Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
CALLUM
- Present Day -
I let the music pump me up as I hit the ice and the thunderous cheers from the crowd sets my blood on fire as I do a lap around the rink.
Closing my eyes, I try to focus on the task at hand.
I need to focus on the game. Skating up next to my teammates, I fall in line as we stand in place while the lights dim for the national anthem.
The volume of the crowd dies down as everyone focuses on the young kid who was chosen to sing at this week's game.
While we wait, my eyes can’t help but wander anxiously over the stands, searching for her . It’s been over a week since our last home game. A series of away games had us on the road and left me with no time to reach out to Sutton after our run-in.
Thanks to that at least, I did have plenty of time to worry, to wonder, to plan.
. . because n o matter how hard I tried, I could not get the damn girl out of my mind.
It was just as bad as before, if not worse.
Worse because she’s actually back in my life again, willingly or not.
But this time, I’m not just gonna let her walk away from me again; not now that I know what it’s like to have lost her.
The song finally hits it’s crescendo, and my gaze lands on the fucker across at the end of the line.
Newbie . My eyes narrow as I glare in his direction, before I realize his gaze is focused on the crowd.
No, not on the crowd; on her. I jerk my head in that direction, frantically searching.
And then I see her. And God, she is so perfect.
Just as beautiful as I remember. My breath hitches as I take her in.
It’s hard to see from this distance, but her long hair is curled, and hidden under a Sabretooths knit cap with a puff-thing on the end.
She looks fucking adorable as she claps at the end of the song, hands covered in blue mittens.
And she’s wearing another team jersey. It better not fucking be his jersey again.
I’m jolted out of my thoughts as Giovanni skates up behind me, slapping me upside the helmet.
“Dude, focus!”
With a nod, I return my gaze back to the ice and line up for the puck drop.