Page 43 of One Shot

I head out of the locker room door, ready for a great game.

The national anthem plays. The puck drops. We win the face off. The game is flying. It’s 2-1 at the end of the first period.

We are playing really well, but the Comets aren’t playing badly either. I know that we have beaten them more than they have beaten us in the last couple of years. About halfway into the second period, Liam is hot on a breakaway, but the puck is quickly stolen by a defenseman. He turns on the spot to follow back down to our side of the ice.

BOOM!

Number 72 slams him hard against the boards, with a malicious glint in his eye. The sound of the crash amplifies against the ice from the hard hit. Liam doesn’t get up right away, which is unlike him. Is he injured? The ref doesn’t call a penalty; it was a clean hit. Liam gets upshakily and heads to the bench. Holy hell. I’ve never seen Liam down for more than a second on the ice. We all need to shake it off. We can’t let the brutal hit and anticipation of more get to our heads.

But we can’t seem to shake it off. The Comets score two more goals. The period ends 3-2 with the Wyverns down by a goal.

The end of the second period means my interview. I’ve never been interviewed mid-game before. I pull at the hem of my jersey and take a deep calming breath. I haven’t been interviewed by Laur since I realized I was falling for her and falling for her hard. I’m sure she’s just as anxious as me, especially with this being her first game since seeing Nick play his last game.

Laur, the camera crew, and a girl with a phone ready to record are all waiting for me when I get to the spot Bren instructed me to go to. Anxious sweat drips down my forehead onto my already drenched jersey. Someone hands me a towel to wipe my face. Laur gives me her famous Bellinger smile, and my nerves ease a little.

“Ready?” she asks.

I nod. She signals to the camera guy, and he counts her down from three.

“I’m here with our beloved Wyverns’ Captain, Lucas Donato. Captain, the energy feels wild here today. How would you say that’s impacting the team?” Lauren asks.

Her voice is steady and poised—very professional. I’m in awe of her.

“We can definitely feel the support down on the ice. The thrill of fans is incredibly motivating. The team and I are very thankful for the turn out and for our amazing marketing and PR team support pre-season.”

She blushes at the mention of her work, but her expression quickly changes. A hint of pain flashes in her beautiful ocean blue eyes as she asks, “How does it feel playing your first game as Captain, especially as a junior?”

I take a sharp breath in. I knew she would have to ask me something like this. I hope she isn’t loathing me right now, wishing I was Nick. Icouldn’t blame her if she did. I wish he was here too. Laur clears her throat, waiting for me to answer.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this incredible, talented group of men. I have big shoes to fill from our previous captain, Nick Bellinger. I know he is here with us today, cheering us on. I hope to make him, the team, Coach Andres, and our fans proud today.”

She beams at me, fighting back tears. She does an impressive job staying in focus and remaining composed. Why isn’t she considering a career in broadcasting? She’s so alluring and captivating. It’s a miracle I haven’t noticed her while on the ice all game. If I did, I would play like shit with that distraction.

“One more question, Captain. The Wyverns have historically won against the Comets with twelve wins out of fourteen games the last five years, including a winning streak the last three years. Any comments on that?”

Wow, she did her homework. My eyebrows instinctively raise with admiration.

“The team and I intend to keep our winning streak going. Hopefully the fans can bring more of that glorious Wyverns energy to help bring us a first game win!”

My heartbeat quickens as Laur grabs my hand, pulling me to her. She whispers in my ear, “Avoid number 72 on the right side, you saw what he did to Liam. Tell Liam and the rest of the guys. Nick wrote it in his notebook.”

I look at her perplexed. Suddenly remembering Laur mentioned Nick had written about each of our opponents in that notebook, I need to ask her if I can look at it. I know it means a lot to her, but if it means learning more about each opponent and helping the team overall, I have to ask. Hockey has to come first.

We’re still down by one after five minutes into the third period. The boys are pushing hard and feeding off the crowd's contagious energy. Connor passes to Mitchell, who drives the puck up the ice. He makes a quick pass back to Connor, as number 72 that Nick wrote aboutapproaches to try to steal the puck. Connor takes the puck to the net and scores.

Yes! We’re tied with ten minutes left now. The next five minutes are brutal. Both teams are hungry for the win. A Comet player shoots and the shot’s deflected by our goaltender. I quickly snatch the rebound and turn to dash up the ice. The Comets don’t have their shit together; they didn’t expect a rebound off that shot. I easily pass center ice before number 72 comes at me. I pass to Liam. He takes a shot, and the puck soars into the net.

FUCK YES! We are winning with less than five minutes left. We spend those next five minutes fighting for our lives to keep the Comets off the board.

The whistle blows, ending the first game of the season. We won! Hallelujah.

The boys want to celebrate our win by getting rowdy at the bar, but we have an early day tomorrow with another game to win. I inform the team if we win tomorrow against the Comets, we will celebrate, but tonight we need to rest and be ready. It’s a marathon of a season, not a sprint.

Bren is waiting with Laur outside the locker room. They must have been waiting over an hour between us showering, my pep talk, and Coach’s notes. Laur runs up to me, throwing her arms around my neck in an unexpected hug. My heart aches with longing for her. I squeeze her back, taking in her flowery perfume before picking her up off the ground.

“Congrats on your first win as captain!” she squeals. I put her down, and she hugs me again.

“You would have made him proud. You made me proud,” she whispers in my ear.

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