Page 10 of Play Maker

I wasn’t the only one watching the show. A row of students sitting directly behind the box called Jace’s name, and he turned to them, waving and chatting. Guys and girls, they all wanted to talk to him. Not just that, they wanted to be near him, to be a part of his inner circle. I’d been to a few of the parties that Ethan’s frat hosted, along with the rest of the hockey team, and Jace was never short of company. Then I remembered what Preston told me. How good a fuck Jace was. Ugh, what the hell? I didn’t need to be thinking aboutthatof all things. Besides, I did okay myself when it came to sex. I’d met and fucked a couple of women from those parties. I scratched an itch but that was it. One wanted a repeat and a date, but I wasn’t about to go down that road. My plate was already loaded with problems, and a relationship would only add to it.

But watching Jace charm the crowd fueled my aggravation. If only they knew what a manipulative dick he really was…

Suddenly, Jace turned around, and caught me staring. Damn.

What was worse? I didn’t look away.

CHAPTER 5

JACE

What was Axel’s problem now? And why did I give a shit?

I didn’t, but he and I were going to talk after this game. He could stare at me until his eyeballs mummified, but he better lose that pissy attitude.

Coach Banning suggested we hash things out in his office, and if needed, with the aid of a counselor. I didn’t mind the former, but the latter was a hard no. I wasn’t in the mood to get analyzed, at least, not with Axel. Besides, there was nothing here that could be fixed. Axel was best friends with Preston, Preston hated me, and it followed that Axel did too. It went both ways. I hated Preston for what he did to me, so…

Not to mention, Axel and I were competing for the same spot. Coach kept saying that he’d have his decision in a few weeks, but weeks turned into months. Every game and every goal told me that I deserved that center spot. I was confident it was mine.

Until the third period happened, and my ego crashed. Hard.

We had the lead at 2-0 but Mansfield wasn’t ready to admit defeat. They charged back with an unexpected goal, a stunning corner shot that whizzed past Maddox’s blocker. Our goalie was now angrier than a nest of disturbed bees, pacing back and forthand shaking his head so hard I was surprised he didn’t hurt his neck. My sixth sense thrummed loudly, and I knew something strange was about to happen. Only, I’d had that feeling since Axel joined our team, so maybe my intuition was jammed up?

Nope, my instinct was right on target.

Axel scored with five minutes remaining in the period. I was elated like the rest of my team that the Cougars were up 3-1 but being witness to the end of Axel’s scoring drought? It had me wanting to stomp my feet and slap my stick against the ice until it shattered. Instead, on the next play, I jumped the gun and crossed the blue line before the puck did. The ref called offside, rightly so, and Mansfield had an advantage, a face-off in the neutral zone. Their best forward, Daskell, scored on us again.

The air in the rink was so thick with contention I was nearly choking on it.

But of course, I didn’t screw up once, but twice. My temper got the better of me when I battled for the puck with Gacey. Then I was stuck in the sin bin for two minutes for a holding call. It felt like a fucking eternity, and I only had myself to blame. The worst part? I had to spend my time watching Axel score, yet again, and on Mansfield’s power play. He managed to score on them with a man down. Unreal.

When my time was up, I shot out of the bin like my ass was literally on fire. Watching Axel score not once, but twice, had that effect. No way was this asshole outplaying me.

I skated past Silas, on my way to take my spot, when he tapped my arm.

“Everyone can hear your teeth grinding,” he whispered. “Stay focused.”

“I am,” I bit out.

“I mean, on the freaking puck. Not on him.”

“For someone who hasn’t said much in months, you sure do have a shit ton of opinions all of a sudden.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I’m finally feeling like a real part of this team. I can see our momentum and I want to go all the way. We all have something to prove. Some of us more than others.”

Silas played a great game today; I’ll give him that.

And me? This period was a bomb. But it wasn’t over yet.

“Stop thinking about yourself,” he continued. “Think about what’s best for the team.”

“Thanks for the advice, old man. And guess what? I’m always thinking about the team. I?—”

The ref blew the whistle, thank fuck, and there was no more time for talk.

Axel was on the same line as me, along with Colin Goring, one of our grinders. Silas’ advice rattled around in my head, and I begrudgingly admitted that he was right. Putting aside my personal feelings, Axel was just another teammate. And the truth was, I wanted to win this game more than I wanted to show up Axel.

When the puck dropped, Colin took possession, and we mounted our attack. Until Colin got slammed by Gacey, and the puck went wild, bouncing off the boards like a pinball. In the scrum, Daskell got ahold of the puck and took off with it. But Maddox was ready for him and blocked one of the fastest slapshots I’d seen all game. I zoomed around the net, Maddox passed the puck to me, and it was on. The crowd chanted my name and I pushed harder, sprinting down the ice, when I spotted Axel in my line of sight.

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