Page 95 of One Shot

“Never thought I would kiss someone wearing a Bellinger 88 jersey.”

She laughs. She’s wearing one too.

“Me either.”

After the second period, we are up by one goal. I hear an announcement being made and get all the guys to come out of the locker room five minutes early before the new period starts.

Very few people know about what’s going to happen. Bren, Lauren’s stepdad, Dominic, and I have kept this a secret for months. I’m shocked no one spilled the beans. Lauren’s mom doesn’t even know.

“As you know, we do many fundraisers every year to support youth hockey programs and charities across the state,” Bren begins.

My heart races with excitement when I spot Laur and her mom standing by Coach.

“Well, you might have noticed we haven’t announced the main charity we are going to support yet. I am elated to announce a brand-new charity we will be supporting this year. Dominic Rossi, the founder of the charity, is going to say a few words about it.”

I steal a glance at Laur, and she’s saying “What’s going on” to her mom, who shrugs. They both looked more puzzled than a deer in headlights.

“Thank you, Brenna. As Brenna mentioned, I’m Dominic Rossi. I had the privilege of being Nick Bellinger’s stepfather. Today I couldn’t be more ecstatic to announce the Nick Bellinger Foundation. In Lucas Donato’s amazing speech he gave before the game, he spoke about the type of player and man Nick was, on and off the ice," Dominic nervously clears his throat before continuing. "I know he would be honored to have a foundation in his name to support not only youth hockey but college scholarships for hockey as well. Nick would want to make sure every single person who has a love for hockey gets their one shot, and this is the perfect opportunity to help do just that.”

Laur and Annabeth are both crying. Laur makes eye contact with me and mouths “did you know?” I just shrug, and her tears fall faster. Dominic is holding a crying Annabeth next to Lauren.

Chapter forty-one

Laur

My tears have a mind of their own. I can’t control them as they steadily stream down my face. What Lucas, Bren, and Dominic have kept from me is the most heartwarming, unexpected secret.

“That’s not all!” Bren chimes in again. “With the proceeds of the limited-edition Wyverns jerseys that we released a few months ago and that the team is all wearing tonight that were created from a drawing by Nick Bellinger himself, we have raised over $30,000 so far this season. Isn’t that amazing? Oh! Did I mention that The Nick Bellinger Foundation is matching every dollar, one for one, that we raise this year as well? How amazing is that! Make sure to grab yours at the merch table. Once they are gone, they are gone! Go Wyverns!”

Matching all the money we raised this year? My stepdad is really a great man. I wish Nick could have spent more time with him.

Gratefulness radiates off me like the sun beaming down in the desert. I might burst with the overwhelming joy that fills my heart. I run over to kiss Lucas before he goes back to the locker room.

“It was so hard keeping this a secret from you,” Lucas admits with a hushed voice.

“Best secret ever. I can’t thank you enough, Captain Boyfriend.”

My lips find his again. I force myself to remember my mother is probably watching before I jump his bones right here right now.

“How is this possible?” Mom asks Domnic.

“I told you I made some good investments with Cody Stone’s brother,” Dominic says.

He kisses Mom, who is still shocked and awed. So am I.

It finally makes sense to me that Dominic has always just wanted to love and support me, Nick, and even Mom, not by trying to fill the hole created by Dad’s death, but to fill a different space. Dad passed away when Nick and I were so young, I don’t think we really remembered him. I think we just clung tight to what people told us about him from his hockey career. Dominic has always supported us and loved us, but today, he has really gone above and beyond.

“Thank you,” I say between tears. “Nick would have loved to have a foundation for kids to learn hockey and for scholarship support hockey named after him. This is the best way anyone can honor him.”

Dominic gives me a tight hug. Mom and I are still sobbing when the third period starts. It flies by, and the boys are on fire. The Wyverns’ streak continues, and we win the game by three points.

Somehow, it’s already March and the conference games are literally around the corner. There is only one team in the conference with a better record than ours, and it’s luckily not East. I have minimal schoolwork and with no more articles to submit, I dive in hard on the Wyverns, talking to different press outlets about the amazing donations we have been able to give this year, the new charity in Nick’s honor, and helping Dominic interview people to eventually run the charity while he’s chairman. I’m keeping myself busy while Lucas is focused on hockey.

We manage to squeeze in some time here and there. Before finals for the conference championships, we go on our first official double date with Liam and Bren. East Michigan is playing an Illinois team later today to see who the Wyverns play in the championship, which we’ll watch later tonight with the full team.

“Did that girl just glare at me?” I ask Bren as we sit down at Haee’s for dinner. There’s a table of four girls, and I swear at least two of them are looking at me like they want to claw my eyes out.

Bren laughs. “Well, your man is one of the most wanted on campus, and you’re fresh meat. They already know I bite.”

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