Chapter 61 Camden
Camden
“That was a bullshit goal,” Blomdahl mutters when I skate up to the net.
I huff out a breath. “Yeah, it was.”
“I don’t know what the refs are on tonight, but whatever it is, it’s screwing us over.”
He’s right. The calls tonight have been trash.
We’re playing Montreal, and one of their defensemen tripped Blomdahl with his stick before scoring, tying up the game. That goal shouldn’t have counted, but none of the referees or officials bothered to call goalie interfere.
Blomdahl guzzles from his water bottle. His eyes catch on the ref skating past us toward center ice.
“I guess it’s fuck the goalie night, huh?” Blomdahl hollers at him.
I grip his shoulder. “Easy, dude.”
He glowers at the ref. I take in the frustration marring his face. It takes a lot to faze Blomdahl. He’s one of the top goalies in the league and pretty even-tempered during even the most stressful games.
But even the coolest cucumber has its limit.
I push aside my own frustration and look at the ref. “Sorry about that.”
He glowers at Blomdahl, then me. “Get your players under control. If you don’t, I’m coming after you.”
“Won’t happen again,” I say.
The ref skates off, and I turn to Blomdahl. “He’s a jackass. Or blind. Maybe both,” I say.
He readjusts his helmet. “Sorry for that outburst. Thanks for eating shit on my behalf.”
I smile and point to my jersey. “That’s why I wear the ‘A’. That’s my job now. Eating shit for all of you guys.”
Blomdahl cracks a smile and puts his helmet back on.
I look at him. “Seriously though. That goal wasn’t your fault. You’re kicking ass tonight. But if the refs don’t feel like playing fair, then we’ll make up for it. We’ll kick it up a notch. We’ll get scrappy if we have to.”
Blomdahl's gaze focuses. He nods his head. “You’re right. Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Anytime.” I tap his leg pad with my stick and head to where the rest of my linemates are standing on the ice.
“Well, boys. Looks like the refs have it out for us tonight,” I say.
Del spits and wipes his mouth on the back of his glove. “It’s fucked up. That goal shouldn’t have counted.”
“Nope. It shouldn’t have. It did, though,” I say. “But I’m sure as shit not gonna let that ruin my focus.”
Sam, Theo, and Del look at me. Determination surges through me.
I’m pissed and frustrated, just like they are.
But as alternate captain, I need to put my emotions aside and focus on doing whatever it takes to get my teammates to lock in and play well.
That’s part of why I wanted to wear the A in the first place.
I wanted to be someone who motivates my team to play their best, no matter what.
And the way to do that is to lead by example.
“I’m not gonna let a few bad calls break me. I’m not gonna to let that ruin my concentration or how hard I play,” I say. “Are you?”
I look at all of them. They all shake their heads.
“Good. Now let’s show them what we do when they try to fuck us over.”
Their gazes sharpen, and the focus in their gazes returns as we all get ready for face-off.
As soon as the puck hits the ice, we’re all over it. Our energy is goddamn feral. Del is a beast, checking one of the Montreal players with his shoulder as he darts across the ice with the puck.
He passes it to Sam, who zeroes in on the goalie. As his defense partner, I’m right behind him, watching his moves, gauging how he’s going to play this.
The Montreal goalie’s helmet bobs back and forth as he tracks Sam’s handling of the puck. He winds up like he’s going to take the shot, but stops short, right as the goalie dives forward, falling for the fake-out.
Sam passes the puck back to me, and I smack the it into the back of the net. The goal buzzer sounds, and my teammates surround me to celebrate.
“That’s more fucking like it,” Del hollers.
“This fucking guy. Giving rousing motivational speeches, then scoring goals like it’s nothing,” Theo says with a grin.
I laugh and catch eyes with Ellie, who’s sitting in the stands, wearing my jersey. She blows a kiss at me.
My heart feels like it’s going to explode. I wouldn’t be alternate captain—I wouldn’t be wearing this A on my jersey—if it hadn’t been for her. She believed in me when no one else did. When everyone doubted I could ever do it, she had my back. She built me up.
Emotion swoops through my chest as I grin at her. My wife. My love. My everything.
We manage to hold off Montreal the rest of the period. In the third period, Luca and Xander each score a goal, securing the lead for us.
When the game ends, the home crowd cheers. We make our way through the tunnel into the locker room.
“Excellent game, gentlemen,” Coach Porter says. “That was a tough position we were in with the officials. They were terrible, no doubt about it. But you didn’t let that faze you. You let it motivate you instead.”
We all clap and whistle.
Coach Porter turns to me. “I saw that way you rallied your line mates, Connors. Well done. Way to wear the A.”
I grin. “Thanks, Coach.”
We finished getting cleaned up.
“Should we hit up Spanky’s for a drink?” Theo asks.
“I’m in,” I say. The rest of the guys say they’re in too.
“How about you, Markov?” Sam asks. “Wanna join us?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Markov’s a pretty quiet guy. It’ll be nice to have a drink with him and get to know him a little better.
“We gotta toast this guy.” Xander nods his chin at Sam. “He’s getting married this month.”
Everyone whistles and hollers as Sam grins.
“Still can’t believe you’re getting married during the season,” Xander says. “That’s ambitious. And busy as fuck.”
Sam just smiles. “Dakota wants a fall wedding. Gotta give my girl exactly what she wants.”
I grin at him. “Atta boy.”
We all leave the locker room. I spot our ladies standing at the far end of the hallway.
When I walk up to Ellie, I grab her and kiss her.
“In the mood for Spanky’s? The guys wanna get a drink.”
“Always,” she says with a sweet smile. “And hey, I saw the way you rallied the guys after that bad goal. And that goal you scored was amazing. You were amazing.”
I grin, wrapping my arms around her. “That was all you, baby. Knowing you were in the stands watching me made all the difference. Told you you’re my good luck charm.”
She chuckles, her eyes bright. “I guess that means you’ll want to keep me around,” she teases.
“Hell yes.” I kiss her until she lets out that soft moan that I can’t get enough of. Around us, the guys whistle.
When we break apart, she gives me a teasing look. “How long exactly? I’m pretty busy these days.”
I pull her against me, savoring the warmth of her body. I kiss her again. “Forever.”
Her mouth curves up in my favorite smile—the one where her eyes sparkle. The one that makes my heart go crazy in my chest.
She cups my face in her hands. “Forever with you, Camden Connors, sounds like the perfect plan.”