute a perfect toe-drag around Derek's desperate poke check.
She shifted her weight, lightning-quick, and rifled the puck into the top corner with surgical precision.
1-0.
“Yeah!” The rink exploded into cheers as both our teams slammed their hands against the glass.
“That’s our Captain!” Behind the boards, the Blizzard Belles were shouting, their faces split into triumphant grins.
I turned to look at our opponents. The bastards weren’t thrilled with the quick win, and it showed, because the next face-off turned brutal.
Brad charged straight for Hailey, building speed, clearly hoping to use his size advantage.
I read the play before it developed, intercepting the hit that would've caught her blind.
The impact drove the air from my lungs, sent pain shooting through my shoulder, but Hailey had already capitalized on that.
She deked forehand-backhand, making Derek look like he was skating in molasses, before roofing another one while they were scrambling to recover position.
2-0.