Page 102 of Rookie Season
“Miss Ally?” Paige pipes up, head tilted as she looks across the table at her dance teacher.
Ally smiles. “Yes, sweetheart?”
She smiles back with the wide-eyed innocence of a seven-year-old. “Is my Uncle Noah a good kisser?”
“Gross!” Jamie exclaims, looking at my niece in horror.
Carter and Mitch both snort ill-disguised laughs. Fisher and Penn are less subtle, both hooting out loud.
“Yes,Miss Ally, do tell us, as we are all dying to know,” Penn says with a huge smirk at my girlfriend.
She sticks her tongue out at Penn, then squeezes my hand. “The best.”
I squeeze back. “Puck, yes, I am.”
And then, for the hell of it, I kiss her again.
That night, during warmups, I make eye contact across the ice with a familiar face—Bruce McBride. He’s the D.C. Eagles’ starting goalie, a total badass. And someone who’s always been in my corner. He beams when he spots meand skates to center ice, clad in his thick layer of goalie gear.
“Noah Downsby,” he says, removing his helmet. “I’ve missed you, kid.” He pulls me into a hug, and I don’t fight it. Bruce is like an uncle to me.
“It’s good to see you,” I say, glancing toward my brother-in-law—Coach Anderson—who’s on the bench watching us.
“How’s the grump treating you?” Bruce asks with a chuckle, the corners of his eyes starting to crinkle with age. His blond hair is sprinkled with silver strands. Bruce must be nearly forty now and about ready to retire.
“He’s a pretty good coach, actually,” I admit. Because despite being brand new to NHL coaching, Mitch Anderson and Sebastian Slater have led us well. The San Francisco Lions are toward the top of the leaderboard for the western conference for the first time in years.
“Glad to hear it,” Bruce says, securing his helmet back in place. He waves with his goalie glove then turns to head back to his net.
“Can’t wait to kick your ass tonight, old man,” I call to him from across the ice.
He stops and turns back toward me with a wicked grin. “We’ll see who kicks whose ass.” Bruce winks and skates off.
I chuckle, skating back to my teammates. That’s when I notice Ally has arrived—in my lucky jersey, of course. Her blonde hair is tied back in a matching burgundy ribbon and she looks cute as all hell. Her parents and brother are with her, along with my sister and nieces. They’re all wearing Downsby jerseys too, but turquoise Lions ones.
Ally looks over at me, and as our eyes meet, I realize that right here, in this moment, I feel complete. And whatever happens tonight, whatever happens this season, or the next, Stanley Cups or no, it doesn’t matter…
Because I’ve already won.
EPILOGUE THREE YEARS LATER
ALLEGRA
I stand in the spotlight, arms held high as I look out over an audience on its feet, whistling and clapping. But in the sea of people out there, I only see one face. One pair of brown eyes that sparkle with love and pride as Noah looks up at me on the stage.
I take my final bow, then exit the stage with a smile on my face as I see Noah making his way out of the row he’s sitting in, already on his way to meet me backstage in my dressing room.
“Congratulations, Allegra!” Cora—who’s become one of the best friends I’ve ever had—pulls me into a hug the second I’m out of view of the audience. “You were amazing tonight.”
“Likewise,” I reply, giving my friend a huge squeeze. “You killed it.”
She stares out at the now-empty stage as the lights flash off. “I can’t believe we made it here.”
“Me, either.”
It feels like a lifetime ago that Cora and I received callbacks for ourExpressionsauditions, and after three morerounds of auditions and a rigorous practice schedule, we both made it into the final show, which premiered six months later and was a resounding success. Both of us danced in the show for the next two years—continuing to teach littles on the side—until we were both scouted for a new show by the same creators,Empowerment.
It has an all-female cast of dancers and an overarching theme of self-love and self-discovery, and I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough when they offered me the lead role. Tonight was opening night, and it went as well as I could have hoped for. I danced my heart out, and I’m excited for both of our families and all of our friends to be in the audience tomorrow night.
