35. Teddy Bear Tossers #2
There’s somebody else on the ice who knows when my birthday is. Somebody with a devil’s smirk and an attitude to match. Somebody who wouldn’t give a shit about pissing off my pack if he thought it’d wind them up.
Somebody who recorded this song off the radio and gave me the tape so I could listen to it whenever I wanted.
“No,” I breathe. “He wouldn’t.”
“What?” Katie looks between my face and the ice. More of the Aces are skating out now. “Wait, are they doing a run? Why didn’t we do a run?”
Who the fuck am I kidding? He absolutely would.
“Rosie,” Maddie says slowly. She’s watching my face. “Is this… for you?”
I mentally pray to the god of ice hockey. Please, Mr. Hockey. Let my ego be big enough and wrong enough that I’m absolutely off the puck in thinking Boone Mercer picked this song for my birthday. Please.
“They’re not.” I bury my face in my hands. “Please tell me they’re not.”
“Then I’d be a liar.” Maddie grabs my arm and shakes it. “This is definitely aimed at you. Holy shit, they’re coming over!”
Please god, no.
My head snaps up just in time to catch Boone’s smirk as the Aces skate past our section. When he taps on the glass and points at me, my face erupts into the burning flames of the seventh circle of hell.
Every head in the Furnace swivels in my direction.
Fuck.
Carter is going to kill me. Or Boone.
Definitely Boone.
The three of us sit in stunned silence as the Aces finish their run and Boone and Carter face off over the puck.
Katie clears her throat. “So… did you have dinner with him?”
“We don’t talk about that.” My words are a croak. “And no, for your information, I did not.”
Carter promised he’d get me out of it. Although since neither of them have any missing limbs, I’m assuming the discussion hasn’t happened yet.
“First goal by our home team is the signal.” Mike’s voice echoes as Boone and Carter wait for the drop. “When the Titans score, toss your teddies!”
Cheers ring out, and the puck drops.
By the time the second period starts, I’m genuinely concerned that the hockey gods hate children.
Every time Carter jumps over the boards, the crowd is on their feet before he gets anywhere near the puck, but he can’t get it past Yukov and Navarro’s defense.
He smashes a stick in his frustration, Eddie tossing him another from behind the bench.
“Come on!” Katie screams beside me. “Move your ass, Reynolds!”
But it’s the Aces who score first, and then again within a minute as Boone sweeps past Mason and Liam, both a split-second too late to defend as Boone flicks the puck past Benji’s head and into the net. The Ace’s cheers are loud enough to drown out our collective groan.
“Well, shit,” Maddie mutters, and Katie and I nod in agreement.
Well shit, indeed.
Third period starts off with a brawl. Liam slams into Yukov, and it’s the equivalent of the Himalayas colliding. I swear the Furnace shakes. Liam yells and Yukov responds, gloves dropping before the linesmen can get close enough to break them up.
“Shit.” Leaning forward, I watch through clenched teeth. The first few punches miss completely, jerseys stretched over shoulders as they wrestle for position before Yukov’s fist slams into Liam’s ribs. “What the fuck did he say?”
“Dunno.” Katie winces. “Must’ve been good.”
Yukov’s next hook catches Liam across his visor, knocking his helmet loose.
By the time the linesmen jump in and peel them apart, both alphas are bleeding from split knuckles.
Liam swipes his hand across his busted lip as he shoves a clearly furious Carter away and skates for our penalty box, Yukov heading for his own.
“Do you think he’s lost a tooth?” I ask as Liam spits into a bottle. “That looked pretty toothy, don’t you think?”
“You’re so fucking bloodthirsty.” Katie cackles. “How many would that be?”
“For Liam?” I mentally count. “Third, I think. Jonas is the only one who’s never lost any.”
“And I’m sure the world would end if he did.” Maddie snickers. “No offense, Ro. But your guy is pretty and he knows it.”
I scrunch up my face. “Believe me, none taken.”
Am I the only one who didn’t notice how fucking self-obsessed he is?
Was I in some sort of knot-induced love haze for the last three years?
Jesus Christ, Johnson.
We enter the third period without a home goal, and all of us are getting restless. Everywhere I look, people are clutching teddies. Even the Aces side seems to be waiting for our moment.
With thirty seconds left, Carter scoops the puck up from Noah’s pass and flies.
Yukov closes in on him. Then Navarro. By the time he reaches the blue line, four Aces are converging on him, but he doesn’t stop. Somehow, he slips through the smallest gap as Boone lunges, dragging the puck behind his skates as Boone's stick comes down on nothing but ice.
Mac comes out from the net to cut down his angle, but Cart doesn’t give him one. He snaps the puck over Mac's freaking shoulder, slamming it into the top corner so fast that the red light is flashing before the arena realizes that he’s fucking scored.
My arms fly up with a gasp. Words flash up on the Jumbotron and across the ad runners, music blasting.
TOSS! TOSS! TOSS!
Thousands of stuffed animals begin raining over the glass from all sides of the arena. We grab our own bags, yanking the toys free and throwing them over.
There are bears, rabbits, dinosaurs, dragons, and I spot a green ball that looks suspiciously like a giant avocado, all of them bouncing off the ice as the Aces and Titans gather around the edges to applaud and the rink vanishes beneath mountains of plush toys.
Volunteers pour through the gates with bins and shovels, dragging armfuls of toys toward the exits and bagging them in rapid movements.
I stay on my feet. “Look at how many there are!”
“We like a good cause.” Katie wraps her arm around me. “And this is a great one, Ro.”
My heart feels so full. Who needs a fucking birthday anyway?
My good mood lasts until we exit the rink.
“Well, bitches.” Maddie yawns. “I’m not hanging around. I have a baby and a bubble bath waiting.”
She hugs me tightly. “Don’t be a stranger, Ro. Come see your team-niece.”
“I will.” We break apart, and I hold up my gift bag. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she sings out, turning. “Happy birthday! Again, I mean.”
Grinning, I turn to Katie. “I’m going to head back too. The others can catch up.”
I haven’t set foot in the family room since the incident I’m referring to as Drink-Gate, and tonight really doesn’t feel like a great time to test it. “See you next week?”
“Lunch,” Katie declares. “We’ll make it a birthday lunch, since you’re not sticking around to celebrate tonight.”
She sashays off, and I turn for the exit, digging in my bag to find Liam’s keys. They can ride back with Carter.
But a hand grabs my arm. “It’s your birthday?”
My heart spikes to a rate only hummingbirds experience. “No.”
But Lauren is looking at the gift bag in my hand, her face growing pale. “Oh my god. It is.”
My temper rises, hot and tight in my throat as I pull the bag closer. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t need your pity.”
“They forgot your birthday,” she breathes, still staring at your bag. “Rosie.”
“What the fuck did I just say?” I snap. “Leave it alone.”