27. Shayba
Shayba
BECKER
Dad called.
Just as I pulled into the arena parking lot on game night.
I heard his agent's tone, so I knew he wasn’t just calling to wish me luck on the first official game of the season.
“Someone from Seattle is coming to watch the game.”
Excitement bubbled in the pit of my stomach when I heard the news. My dream team. The Seattle Guardians have been my dream team since the first time I was put in a pair of skates as a child. The team Brett Bergen—Dad’s best friend and Genevieve’s father—won three back-to-back cups with.
“They’re coming to watch Mack.”
Of course. I should have known not to get excited. Everything is always about him.
“But I told them to keep an eye out for you too. So show them what you’ve got, Becks. Make me proud.”
My dream team wants my brother. Like pretty much every other NHL team out there. And, like the shrewd agent he is, Dad threw me into the mix too.
He would do that for any other client, and I can’t fault my old man for doing what’s right, both on a professional and on a personal level.
My parents have never made me feel unloved.
But there’s never been any doubt about who’s number one.
Mack is the star on and off the ice. The golden child.
Dad’s words have been swirling around in my head since we said goodbye.
I know I need to snap out of it and focus on tonight’s game, but I can’t. I’ve been sitting on the bench by my locker, taping my stick as if my fucking life depended on it.
Coach Harrison came to give us a pep talk, and I nodded and responded appropriately. But I couldn’t repeat one word he said.
The same thing goes for Mack’s speech. His first official address to the team as captain.
Mack is focused, determined, and confident. The locker room responds to him with respect and enthusiasm. He isn’t just one of the best players in the division; he’s a leader.
I’m sure he knows about the scout. Dad must have told him, like he told me. If Mack’s nervous about tonight’s game though, he doesn’t give it away.
“Let’s give ‘em hell.” He claps me on the shoulder as I walk past him on my way out of the locker room.
His normal intensity is at an all-time high. Maybe, like in my case, he still dreams of following in Dad’s footsteps by playing for his old team.
There’s no doubt that Mack will be spoiled for choice when it’s time to sign a contract.
I step onto the ice for warmups determined to start the season with the same grit and determination.
Focus on your own game. Mack isn’t thinking about you right now. Show Seattle that there isn’t just one Shayba worthy of their interest.
Those are the famous last words.
Every ounce of my focus disappears the second I spot her.
Talia is sitting right behind our bench. She’s absolutely breathtaking, but that isn’t what makes me bite on my mouthguard so hard that I poke a hole in it.
The woman I’ve been crushing on since the second I laid eyes on her is wearing a number nineteen jersey.
Mack’s number.
Fuck. It doesn’t get more official than that.
As my brother skates toward her, I turn my back to them.
A bitter taste coats my tongue, and I recognize it for what it is. I want Talia, but she already made her choice. And I can’t blame anyone but myself for this.
I can’t be mad at Mack for taking his shot when he had no idea I was into Talia.
My mind goes back to the night we met, when I had a chance and I hesitated.
Things might be hopeless now with her, and I know I can never get back that opportunity to see if we could have been more. She’s my brother’s girl, and no matter how much I want her, that makes her off-limits. But I’m not going to make the same mistake again.
From now on, I’m going to go for what I want and take no prisoners. I want a contract with Seattle, and it’s up to me to make that happen.
It’s with that determination that I take my spot on the starting line. We’ve been practicing with Colsen Thomas as center forward, but he came down with a head cold and Coach Harrison has him benched tonight. So our starting center is Vaughn Heston.
We haven’t played much on the same line, but he’s one of the players with the most potential. It’s up to me and Mack to work with him to the best of our abilities.
Heston wins the first face-off, and in the blink of an eye, Mack and I are charging forward. We flank him as the Portland d-men get in his way, ready to steal the puck.
From what I’ve seen, Heston usually shoots left. But as one defenseman blocks his way, the other one turns to cover Mack.
I’m as free as a bird and Vaughn shoots the puck to me with surgical precision, avoiding our opponent’s stick.
Flying down the ice before Portland’s defense can catch up with me is second nature.
It’s just me and the goalie, and this time I don’t hesitate. I unleash a wrist shot that hits the net’s top left corner as the goalie leaps in the opposite direction. The lamp lights up before there’s even one full minute on the clock, and the arena erupts.
My teammates storm me, slapping my back and congratulating me. My brother hugs me.
“Fuck, yeah.” He grins, pulling me into a hug.
There’s nothing but pride and joy in his eyes. No trace of jealousy or resentment. But as I hug him back, my eyes drift to her.
Talia is jumping and screaming like the rest of the arena. She’s looking at me, and for a second, everything else fades away.
I know that means nothing. She’s a Cove Knight supporter, so she’d celebrate the same way no matter who scored.
A part of me, though, feels like that smile is for me and me only. I want to see her smile like that at me again, and it’s with that goal that I take my place on the ice for puck drop.
Macklin
We win six-zero.
The arena goes into a frenzy when I seal the deal with a record-breaking slapshot.
Both Becks and I scored hat tricks, but we couldn’t have done it without Vaughn.
Tonight he was on fire, providing four assists and dominating the ice.
Our opponents had no chance in hell against his tactical genius and the firepower Becks and I bring to the table.
But my eyes go straight to her, ignoring all my teammates and the deafening noise of all our fans.
Talia is a fucking vision in my jersey and I can’t wait to celebrate later. Maybe I’ll ask her to keep that jersey on while I sink home into that tight, perfect pussy.
She’s all I’ve been able to think about since last night. If I knew I had it bad for her before, now that I know how she feels when she’s coming all over my cock, there’s no going back.
The only thing that ruins what would otherwise be a perfect picture is the fact that our relationship isn’t real.
Talia agreed to be my girlfriend in return for my help in helping her score. With my brother.
A pang of guilt constricts my chest as I blow her a kiss before stepping off the ice, heading back to the locker room.
Last night didn’t mean the same thing to her that it meant to me. I can lie to myself as much as I want, but the way she was looking at Becks tonight tells me that she still wants him. And he wants her. He practically played for her tonight.
Not everything is lost, though. Because she might want Becks, but I don’t think she’s with me just because of our deal.
The way she kissed me, the way she looked at me when I was inside her and we were moving together wasn’t fake.
Whatever she feels for my brother, I know Talia has some feelings for me too.
My first instinct would be to do everything in my power to keep her to myself in the hopes that I can show her how great we are together. That we were made for each other. That we could be the real deal. Forever.
But for that to happen, I need to solve the Becks problem.
The only way I can turn our relationship into something real and permanent is by allowing Talia to get my brother out of her system. It’s risky, because if they get together, she might end things with me. But I know I didn’t imagine things. It isn’t just chemistry between us; it’s more.
The problem is that even if I asked her to end our fake relationship and be my real girlfriend, I would always wonder if she still has feelings for my brother.
I could keep her away from Becks. I know my brother wants her, but I also know that he wouldn’t try anything with her as long as she is with me. He would never go behind my back. And I know the same is true for Talia. If we were real, she would never cheat.
A plan forms in my head.
The only way I can get her to realize that we’re perfect together without wondering what if and without losing her to my brother is to be right there when they act on the attraction between them.
With a bit of luck, they’ll both realize that there’s no real spark there. There can’t be, right?
If not, I’m sure that Talia will see that what she and I have together is better and stronger.
I think I have the perfect way to make this happen, too. My possessive nature rebels against the idea of letting him touch her.
But if I want to make Talia mine forever, this is the only way.
Talia
The amount of attention I would get by being Macklin Shayba’s girlfriend is definitely something I underestimated.
Several people at the game take photos of me in his jersey after they see him skating up to me and blowing a kiss in my direction after every goal he scores. And tonight he scored three, so it’s like there’s a giant spotlight right on me the entire time.
I was born and raised in Star Cove, so I know everyone in town; but on campus, things were slightly different. There are so many students who have no idea who I am, and that has been comforting in a way.
Guess that’s a thing of the past as a few students and faculty come to congratulate me after the game.
As if I had anything to do with Macklin’s awesomeness on the ice.
I bet they wouldn’t be so quick to want to get close to me if they knew that this is all a ruse.
And the worst part is that this doesn’t feel fake to me. Not even a little bit. Especially after last night.