Chapter 20
Scotty
Iloved watching Dad coach, but Christ, I’d forgotten the ungodly hour weekend games demanded everyone show up.
Players usually arrived a little later, but the coaching staff showed up hours before puck drop for meetings, strategy, and whatever other mysterious rituals coaches performed before unleashing a hockey team onto the ice.
I rode to the arena with Dad while he muttered through line combinations and defensive matchups under his breath. By the time we pulled into the player entrance, the arena was already alive with energy.
Dad disappeared toward the locker rooms with a distracted kiss on my head and a reminder not to wander into restricted areas like I was still twelve years old.
I promised nothing and headed the other direction.
I wandered around to see what’s changed since the last time I was here, which honestly felt like a lifetime ago.
I exchanged awkward hugs with arena staff who remembered me from “back when you were this tall” and traded small talk with equipment managers who still called me “Little Scotty.” Time slipped away, and before I knew it, the once-empty seats around me began filling with fans in team colors.
I made my way to our seats by the glass and had barely sat down when Ella and Millie arrived, dressed in Wolves jerseys and juggling enough snacks to feed half the arena.
Ella had her nephew in tow, a small boy with bright eyes and a grin that showed off the fact that he was currently missing one of his front teeth.
“Luca, you remember your aunt Scotty?” Ella asked, nudging him forward. “He was very excited when I told him there would be Wolves here today.”
She winked at us, and Luca beamed.
He stared out at the massive wolf logo painted into the ice like it was the most impressive thing he had ever seen in his life. Then he tipped his head back and let out a loud, enthusiastic howl.
“Awooooo!”
Half the row burst out laughing. I laughed too, because honestly, the kid nailed it. Somewhere further down the section, someone answered with an even louder howl, and Luca looked like he had just been personally welcomed into the coolest club in the world.
We squeezed into our seats so close to the glass that I could see the thin white scratches left behind by fresh skate blades.
Warmups were already underway, players gliding across the ice in easy circles while pucks snapped off sticks in quick, sharp bursts.
The Wolves were heavy favorites today, and the crowd had the restless energy of people expecting a good time.
It took me approximately three seconds to find Hunter and Ryder.
Even in full gear and helmets, they stood out immediately.
Hunter moved with easy confidence, the kind of loose, fluid skating that made everything look effortless.
Ryder was more precise, every stride controlled and powerful like he was measuring the ice with each push.
They passed pucks back and forth along the blue line during warmups, Ryder firing a hard one that Hunter corralled smoothly before snapping it toward the net.
They bumped shoulders when Hunter circled past him afterward. Ryder said something I couldn’t hear through the glass, and Hunter laughed, leaning in just long enough to bump his helmet lightly against Ryder’s before skating off again.
I loved that they weren’t subtle with their affection towards each other.
Hunter skated past our section a moment later and glanced toward the glass. The second he spotted me, his face lit up with a wide, easy smile. He knocked his stick lightly against the ice and lifted a hand in a quick wave.
Luca squealed with excitement.
And me?
I just sat there for a second, completely stunned.
It was such a small, innocent thing. He could have been acknowledging anyone sitting in our section.
But I knew it was for me, and I’ve never felt more seen in my life.
Ken had never once acknowledged me when I came to his games. Apparently, he needed to stay focused, which was an interesting excuse considering he had always insisted I attend every home game anyway. I’d shown up alone, sat through the entire thing alone, and left alone.
Millie nudged my arm. “He likes you.”
“He does not,” I whispered quickly, leaning forward so Luca couldn’t hear the next part. “He just wants to fuck me.”
“You’re absolutely delusional if you think that’s true, Scotty. They keep glancing over here with goofy smiles on their stupidly handsome faces.”
Ella leaned forward with her elbows on her knees while Luca pressed both hands flat against the glass, completely mesmerized by the players skating past. “Those two are ridiculously good looking,” she murmured.
I shot her a glare.
She cleared her throat. “And totally into you. Like Millie said.”
After that, I tried very hard to look like I wasn’t paying special attention to them and completely failed because how could you not look at them? I shifted in my seat and forced myself to focus on the ice as the teams lined up for puck drop.
The game started fast, and sticks cracked against pucks, skates carved sharp lines across the ice, and bodies slammed into the boards hard enough to rattle the glass right in front of us. Hockey always felt more intense in person than it ever did on television.
Luca gasped dramatically every time someone checked another player, like he’d just witnessed a superhero landing.
Ryder and Hunter took the ice together on the first defensive shift, and the crowd roared.
Their chemistry was obvious even if you didn’t know anything about hockey.
Ryder held the blue line like a wall, cutting off a rush before it even developed, while Hunter swooped in to steal the puck and clear the zone with a smooth backhand pass.
“They make it look easy,” Millie said.
They really did.
Midway through the second period, the Wolves’ forward line broke through on a rush, the puck slipping loose near the boards right in front of us.
Hunter swooped in from the point to keep it in the zone, sending the puck down low before gliding back to cover the blue line.
Ryder intercepted a clearing attempt seconds later and fired it back toward the net.
The rebound popped loose in front, and the crowd exploded when it got tipped past the goalie.
Luca jumped up and howled, “Awooooo!”
The fans around us answered like a pack.
I cheered with everyone else, careful not to look too focused on the two Alphas who were currently celebrating the play with a quick glove tap and a bump of their helmets near center ice. Even from across the rink, I could see Hunter grinning like he’d just been told a dirty joke.
I just finished explaining the basics of icing to Luca when Morgan came over to say hello. She smiled warmly at Luca.
“I remember when Ryder was that age,” she said, her eyes going soft at the edges as if looking through time. “Are you all enjoying the game?”
“It’s been amazing,” I said politely. “They’re playing great tonight.”
I introduced Ella and Millie, who smiled sweetly like they hadn’t already heard my entire rant about Morgan over lunch the day before. Morgan greeted them warmly, completely at ease, and after a few minutes of easy small talk, she tilted her head toward the ice again.
“Your father and I were thinking of grabbing something to eat once everything wraps up,” she said. “Would you girls like to join us?”
That surprised me enough that my smile became genuine.
“Sounds great,” I said. “We’d love to.”
“I’ll let your father know.” She gave my shoulder a light pat. “See you guys later.”
The game ended not long after with a comfortable Wolves win, and the crowd slowly started filtering toward the exits. We weren’t in any rush. The players still had their postgame routine ahead of them — interviews, cooldowns, showers, Dad yelling at them.
Ella needed to drop Luca off with the babysitter, so she promised to meet us at the restaurant later while Millie and I headed toward her car.
“Are Ryder and Hunter joining us?” Millie asked as we walked through the parking lot.
“I think so,” I said. “We have plans to meet up tonight anyway, so I might need to use you and Ella as an alibi.”
Then my phone buzzed, and a message from Crash Daddy confirmed they would, in fact, be joining us for food.
Millie squealed with excitement and proceeded to talk about it the entire walk across the parking lot while I tried very hard not to look as thrilled about it as I actually felt.