Chapter 42
JAKOB
Iknew what Zane was up to. He wanted to play rough because the last few months had caught up with him and shined a light on the man he really was. He wanted to forever strike out those parts—the good things, I mean. The parts of Zane Hirst I’d fallen in love with.
I wasn’t born yesterday.
At this point, I didn’t even care who won the game.
Though a competitor, part of me had always cared more about the truly important things in life.
Zane was forever focused on its superficialities.
I loved him anyway. In a weird way, I guess I still did.
You can’t just turn your feelings on and off like a faucet.
On the other hand, he’d been a total asshole.
I shouldn’t have been expected to deal with anyone who would cheerfully display his childish and cruel behavior.
Even if I didn’t want other guys per se, I could still do better than him.
After all, he didn’t have the biggest and best cock in Buffalo.
I didn’t know who that distinction belonged to but felt sure I could do even better than Zane’s eight inches.
When the horn sounded, we returned to center ice.
I took the face off, snatching up the puck, and raced toward the Riptide end of the rink.
At first, Jax chased, prompting me to fire the puck off to Levi Dunn, who held onto it for a few paces before shooting it back to me.
And then it happened. I couldn’t have seen it coming.
Well, I did see it coming, but only for a split-second.
Zane Hirst rocketed toward me like a mad man—maybe rocketed was the wrong word. He looked like he was moving at breakneck speed, but in reality, he seemed to move in slow motion.
You would think that would leave me an opportunity to defend myself, but it didn’t.
It felt like being in a car accident. I was once involved in an ugly one, so I’m qualified to say.
The whole world slows to a painful crawl while you await impact.
But you can’t brace yourself for it. You feel helpless to do anything about it.
And then the other car finally hits.
Zane hurtled towards me in that very same way. Helpless, all I could do was hope the impact wouldn’t match my fears.
And then the lights went out.