Page 99 of The Flirty Forward

“What are they doing?” I shriek to Tina.

“They’re gonna fight,” she yells back over the noise. She sounds about as thrilled about this prospect as I am. And then Aiden takes off his gloves. He goes after number twenty-seven. It’s brutal and awful, and I look away. The noise in the arena intensifies, and I look back down at the ice. Both teams are going at it now; it’s a complete brawl. I try to find Sebastian in the middle of it; but I can’t find him. There’s just a mass of bodies. It seems to go on forever, but it probably only lasts a minute. Finally, the refs move in and break it up. It takes a little while, but both teams finally separate. Aiden and number twenty-seven are both sent to the penalty box. A collective groan goes around the arena when Aiden gets sent to the penalty box.

“Number twenty-seven's penalty will be longer because he instigated the fight,” Tina says, squeezing my hand. I don’t respond because I’m still busy trying to see if Sebastian is okay. The big screen shows the replay of the fight, and I look away. I already watched it live; I don’t need to see it again. But then the camera closes in on the Green Thunder players, and I can finallytake a breath when I see him. He’s smiling and talking to a teammate.He’s okay.An insane urge to hug him and make sure he’s okay hits me. I pull out my phone and text Brielle, who’s got to be a mess over what just happened with Aiden.

Stephanie-you okay?

It only takes a few seconds for her to respond.

Brielle-you mean besides the twenty years Aiden just took off my life?

I can’t help but smile.

Stephanie-yeah

Stephanie-are you going back after the game? If so, can I go with you?

Brielle-you better believe I am! Aiden and I are going to have words!

Brielle-and yes, you can come with

Brielle-meet me at the south door right after the game- same place as before

I pocket my phone as the game gets going again. I glance up at the game clock. Six minutes. We just have to hold them off for six minutes. It sounds a lot easier than it’s going to be. Tina was right. Aiden gets out of the penalty box before number twenty-seven, and they try to capitalize on the power play of having one more man than they do. But they don’t. All too soon, number twenty-seven is back and out for blood. This time, it’s Gunner that gets him hard when he goes after one of our guys. Rico keeps out another three close shots, but they’re too close. One of them is going to get in. It only takes two minutes, and they get it in. I groan along with everybody else as we now have a tie game. I rub my hands together, trying to stay calm as the game starts up again. It’s an intense four minutes. Both teams are fighting with everything they’ve got, and both teams come close to scoring. But it’s still tied as the clock ticks under a minute. The entire arena is on its feet, seeing who’s going to come out on top.The clock ticks under thirty seconds. We’re fighting hard, but we just can’t get it in. Then they get a breakaway, and I hold my breath. The crowd erupts as Rico saves it, but then we’re right back in it. He sends it to Aiden, and Aiden sends it to Gunner. They converge on the net, but there’s too many of the other team. The clock ticks under ten seconds. Aiden shoots, but they keep it out. The clock ticks under five seconds. There’s a total mob in front of the net. There’s too many bodies in one spot. And then, the goalie goes wide to deflect a shot, and Sebastian and another player go down. The puck is loose. Sebastian hooks it with his stick, while still on the ground, and sends it in. The entire arena seems to hold its breath.Score!The entire place loses it! I’m screaming along with everybody else. The guys huddle together, and I can see the smiles on their faces. I begin to make my way out of the row, hoping I can get to Sebastian before he goes to the locker room. I’m almost running, I’m walking so fast. Miraculously, Brielle is already there waiting for me. Brielle gets us through security, and then we’re making our way through the back hallways to get to the family area.

We get there just as the team comes through the doors. Gunner’s the first one through, and right behind him is my man. He sees me, and his entire face lights up. I can’t help it. I run to him and throw myself into his arms, knowing that he’ll catch me. I attach my lips to his, and he practically inhales me. He’s sweaty, and his hair is soaked, and yet it doesn’t bother me...at least in this moment. It’s only when the catcalls and whistles hit my ears that I finally pull back and look at him. My eyes are level with his because of how he’s holding me; my legs are wrapped around his waist. He's smiling so widely it almost hurts to look at it. I can’t help my own smile. “That was amazing!” I breathe out.

“Yeah it was,” he responds. Somehow, I think we’re talking about two different things.

I smile. “I’m talking about your goal.”

“I wasn’t,” he responds.

“Good game, Sebastian,” I tell him and kiss him once more. He reluctantly puts me down.

“Will you wait for me? I’ll hurry.” He squeezes my hand and kisses me again. His hands find my hips and pull me closer, and he groans against my lips. “I gotta go; I’ll be back.” And then he follows his team into the locker room. I hear them cheering a moment later, and I smile.

“Well, that was quite a show,” Brielle says with a wide smile.

I shake my head. “Like you and Aiden haven’t done that and worse.”

“Oh, we totally have,” she admits. I turn around to find a chair to sit and wait. I’d just lowered myself into it when the door to the waiting area slams into the wall. I look over in surprise and see number twenty-seven himself stalk towards the locker room door. Alarm rushes through me, and I shoot to my feet.

“You can’t be in here.” Where that bravery comes, I will never know. He turns that hateful gaze on me and runs his eyes up and down my body in a lewd way.

“And I suppose you’re going to stop me?” he sneers. He stalks towards me, and I keep my head up, refusing to look away. Then he glances over my shoulder. “You! Aiden’s girl!” A sick feeling fills my stomach. This is not going to end well. I remember what he did last time he had a run-in with her.

“Brielle, go get Aiden,” I say stepping in front of him.

“Get out of my way,” he snarls at me.

“No.” I know I’m going to regret it, but I also know I’m not going to let him get to Brielle. He comes at me and grabs my arm. I respond the only way I know. Reflex kicks in, and I knee him hard.Thank you, self-defense classes.I try to throw my head into his nose, but he stops me by grabbing me around the waist. I elbow him hard, but I don’t think he feels it through his padding. I throw my elbow up, this time connecting with hisnose. Blood sprays out, and he swears at me viciously. I know it’s time to get away. I run, or at least I try. He grabs my arm and spins me around. Whether on purpose or on accident, his elbow nails my cheek and I stumble backwards.

Strong arms catch me, and Sebastian pushes me behind him before he yells at number twenty-seven and throws a punch. Somebody pulls me away from the action. “Are you okay?” Rico asks in concern. I nod, trying to find my equilibrium. He looks over my shoulder and grimaces. “I gotta go keep Aiden and Sebastian from killing Blake. I’ll be right back. You good?”

“Yes.”

I look over but can’t see anything because security is now swarming the area. There’s a ton of shouting, but I hear somebody yelling for security to get him out of here. And then Sebastian is in front of me. His eyes are livid; I can feel the anger coming off him. I’ve never seen him so angry. His eyes run over my face, and his muscles bunch. “I’m okay,” I tell him. It is thewrong thingto say.

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