Page 134 of Unrivaled Love
And hopefully since we are only an hour apart tonight we can actually talk on the phone. Maybe another sexy FaceTime. I know Felix planned a party for me but I'd ditch it in a heartbeat if it meant I could give my attention to Jo.
Felix playsWho Let the Dogs Outas we make the final adjustments to our gear. It's almost time to line up in the tunnel before we take the ice for the anthem. The calm before the storm moments. The crowd is against us tonight and while scoring at home feels incredible, scoring on an opponent's ice, and the crowd goes quiet, is exhilarating. It fires up the competitor in me.
We fist bump and tap helmets to get ourselves fired up. Aiden stands stoically in the back and we give him space to get in the zone. He and Gavin have been switching off playing time each week and honestly, for a forward, I can do my job more effectively because we have two solid goaltenders to back us up.
I can be a little more aggressive with my passes and my shots because if they get blocked or caught by the other team, our defenders and goaltenders are there to pick up the momentum and shut the attack down cold.
The anthem plays and I slide my skates back and forth on the ice. It's impossible to stand still before a game.
Coach Bradford calls us over and gives us the final reminders before we line up for the opening faceoff.
"They keep their forwards high, they don't crowd the net so watch your passes at the top of the zone." He says to Crosby and Duncan, our startingdefenders. "And forwards, there's room just outside the crease for the extra pass, look for it, especially if you can get Ira to pull to one side."
Ira Gilligan is Seattle's goalie. He's good, he's a little young, so he doesn't always cover his ass like he should. If we can pull him to his left and get his glove out of position we'll have wide open nets to his right. And that’s my sweet spot.
That means it'll be Emmett’s job to pull him out wide on the right and Felix or I will cherry pick for the pass or the rebound.
Felix wins the faceoff and it slides out to Emmett who passes it forward to me. I enter the zone and go straight for the net. Sometimes the first shot can slide in before a goaltender is in the rhythm of the game.
I don't get lucky when Ira catches it and then drops it to swing a pass to his defender. We get a turnover in the neutral zone, and get in position for one more offensive try before the first line change of the game.
I roll around like I'm going to swing behind the net but instead I switch directions with a spray of snow and receive a pass from Emmett. The goalie started to move back to center, anticipating the pass, because I am in a bad shooting position.
For anyone else in the league, that is.
Here, almost at the goal line on the left side, is where I score most of my shots. I hook the puck and skate backwards a stride before leaning forward, switching my edge, and firing the puck at the top of the net.
Ira reaches for it but I found the spot between his mask and his glove. With a bar down ping, the puck is in the net in the opening three minutes of the game.
"Hell yeah!" I yell out when the crowd goes silent.
"Yes, Boba Tea! That was filthy!" Duncan says as he comes and taps my helmet.
The rest of the guys pile on and we hug before skating to our bench where I lead the line of fist bumps. I skate down to tap Aiden's pads and then get in position for the next faceoff at center ice.
***
"Happy Fucking Birthday!" Crosby yells as I walk into the locker room. I got pulled aside for an interview at the end of the game because I scored a hat trick for the ninth time in my career. That first goal set me off and I got another before the end of the first period and my third halfway through the second. With another goal from Felix we won four to one.
"Thanks buddy," I say to Crosby as I hand my stick to Luke. He then reaches for my gloves and places them on the drying rack. During the offseason, D.C. used some of the profits from our championship run to invest in road equipment so we've got things like glove driers, stationary bikes, and custom pillows for road games. It seems small but it makes a difference. Some of the locker rooms for away teams are as sophisticated as community rink locker rooms; wooden benches in front of a few hooks drilled into cinder block walls.
"Alright boys, shower up and get changed. We're celebrating our boy, Bryson, tonight!" Felix calls out. "And yes, before any of you ask, you need to put your suits back on. We’re going to look fly as fuck at the club tonight.”
I hear a few grumbles but I don't care. I'm riding the high of a win, of a spectacular game, and my birthday.
That high climbs when Luke reports Jo not only won, but assisted in the go-ahead goal, and scored the final goal of the game.
I strip out of my sweater and gear and hand it to him with a thanks. Then, before taking off the rest of my pads, I grab my phone and call Jo.
Her game ended about halfway through ours so she should be able to talk.
The call goes straight to voicemail. With a frown, I hang up without leaving a message.
Maybe she's driving home and it's on do not disturb?
I'll try her again after I shower.
***
