Page 54 of The Save

I stared at the bench as the boys filed out of the tunnel, willing Chase to look up. It took a minute or two, but then his eyes lifted. When they stopped on me, I gave him a huge smile and a thumbs-up.

“Is that a—is he blushing?” Sharla teased.

“As if you can see that from here.”

The puck dropped for overtime, and the tension in the arena crystallized. This was the home team, and we, as Outlaws fans, were in the minority.

The Outlaws played it smart, keeping their shifts short, never letting Clearwater control pace for more than a few strides. Bear was gassed, bent over his stick on the bench. Axel took a heavy hit and looked a little rattled. But Rob—Rob was a different animal in sudden death.

“He wants this,” Shar murmured.

You could see it in every push of his legs. He circled high in the zone, eyes scanning like a sniper, waiting for that one seam to open.

I saw it the second he did.

Rory forced a turnover at centre ice and fed it through a narrow gap, perfectly timed. Rob caught the puck on his backhand, dragged it around the defenceman, and snapped it just under the bar—far side, blocker high.

The arena groaned, and we tried not to be asses with our tiny celebration, but Shar screamed loud enough to make my eardrum twitch.

Rob dropped to one knee, arms spread wide, and the rest of the bench spilled over the boards to swarm him. The Clearwater players circled back to their bench, and I wasn’t uncompassionate. It sucked losing at home. We had plenty of experience with that.

“Holy shit. They’re going to go to nationals, I just know it!” Shar bounced on her toes.

The team formed a line to shake hands, and Chase stood at the end. He leaned in to say something to Rob, who was beaming, sweat-soaked and wild-eyed. And then, almost like he felt my gaze, he looked up to the stands.

This time, he didn’t drop his eyes or grin. He just held up the papers on his clipboard, pointed at them, then pointed at me.You,he mouthed, and everything inside me stalled.

Shar nudged me. “I think he’s a little impressed.”

I blinked back the tears welling in my eyes. “I don’t know about that.”

“Just own it, Maddie. And write the hell out of that essay for the Rhodes.” She threw her arms around me, and my heart felt like it was going to burst. Maybe I didn’t know exactly what lay beneath my constant analyses, but it felt damn good to see that itwas good for something. That I could help people and use it for more than just pulling out A’s on tests.

“C’mon, let’s get down there!” Sharla yanked me toward the stairs.

I had to hand it to Clearwater. Even though they lost, their team stood at attention as the trophy was presented and our boys whooped and smacked their sticks against the ice. The teams intermingled, passing around compliments and congratulations.

Shar and I screamed ourselves hoarse with Kelsey and Emily, Bear and Tim’s girlfriends. Twenty minutes later, we leaned against the concrete wall near the arena’s main doors, waiting as the players filed out with their sticks and bags slung over their shoulders.

Shar rubbed her gloved hands together. “Kelsey found a bar five minutes from here that supposedly does poutine nachos and karaoke.”

I laughed. “That sounds deeply unholy.”

“She said there’s a neon moose.”

Kelsey nodded excitedly, holding up a flyer with the name “The Tipsy Bullwinkle” headlining the top of it.

“Clearly, we have no choice.”

The doors ahead of us opened wide, and the Outlaws spilled into the lobby, clean-faced, shaggy haired, and cocky. The smell of cologne followed them like a weather system. Rob spotted Shar and rushed forward, scooping her into a hug.

Rory grinned at me as he passed, then veered off to meet one of the Clearwater girls he’d been eyeing from the ice. Atta boy. Tim and Rob were still buzzing from Rob’s overtime goal, shouting something about getting a timestamp tattooed above his ass cheek.

Then Chase stepped out with the coaches, his team jacket slung over his arm. Blakely and Kaplan flanked him, bothlooking too tired to function. Kaplan made a beeline for the shuttle while Blakely scanned the crowd and nodded at Axel.

“You boys coming out?” Axel asked, cradling his stick across both shoulders like a baseball bat.

Blakely grunted. “My bones are creaking.”