Page 11 of Play Maker

When Mansfield’s defense closed in on me, I had no choice. With one quick flick of my wrist, I shot it straight to Axel, and he took it the rest of the way home. I deked around Gacey, barely, and saw an opening. This was it. Axel, thank fuck, knew it too and when he shot the puck back to me, I geared up and hit the bullseye, right between their goalie’s legs.

The buzzer lit up. 5-2. This game was ours; I fucking knew it.

“Jace, that was amazing!” Colin shouted as he reached me and grabbed my shoulder. The crowd was shouting so loud that I barely heard him. “Great freaking goal!”

“Thanks,” I replied and spotted Axel skating towards me. Slowly.

Fuck it. I met him halfway and gave him a pat on the shoulder, whether he wanted it or not. Whether I liked it or not. I ignored the fact that he still smelled incredible and focused on the fact that we’d worked together and succeeded.

“We did it,” I announced.

“You’re welcome,” he growled, his blue eyes as fiery as ever.

“No celebratory kiss?” I goaded him.

“I’d rather suck face with the Zamboni driver.”

“He’s like, eighty or something,” I quipped. “Didn’t know you were into dudes and old ones at that, but that’s cool. Daddies are hot.”

“Shut your mouth, Rowland. The game isn’t over yet.”

I tapped his stick in response. That was as civil as Axel and I were going to get.

Coach called for a line change, and I gratefully accepted the break.

“Rowland, Lund, Goring, great play,” Banning called out as we filed off the ice. “I expect to see more of the same.”

“Yes, Coach!” we replied at the same time.

Finally, my roller-coaster emotions settled. Things were only going to get more intense the closer we got to nationals, and I couldn’t have a repeat of today. The goals, yes, but the stupid penalty, no. And no way was Axel going to mess with my head. All I had to do was separate the athlete from the person, and I was good. Right?

“Let’s go guys! Bring it home!” I yelled out to my teammates.

I glanced up at the clock. There was less than thirty seconds left.

The hometown crowd chanted ‘cougars roar’ and ‘green and gold’, the booming echo louder than any concert. I turned my stick upside down and started banging it on the floorboard, making more noise, and the rest of the guys on the sideline did the same, as we cheered on our teammates. No doubt we’d be hoarse and hard of hearing by the time we hit the locker room.

Twenty seconds left and Ethan managed to get another shot on goal, but Mansfield’s goalie was faster and blocked it.

Ten seconds remaining and I was vibrating, jumping up and down along with everyone around me, screaming as loud as I could. Gaskell made one last attempt at Maddox, but Kayden and Silas were all over him and blocked the shot.

No goal.

When the final buzzer sounded, everyone in the box jumped onto the ice. A five-goal game was a huge win for any team, and for us, it solidified everything we’d been working on for months.

After the initial celebration on the ice, we did our usual lineup with the opposing team to thank them for a good game and then scuttled back to the box for Coach Banning’s postgame scrum. There was always a detailed discussion about the plays at the next practice—what worked, what didn’t—but Banning liked to give his initial thoughts while the game was fresh. Coach even offered a rare smile before he started speaking. It only lasted about a tenth of a second and if you blinked, you missed it.

“This is our second highest scoring game this season, and it feels like we’re hitting our stride. Things that happened today that I want to see more of; great communication, an aggressive offense, and a defense that’s getting more cohesive with every game. What didn’t hit right—several unnecessary penalties. Losing our cool now isn’t an option. Your head needs to stay in the game and if it’s not, come talk to me. Rest up tomorrow and get ready to practice hard this week,” Banning paused andscanned our group. “Axel, Jace, Finn, and Silas, I want to see you in my office after you get changed.”

Uh oh, Coach used our first names and that meant a long lecture was coming.

No one on the team would dare say anything right now but I knew that as soon as we hit the locker room, the razzing would start. In the meantime, I got nudges and rude gestures (when Coach wasn’t looking) and ignored all of them.

With Banning’s dismissal, we shuffled off to get showered and dressed. I was already feeling the aches in my lower back and when I sat down in front of my stall to remove my gear, my knees cracked loudly. Thankfully, that was the worst of it. Last year, I’d injured my groin, and I didn’t want to go through that hell again. It took me forever to heal and I had to give up sex for two whole months. Sixty days, for god’s sake. For me, that was like two freaking years.

Ethan stood up on one of the benches and let out a sharp whistle.

“Party at my place to celebrate the win!” Ethan shouted. “Everyone—and that includes you, Moss—better be there!”

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