Page 127 of Fake Out Hearts

A few minutes later, as I file out onto the ice with the guys at the Titans’ arena in New Jersey, I spot Andrew in the stands. He waves at me, so I lift a gloved hand in response, but he looks anxious. He admitted to being scared to face the Aces this season during the fundraiser, and with the way we’ve all been on our game lately, he’s right to be.

Our warmup passes quickly, and we form up for the face-off against the Titans. As we all stand crouched and ready to spring into action, anticipation and tension crackles between us. I don’t know why, but I have the feeling that this is going to be one hell of a game and it hasn’t even started yet.

My eyes find Noah’s, and he nods at me like he’s reading my mind. Meanwhile, the guys I make eye contact with on the Titans look worried, especially as they start to pick up on the energy that’s growing on our team. The crowd falls eerily quiet while they wait to see what happens, but when the ref slings the puck down, they erupt as the players scatter.

I lose track of the puck for a second in the fray but find Noah peeling away from the pack with a small lead on the Titans’ center. The others streak after him, and their left winger tries to intercept, but Noah dances around him and sinks a goal like it’snothing. There aren’t many Aces fans in the stands—it’s a long journey to New Jersey from Colorado—but the few who are there lose it.

I’m already feeling fired up, but Noah’s goal and the fans cheering it only makes it stronger. So when we square up for the next puck drop, I’m determined to give them something else to cheer about. I blaze forward as the puck falls and poke it away from the Titans, then swerve through the reach of both their left and right wing to barrel down the ice toward their tense goalie.

Maybe it’s because he’s already off-kilter from the easy first goal that Noah took, or maybe it’s because he knows my reputation, but either way, the poor guy looks like he’s shaking in his gear as I close the gap between us and wind up to fire off a shot. I psyche him out by leaning right, then reverse at the last second into a shot on his left side. It soars over his shoulder and catches the net, and again our fans go hysterical.

I find Becca’s beaming face in the crowd and point my stick at her. “This one’s for you!” I bellow over the noise, and although I know she can’t hear me, I’m sure she knows what I mean. Because every shot I score is for her. She’s the one who reminded me of my love for this game, who brought me back into it.

Noah plows into me from behind, beating on my helmet with his glove. We aren’t even five minutes into the game, but we’re already up two to nothing. I steal a glance over at Andrew in the Titans’ box and find him with his head in one hand, looking distressed. He has to know they aren’t winning this game. There’s no way in hell.

After Noah and I score another two goals back-to-back, the Titans might as well throw in the towel. The next time I skate past their box, Andrew looks deflated and defeated. I shrug sympathetically at him on my way past, and he at least manages a smirk.

“You’re on fire tonight!” I hear him boom as I skate away. At this point, all we have to do is defend our lead, and that’s exactly what we do. The game ends at four to nothing, and I find Becca losing her mind in the crowd with the other Aces fans. This only could’ve been better if it was the Prowlers we destroyed tonight, but a win is a win.

I shake hands with the Titans and leave the ice in a hurry to get to Becca. I don’t care about anything other than being with her right now, so I strip out of my gear and take one of the fastest showers I’ve ever taken, then rush to the family lounge. Becca must have been waiting on pins and needles for me, because as soon as I walk into the room, she dashes over and throws herself into my arms.

“Oh my god, you were so amazing tonight!” she shouts, barely getting the words out before I pull her in for a kiss.

“This won’t even be the most amazing part of the night,” I whisper in her ear so no one else can hear. Her face immediately flushes, and I feel her shiver in my arms. The effect I still have on her makes me grin. I can’t get enough of the way she responds to every word, every little touch.

“You two coming out with the rest of us?” Noah asks, pulling me away from the trance Becca always puts me in. He’s arm-in-arm with Margo, and the rest of the team must have spilled in around me while I was talking to Becca because they’re all standing and staring at me expectantly.

“With this kind of peer pressure, who could say no?” I ask, and Noah beams at me.

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

“Is that okay with you?” I ask Becca quietly, and she nods enthusiastically.

“Of course. We have to celebrate a win like this!”

We pile outside and into Ubers to go to a local bar, Black Cat, that’s legendary. Becca and I end up in a car alone, which is finewith me because I can’t keep my hands off her, can’t get her close enough to me. Truthfully, I don’t even want to go to the bar at all. I’d much rather take her back to our hotel room and show her exactly how amazing I’m planning the night to be, but I have to be a good sport for the rest of the team.

It feels amazing to be back on top of my game like this—and to have the others acknowledge it. I have no idea if the rumors about my contract with the Aces not getting renewed was ever true in the first place, but I can’t imagine they’re in any hurry to get rid of me now. I might be cocky, but even I’m not arrogant enough to say I’m the Aces star player. But without me, the team wouldn’t be half as good as it is, and I think Dunaway and the rest of the management know that without a doubt now.

I turn to Becca in the backseat, my hand massaging her leg. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“Are you kidding? I never would’ve forgiven myself if I’d missed a game like this,” she says with a bright smile. “Poor Andrew though.”

I laugh and nod. “Yeah, he’s gonna have a hard time living that one down. But I mean, he knew what he was in for. He at least knew to be scared.”

“I think everyone’s going to be afraid of the Aces now, and rightfully so. You all played so well tonight. It was honestly amazing to watch, like you were part of a hive mind or something. You were just perfectly in sync.”

“That’s how it should be every game, and I think we’re going to have a lot more of those going forward,” I say, and I mean it. I still don’t really know what was hanging over me and knocking me off my game before, but it doesn’t matter because I don’t plan on ever going back to that version of me.

And with Becca at my side, I’ll never have to. I’ll never run out of inspiration to play my best.

“Yeah?” Becca asks, still smiling.

“Absolutely,” I say and lean over to kiss her cheek. My hand drifts a little farther up her thigh, just to tease her a bit, and she unconsciously spreads her legs. “I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to stay very long at this bar.”

“You’re reading my mind,” Becca says, then chews her lip. “A game like that deserves a reward.”

“One drink then?”

---