Page 2 of Unrivaled Love
"How are you feeling champ?" My older brother Mason asks, interrupting your chance to answer.
"Good. Giddy!" I giggle. "This is un-fucking-real."
"You've worked so hard," my mom starts and more tears come than words. My sister, Kaitlyn, heads over to console her.
"Yeah Mom, I have. But you have too. This is yours as much as mine."
"Absolutely, it is." Kaitlyn says. "I didn't spend my childhood as a rink rat for you not to win the big show."
"Big dance." Mason corrects her.
"Wrong sport." I pile on.
Are your siblings like this too?
"Soak it all in, son." Dad says with a hand to my shoulder again. Even with my skates on he's eye level. The man has given me everything, every opportunity imaginable. He was the parent giving his time to me for tournaments and practices. His attention before and after games. And his advice when I was willing to hear it.
You know, because sometimes you just don’t want to hear it from your parents.
And I love the man. Deeply. The only thing I wish he’d shared with me was his height.
Mason got it.
Kaitlyn too.
I’m only taller than Kaitlyn right now because I’ve got my skates on.
Me? It’s pretty obvious just by looking at me, and itdefinitelydoesn’t rub a sore spot to remind you. But for the sake of the story I’ll lay it out again. I inherited all of mom’s height which means I clock in at a solid 5’10”,putting me on the short end of the locker room. Of every locker room I’ve ever been in. I didn’t even get lucky with an early growth spurt. Nope, back in the tween days I was the last one to reach my full height and I always kept hoping a few more inches would come.
They haven’t.
Mom leans into my side again and I guess now isn’t the time to ruminate on my vertical challenges.
We just won it all.
I look around at my teammates on the D.C. Renegades. They’re celebrating with their families around the ice. I smile and it only wilts for a moment when I catch sight of the guys lucky enough to have their girls here in their arms. Our game-winning goalie, Aiden Youngren is holding his girl Harper Daniels up as she wraps her legs around him. Johnny Sawyer somehow got his financé Caroline up on his back over all his pads and is skating her around the boards. Vlad holds a kid in each arm as he kisses his wife Ivanna who is holding their newborn against her chest.
Even Coach Bradford has his daughter Tilly sandwiched between him and his wife Danielle.
Damn, I'd love nothing more than to liftthe one who got awayby the thighs and show her off to the world, sharing this achievement with her.
But no, the girl I can't get over has been avoiding me for seven years and she's not the type to be impressed by a championship anyway.
She's too busy chasing her own.
Chapter 1
Bryson
Iconic Like Brandi Chastain
"Doyouthinktheplayers are watching us?" I ask Aiden, our rock solid goaltender, as we wave to the crowd at the soccer match.
"Do you watch the coverage between the periods?" He asks instead of answering my question. He does that.
"You're not helping," I tell him before I pivot and wave to the other side of the stadium. I run my hand along my hair to make sure it’s still perfectly styled just in case she’s watching. Then I turn to Crosby on my other side and try again. "Do you think the players are watching us?"
"I don't." He says. I twist my body fully in his direction to glare at him because I was hoping my boys would build me up here. An hour ago he noticed the additional effort I made today. He told me I put together a snazzy outfit.
