Chapter 25
The air in the arena was electric despite the chill. After months of watching him play on TU’s local channel, Mase had finally convinced me to come to his quarterfinal game.
We were a few seats down from the TU bench and right up against the glass. I’d have preferred to sit closer to the net, but apparently, these seats were reserved for Mase’s friends. A couple were supposed to be here tonight, but I wasn’t sure who.
Andrew took the inside seat, and I left a spot on the end. Before I had more than a chance to set my bag at my feet, a beautiful woman with nearly black hair and dark red lips took the seat next to me. She smiled and wiggled her fingers at Cole before turning to me.
“You must be Taryn. Sorry I haven’t come by to meet you, but my dad decided now would be a great time to renovate his house.
” She rolled her eyes. “Of course, he wants to DIY most of it with zero renovation experience. It’s a miracle he still has all his fingers.
I’m Avery, by the way. Coach Dalton is my dad. ”
She nodded past me, and I dutifully turned around to examine the older man in a TU polo waving a clipboard. He seemed to be yelling at Reece, who was grinning like a loon and ignoring him.
I returned my attention to my new neighbor. “Can I assume you know things about hockey?”
She grinned. “I know a thing or two. Are you a new convert?”
“This is my first real game.”
Avery rubbed her hands together. “Oh goodie. I’m going to have fun. Stephen should be here soon too. He had to drop Marco off to cover a competing baseball game.”
I had no idea who she was talking about, but I nodded anyway.
She started introducing the various players and what their spots were, which made me zone out almost immediately.
Andrew was mesmerized by the hockey players stretching and skating and lazily shooting at the open net.
I could see why. These guys were serious athletes.
There was a common refrain among esports gamers that we’d all had the hecklers giving us shit for not playing a real sport.
As if I didn’t get sweaty and tired during a competition.
Seeing these guys warm up, though, I had a better understanding.
I’d watched plenty of games by now, but there was something different about being here live.
They all looked huge, for one.
On TV, it was hard to gauge how much bigger they were than ordinary people. Granted, I knew Reece and Cole—and of course, Mase was massive—but all of them? I was an average sized woman, but I felt tiny watching them skate around each other.
Mase was on the far end of the rink near his net. As if I’d summoned him, he glided past, dragging his fingers along the glass in front of our seats. Our eyes met, and heat flashed through my entire body. He gave me a knowing grin and circled back to his spot.
Next to me, Avery let out a low whistle. “Damn. No wonder everyone knew about me and Cole.”
I turned to ask her what she meant, but a familiar figure farther up in the stands caught my attention.
A big guy wearing a dark blue suit and a scowl with his eyes fixed on us. I recognized him from the picture Mase had shown me. William Black, Billy Black to his fans from the single season he played in the national league—Mase’s dad.
The family resemblance was undeniable, but where Mase had an aura of protective energy, this guy felt dangerous. He zeroed in on our little group and sauntered down the aisle, stopping next to Avery at the end.
“You’re in my way.”
She ignored him, but the voice drew Andrew’s attention away from the skaters gracefully circling the rink like fish in an aquarium.
“Da—?” Andrew didn’t get a chance to finish the word before I rocketed from my seat and stuffed him behind me.
Avery glanced up, then subtly switched places with me to put another line between him and Andrew. I’d just met the lady, but her fierce expression told me she was ready to cut a bitch if necessary. I hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.
I stepped closer to join William in the aisle, partly because I couldn’t move while trapped between the seats and partly because I wanted to keep his attention on me. He smirked as he glanced past me at my new friend standing guard.
“I’d like to speak to my son.”
“No.” I didn’t make any excuses. No was a complete sentence.
He pulled out his wallet. “How much to buy this seat?”
“It’s not for sale.”
“Everything is for sale.” The man raised a dismissive brow waiting for my price.
His comment echoed something Mase had said to me before about professional athletes being forced to sell off parts of themselves in exchange for the opportunity. What a bunch of bullshit. No wonder he had a bleak view of his future.
“I already told you no. You can back off or I can call security. There won’t be another warning.” People around us started lifting their phones to record the confrontation.
I knew it wouldn’t take long for them to figure out his identity, but I hoped this would blow over without hitting my target audience. It was hard enough to be a woman in gaming. I didn’t need a reputation for being a bitch as well.
His smarmy smile faded. “You can’t keep me away from my son.”
“You can see him next week in front of a judge. Until then, Andrew has nothing to say to you.”
The muttering around us got louder, and William leaned forward to get in my face. I backed up, trying to lead him farther from our seats. Behind him, some of the players had stopped warming up to watch.
“You don’t speak for him,” he spat. “You’re nothing but Mason’s puck bunny, and that’s going to end as soon as he signs with Portland. Find some other shmuck to latch onto. Now get out of the way.”
He reached out to grab my upper arm, and I was ready to toss his ass into the stands if need be, but a loud bang startled both of us. Mase skidded to a stop on the other side of the glass and hit it again with his stick.
“Get the fuck away from her,” he snarled.
I’d never seen such fury on his face, and I thought he might be about to scale the wall. Two of the refs were watching him with frowns, and my heart sank. I didn’t want him to get in trouble because of me.
I opened my mouth to suggest we take the discussion outside—not a great choice given our size difference—but another voice stopped me.
“It’s time for you to go.” I hadn’t even seen Coach Dalton join us, but when I looked around, I was also flanked by Reece and the tall, posh quasi-roommate who must be Stephen.
Stephen made a shooing motion with his hands, and William’s jaw tightened. He didn’t say anything, simply stared at the group of us for a long moment. Technically, we were blocking his path out, but a nice woman next to me let me scoot into her row when he started to stride past.
“Bitch,” he muttered under his breath as he passed.
Reece took a step to follow him, but I grabbed the back of his jersey, only then realizing he was standing there in socks.
“Not worth it,” I told him.
He shook his head, and when he opened his mouth to argue, Coach Dalton shut him down. “Get back to the ice before anyone realizes you’re out of uniform.”
Avery glanced down, then groaned. “You idiot.”
Reece gave me a sheepish shrug, then jerked his chin at Mase, who still stood on the other side of the glass watching his dad’s retreat. Mase nodded back, and Reece sprinted toward the interior part of the arena.
I returned to our row and pulled Andrew into a hug. “Are you okay?”
He squeezed me, then stood back and straightened his shoulders. “Next time, I’ll handle him.”
Avery ruffled his hair. “Nice try, kid, but you did the right thing. We won’t let anything happen to you or Taryn.”
Coach Dalton cleared his throat. “I’ve informed security they need to keep an eye on your section in case he comes back. Don’t go out to the parking lot alone.” He eyed his daughter. “Avery, you too. Wait for one of us to walk you, okay?”
She groaned. “Why would you get me pepper spray if you won’t let me use it?”
“For emergencies.” He nodded at Stephen. “Try not to get into any more trouble.”
“No promises,” Avery told him gleefully as he walked away.
Stephen sat in the seat on the other side of Andrew. “What did I miss?”
Avery filled him in while I made sure Andrew was settled, and when I focused on the ice again, Mase was in front of the net. He didn’t look our way again for the duration of the game.
Two and a half hours later, TU won in a shutout.
Mase didn’t let a single puck get past him, though the other team gave it their best effort.
My throat was sore from screaming, and I’d spent a small fortune on TU swag for Andrew.
We probably could have gotten it comped, but I wanted him to have the full experience.
Avery insisted on escorting us to the locker room after the game. Despite her teasing, she took her dad’s warning seriously. Andrew couldn’t stop talking about the action as we waited. I tried to pay attention, but my mind kept wandering to Mase’s intense focus.
He’d always played like that, but I wasn’t sure what to expect now that the game had ended. Was he pissed? Upset that I’d put Andrew in danger?
I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Mase came out of the double doors in his suit, dropped his bag on the floor, and engulfed me and Andrew in a tight hug.
“Are you okay?” he asked against my hair.
“We’re fine,” I wheezed. It was hard to take a full breath, but I wasn’t about to ask him to let go.
Andrew wiggled, and the pressure let up. “Don’t worry. Next time, I’ll protect Taryn better.”
Mase snorted. “I approve of the initiative, but why don’t we start with some weight training before you go full offensive. Taryn can handle herself.”
He said it so casually, so full of confidence, I almost didn’t catch it. Taryn can handle herself. In the moment, I’d been sure, but after, I’d second guessed every action I’d taken. Mase’s dad was much bigger than me, and I’d left my pepper spray and panic button in my bag near my seat.
What had I planned to do if the others hadn’t intervened? Going outside with a dangerous, angry man would have been the height of stupidity. I only hoped I’d have remembered my threat to call security before we actually reached the exit.
Mase tipped my chin up. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t want to explain my potential fuck-up, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “There were people filming the confrontation with your dad. Will you get in trouble with anyone?”
“No. It’s a gray area, but Coach has final say. Reece could have gotten in a lot of trouble for going into the stands, but again, Coach was there too.”
“Maybe nobody will notice the video?” I suggested hopefully.
Mase shook his head, bursting my bubble. “It’s already on TU’s social media. I doubt it’ll be long before the rest of the internet picks it up.”
Andrew tugged on Mase’s jacket. “What are they saying?”
He silently pulled out his phone and handed it to me. The video was already pulled up with tens of thousands of views and thousands of comments. I groaned at the repeated refrain.
“They’ve found my channel, and they keep calling me Mase’s girlfriend with the shocked face emoji.”
Andrew laughed. “You are his girlfriend.”
Mase met my eyes. We hadn’t discussed our relationship beyond wanting to be together and purposely not discussing the hard parts.
Andrew looked back and forth between us. “Right?”
Mase’s arm tightened around me again. “Right.”
“I’m more offended by the emoji,” I teased as warmth filled me.
It was such a stupid thing to be emotional about considering we were basically living together, but Mase’s face when he’d pounded on the glass was etched into my memory. I had no doubt he’d have abandoned the game to follow me to the parking lot if I’d been dumb enough to leave with his dad.
I took another look at the comments and sighed. It appeared I was about to have an influx of new subs.
Mase snatched his phone back. “No more worrying. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
He picked up his bag with one hand and slung Andrew over his shoulder with the other before starting down the hall. As Andrew squealed with laughter, I tried to let the worry go, as Mase asked.
Unfortunately, the exercise wasn’t working as well as it had before. The pile of our tomorrow worries was getting bigger by the day, and with the court appointment coming up, I didn’t think it was going to shrink.
Mase held the door open for me, and I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
“Thanks. By the way, what’s a puck bunny?”
He laughed. “Not you. Never you.”