Chapter Eighteen
Eighteen
Davies sneaks behind the net, thinking he’s slick enough to complete a wrap-around. I take off to surprise him on the other side, stopping right in front of him to block his path. He crashes into me full force. Guess he didn’t see me coming.
“Fucking hell, Leblanc,” Davies grumbles when the puck flies by him in a failed attempt, leaving Walton and my other scrimmage teammates to drive the puck toward our intended goal.
“Watch your surroundings. Basic hockey rules, Davies.”
“You’ve been on my dick all fucking game. Fuck off,” Davies says through a huff as he attempts to skate away.
I raise my hand over the C sewn onto my chest, reminding him of my role. “Just trying to make you a better player.”
His arms spread wide as he skates away from me backwards. “No need, Cap. From what I'm hearing, they’re saying I can read the plays just fine…possibly even be better than you.” His cocky-as-fuck smirk has him marked as my next target.
Don’t fuck with me today.
On the next face-off, the opposing side takes off down the ice, heading toward our net. I find Davies along the sideboards, and I’m after him. I don’t give a fuck if he has the puck or not; if he’s that good, he’ll see me coming.
Lucky for me, he doesn’t, and I lean into my shoulder and crash into him. He hits the ice, then glares back at me.
I hear Coach’s whistle blow, but I'm not listening to whatever he’s spewing. Something along the lines of benching my ass if I don’t calm the fuck down, but it’s in one ear and out the other.
“Way to read the play,” I say sardonically as I stride away backwards. Making sure to see his reaction.
Once I'm back in the center of the ice, I set up for the next face-off. Cash heads my way, and I know what he’s going to say before he even reaches me across the ice. So, I stand there and wait while my teammates help Davies off the ground.
“You good?” Cash asks, but what he’s really telling me is to chill the fuck out.
“Yup, let’s get to it,” I say with my perfect, practiced smile.
Ignoring the fact that I just slammed another one of my teammates into the boards a little too hard.
Davies had it coming. Between his obnoxious mouth and his ego, he needed to be taken down a notch anyway.
Lately, he’s been pissing me off, bragging about he’s going to be the next captain.
Earn your spot, fucker. Nothing is guaranteed… not even tomorrow.
I release a heavy sigh. Why the hell did we have to have a scrimmage today? Of all days. I'm not in the mood, and clearly, that’s apparent—not only to my brother, but also to my whole team, who seem to be avoiding me on the ice.
“Remember, it’s just a scrimmage. We’re not looking to take out our teammates before we get into the season,” he reminds me.
“Got it. Thanks for the reminder,” I practically growl as I attempt to turn away. Cash grabs my face mask and pulls my gaze back to him.
“Hey, I get it. Trust me, I do. But Jules wouldn’t want to see you like this…especially not on her birthday,” he whispers, so only I can hear him.
I close my eyes at the mention of her name. Every year, it’s the same overwhelming feelings of pain and guilt. Another year without her smiling face, of her giving me and Cash shit for every dumb thing we do… Another year without the ray of sunshine that was my baby sister.
“Come on, let’s finish this without breaking anyone’s bones, yeah?” Cash tries to lighten my mood. Well, that’s a first. Usually, our roles are reversed. Just further proves how fucked in the head I am right now.
I nod, and he nudges my shoulder. “Besides, I think your cheer squad is worried about you,” he adds and juts his chin in the direction of where Peyton sits in the stands with her notepad in her hands.
Catching her gaze, she smiles at me and waves.
Acknowledging her presence in the stands helps ease some of my tension.
I raise my glove at her, and she waves again, but I still see the worry on her face.
Shit, I don’t want my attitude to scare her away, especially not after she agreed to go on a date with me.
A real date.
I finally built up the courage to ask her. I'm sure it was fueled by another one of our hot-as-fuck makeout sessions, but I did it, nonetheless. I'm starting to really like Peyton, and I'm ready to see where our situation could go.
Tapping my glove on Cash’s helmet, I signal to him that I'm ready to act civilized…at least for the time being. There’s no saying what I’ll do if someone else crosses me today; let’s pray they don’t test me.
Thankfully, for all of our sakes, we make it through the rest of the scrimmage without any more incidents.
When I skate up to the box, I see Shay standing just beside it. Has she been here the whole time?
No, she’s too beautiful not to notice and, unfortunately for me, I’m still drawn to her any time she’s in my close proximity. But seeing her today with Jordan is yet another reminder of why I shouldn’t be.
I wave at her with my ungloved hand before reaching for my water. “What’s up, Little Moore?” I ask through the plexiglass.
“Nothing much, Beauty. Just here to support. Didn’t realize I was going to get the full Crash Brothers experience tonight.”
Leave it to Shay to also call my ass out. “Yeah, I went a little too hard in that first quarter. It’s been a long week, and I let it get the best of me.”
“Well, according to Bellamy, y’all are having a small get-together tonight. You gonna be able to hang?”
“Yeah, you coming?” Even though I know Peyton’s going to be there, I can't help but wonder if I’ll see Shay there too. There’s no harm in inviting my friend to hang out. We do it all the time, especially when we're all getting together. No harm, no foul.
“Yep. Bellamy texted me earlier,” she says, but I can't help but notice the way she’s observing me.
As if speaking her into existence, Bellamy steps up beside Shay, throwing her arm over Shay’s shoulder. Her assessing eyes watch me for a minute before she speaks. “Glad you made it off that ice in one piece, Rick.”
I wave her off and try to give my most convincing smile. I'm sure she doesn’t buy it for a second, but she’s smart enough to leave it alone.
“Come on, Hot Stuff, I told the guys I’d pick up dinner tonight, and you’re coming with me. Darby’s already in the car,” Bellamy says to Shay before throwing up a peace sign to me and walking away.
Shay’s eyes linger on me for a few moments. “See you later, Mav,” she says, before she turns to follow.
The way she turns around to check on me every few steps has me convinced my head is more fucked up than I even realized.
When I grab my shit to head out of the ice, I spot Peyton waiting by the hallway that leads to the locker rooms.
I lean down and give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and she grins up at me, her notepad still clutched to her chest.
That reminds me…
“Boy Aquarium, huh?” I inquire about her newest headline, and she laughs.
“I didn’t come up with the reference, but when I saw it on social media, I just knew I had to use it,” she says proudly. “Pretty accurate, am I right?”
I can't help but laugh along with her. “So, you got your season pass, I'm taking it?”
“You bet I did.”
“Alright, give me ten, and I'll drive you back to the house with me,” I say, knowing I need to shower off today's scrimmage, and hopefully all the negative thoughts of Jules along with it.
“See you soon, Beauty,” Peyton teases, and once again, I'm smiling.
I really like this girl.