Cayden
TWENTY-NINE
My blades hit the floor as we walk down the hall. A smile curves at my lips, just fighting to come out.
She’s here.
Not only is her gorgeous ass in those seats, but she’s wearing my hoodie.
I felt her before I saw her, like a goddamn magnet being pulled in one direction.
When my eyes finally landed on her, I couldn’t see anything else. The hoodie was just the nail in my coffin.
It was too easy to picture her sitting there at every game.
Too easy to imagine my jersey and number on her body.
Ever since I saw her with Scar eating ice cream, it’s been too easy to picture her in all aspects of my life…permanently.
It’s getting harder and harder to ignore the connection we share. There’s nothing casual about it.
Never has been.
Putting my headphones on when I get to the locker room, I do my best to push away my thoughts and zone out for the next ten minutes. By the time it’s go time, I’m focused to the max as I walk the hall, leading the way with the rest of the starting lineup.
Shifting on my skates, I grip my stick harder and see the world disappear behind the cage of my mask. Sticks are tapped to my pads, and gloves are knocked to helmets.
A brotherhood that can only be felt if you’ve stood in this tunnel and walked this same line.
When the lights dim and my name is called, I hit the ice with purpose. The fans are a distant hum as I reach my net and begin to rough up the ice, getting it exactly the way I want.
I feel her eyes on me every step of the way, and instead of fighting it, I let her seep into me.
A new fire starts to burn deep inside as I warm up my muscles and touch my stick to each side of the net, going through my save motions.
She dances for me.
Tonight, I play for her.
“Get the fuck off,” Kane growls, grabbing the player off of me as I hold the puck from another pressure save. “You get in his net again, and I’m pounding your ass to the ground.”
“Is that supposed to scare me?” The other player grins, trying to bait Kane before he skates away to the opposing team.
Stone is over in the corner talking very adamantly in a ref’s face about his inability to call goalie interference on this douchebag who’s been up my ass all night.
When no penalties are called, Stone skates away, clearly pissed at the miscall.
Flipping my mask up, I squirt my face and take a few in the mouth. It’s been one hell of a game, and every muscle in my body has been used tonight.
With ten minutes left, we’ve got a 3-1 lead, but the way their players are firing at me, I know things can go badly in seconds.
They're getting pissed at all their shots not going in, and it shows. They’ve resorted to being in my space, blocking my views, and doing anything possible to break my concentration.
It’s really starting to piss me off, and if someone else on my team doesn’t kick their ass, next time I will.
Pushing my mask down, I crouch into position for the faceoff. My eyes track the puck as Stone wins the drop and shoots it down to Hayes, taking it to the other side of the rink.
As the minutes tick down, McCormick takes a shot, and it’s deflected off the goalpost. They do a good job at keeping control of the puck until a shot by Hayes is stopped by the opposing team, and they bring it back to my zone.
I drop to my knees in an instant, blocking the shot. Players scramble to the side of me to gain control of the puck. It’s a blur of blades scraping against each other and sticks fighting for the black disc in the middle of it all.
The other team gets a swing in, and I dive onto the puck, but the bastard earlier tries to kick it out from me as his stick hits the side of my helmet.
“Motherfucker,” Kane growls, grabbing the guy by his jersey and hauling him back.
All hell breaks loose as my guys step in to protect me, going for blood this time as a few punches are thrown and gloves are dropped.
It’s a known fact that if you mess with the goalie, you mess with the whole team. I’m a lot harder to replace if I get injured.
I think about joining in just for the fun, but it’s pretty clear from where I stand that they got it under control as I stand up and watch the chaos around me.
When the refs finally break it up, Stone, McCormick, and Kane head to the penalty box along with four on the opposing team.
I watch Foxx and Hayes release the guys they were holding back with a few choice words before they come my way.
“Well, that was fun,” Hayes grins.
“You good, Blade?” Foxx asks.
“Never better,” I grunt. “Let’s finish this game and send these fuckers home.”
“Let’s do it,” Hayes says, tapping his helmet to mine before Foxx does the same.
The rest of the game goes more smoothly now that most of their goons are in the box. Hayes gets a goal on the powerplay and by the time the clock runs out, we get a 4-1 win and two points added to our standings.
Thankfully, I don’t have press tonight, so after my ice bath and shower, I’m ready to get the hell out of here.
The need to see Luna is front and foremost in my mind, and for once, I don’t try to fight or second-guess it. I just accept that I have fucking missed her and need to see her.
I send a quick text to Mae to check in at home as I’m walking toward the exit. She responds immediately that Scar is out like a light next to her, and I smile at the adorable picture she sends before pocketing my phone.
Hoping Luna stayed with Savi and her brothers, I walk out the back entrance in search of her. Fans are lined up along the security fence, and when I see a couple of kids wearing my jersey, I take the time to sign a few things before walking over to where I see Knox and Savi.
My eyes scan the group, and when I see Luna talking to Travis, it takes everything in me not to scoop her up and kiss her right there in front of everybody.
That would cause questions, though, to answers I don’t have. I need to figure out what this is first before I get her family and friends involved.
“There’s our guy,” Knox grins, clapping me on the back. “You played one hell of a game tonight. You were locked in.”
“I wasn’t about to let those fuckers win,” I smirk.
“I thought there was a rule against touching the goalie?” I hear Luna’s voice and turn to see her focused on me. She has her arms crossed over her chest, and there's a flame to those green eyes.
“There is,” Knox mutters. “Unfortunately, we had the three blind mice as refs tonight and an opposing team of goons.”
She does a cute snort, and I fight the urge to smile.
She’s clearly pissed on my behalf, and it’s the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen.
“I’m just glad you kicked their asses. They deserved every bit of those hits you threw their way,” she huffs.
“It felt damn good, too,” Knox chuckles before eyeing me. His blue eyes knowingly tell me he’s picked up on her defensiveness toward me as he hides his smile. “Ready to go, sunshine?” He takes his wife’s hand and kisses it.
“You guys aren’t coming with us?” Miles frowns.
“Not tonight,” Knox says, shaking his head. “My wife is about to pop any day now, and even though she won’t admit it, I know she’s ready to get out of those boots and into cozy socks and sweats.”
“I’m too tired to argue,” Savi moans, putting a hand on her round belly. “Our little guy has been kicking up a storm the whole game and sitting right on my bladder. It’s been impossible to get comfortable lately.”
“He’s just excited to hear his daddy play,” Knox smiles, rubbing her pregnant belly.
“They wanted to go to Breakaway for a couple of drinks,” he says, looking over at me.
“Can you make sure they get in the VIP section? I told security that they were family, but just in case they gave them any problems, I would feel better knowing you were there.”
“No problem,” I say. “I was headed there anyway for a bit.”
Glancing at Luna, she meets my eyes, and a small smile plays on her lips.
“Perfect. Thanks, man.” Knox and Savi say their goodbyes before we head towards the bar.
I fall in line with the group and make small talk with Miles and Travis as the girls walk in front of us. Even though I’m enjoying the view of Luna’s ass in that skirt, I’d much rather have her next to me.
When we get to Breakaway, the line out front is already long, so I lead them to the side entrance.
“Hey, Roger,” I smile as he opens the door for us.
“Mr. Blade,” he grins. “You gave us quite the show tonight.”
“Wasn’t about to let them get the best of me,” I chuckle, keeping an eye on Luna as she leans in to talk to Sophia over the noise of the crowd.
When we get to the VIP section, I see a few of the players already here, taking full advantage of the table of food that’s already spread out.
Picking up the bottle of white wine already on the table, I pour the girls each a glass before pouring myself a bourbon along with Travis and Miles.
They start talking to a few other players they know, and their wives join in as I hand Luna her wine glass.
“Thanks,” she smiles, taking a sip, but keeping her eyes glued to mine.
“You’re welcome,” I murmur, watching the way her tongue swipes her bottom lip.
I grip my glass tighter, and her eyes play with mine.
“I see we finally got you to come back to one of our games,” McCormick says, coming up next to Luna and forcing her gaze away. “It’s good to see you.”
Luna smiles at McCormick as I watch their interaction a little closer than I probably should.
“It was definitely more intense than last time,” she laughs. “I wasn’t expecting everybody to start trying to kill each other.”
“That’s just playoff hockey creeping in early,” McCormick scoffs before pointing toward me with his bourbon glass. “Blade over there tends to bring out everyone’s anger issues.”
“Can you blame them?” Hayes calls out from the food table. “That fucker stops everything.”
“I’ve been told he’s the best,” Luna murmurs, her eyes flicking to mine for half a second.
And there’s that look again. The same one I see every time she looks at me.
It’s like she sees beyond Cayden Blade, the NHL goalie, to the man behind the mask.
McCormick follows her gaze before a knowing smirk pulls at his mouth. “Well, we’re glad to officially have you on our side now.”
“What makes you think I picked a side?” She teases, bringing the wine glass to her lips.
“You wore his hoodie to the game,” Foxx snorts from the sectional. “That’s basically a legally binding contract in this league next to wearing his jersey.”
Luna’s cheeks turn pink, and my chest tightens at the sight. Fuck, she’s gorgeous when she blushes.
“It was cold,” she defends.
“Sure it was,” Hayes chuckles around a mouthful of fries.
“Looks way better on you anyway,” I say, taking a sip of my drink and meeting her eyes.
“Not going to argue with you there,” Foxx laughs, and I throw an annoyed look his way.
“I’m just glad we are adding to our lucky charms,” Hayes adds. “After tonight, it’s clear Blade has one now. That’s two games he went into beast mode with you in the stands,” he grins. “With you and Savi at our games, they may as well put us on the Stanley right now.”
“I don’t know about being a lucky charm,” Luna laughs, shaking her head. “He was playing in beast mode long before I showed up.”
“Just calling them like I see them,” Hayes says, throwing his hands in the air and walking backwards with a grin before turning and heading to a table full of girls sitting just outside our area.
“Either way, you are stuck with us until the end of the season,” Foxx chuckles. “We don’t mess around with what is working. And this,” he says, motioning between Luna and me, “is working in our favor. If Blade doesn’t give you his ticket for the rest of the season, I will.”
I should argue the fact or blow it off like it’s nothing, but I can’t.
I do play better when she’s in the stands.
Shaking her head and laughing, I can tell she’s not taking it seriously. But Foxx is right.
In hockey, if it’s working, you don’t touch it.
And right now, if having Luna in the stands helps me get our team to the cup…
Then I’m going to make for damn sure she is.