Page 99 of Zero Pucks Given
Then two women moved, and the woman I was falling in love with came into view.
Josie.
48
Josie
I didn’t care how late it was. After seeing the TikTok video Grayson had posted, I left Sharon’s apartment and drove straight to the airport. Only when I arrived did I realize the team plane wouldn’t land for another three hours.
I rewatched the video on my phone. This time, alone in my car, the tears flowed freely.
By the third viewing, I was ugly-crying.
I fell asleep in my car, woke up in a panic, then fell asleep again. I was awoken by the fleet of team cars arriving, along with some of the other player families. They were all driving over to a gate that led right onto the tarmac, so I started my car and got in line.
But they checked my ID at the gate and shook their head.
“You have to let me in,” I insisted. “I know I’m not on your list, but Ineedto see Grayson Steele.”
“Oh shit!” one of the other security guys said, peering into my car. “You’re that girl, right?”
“What girl?” the other guard asked.
“She’s the girl from the video.Thevideo. Shit’s all over the internetright now.”
The first guard took a closer look at me. “Oh, shit. You’re right.”
They waved me through. I drove onto the tarmac and parked next to the other families as the team plane landed in the distance. I got out and tried to join the other women, but they kind of blocked me out of their little clique so I awkwardly stood behind them. Every so often, they glanced over at me like they were surprised by my presence. Like I didn’t belong there.
Because I don’t, I thought.
Whatever. I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let a bunch of jealous hockey groupies scare me away from seeing Grayson.
My pulse quickened as the team plane taxied on the runway, coming to a stop a hundred feet away. Soon they were disembarking, suit-clad assistants and coaching staff first, followed by the players themselves. I’d watched enough games to recognize most of them by this point. There was the backup goaltender, Hunter Callahan, with long black hair and a permanent scowl. Then Mason Calder with a cluster of others, laughing and joking. Then the starting goaltender, followed by the right wing—
And there he was.
I felt myself tearing up as Grayson himself appeared at the top of the boarding staircase. He paused to scan the crowd, disappointment shining in those pale emerald eyes. He started descending…
Our gazes locked.
He froze on the stairs, shocked and surprised. Then he took the rest of them two at a time, hurrying down, tossing aside his bag and practically running toward me. I shoved through the other women and ran to him, throwing myself into his wide arms.
“You’re here,” he breathed into my hair.
I pulled away and stared into his eyes. “I’m here.”
He smiled, then kissed me.
There were a few cheers from his teammates, and several joking comments about TikTok, but the only thing I cared about was the way Grayson’s mouth felt against my own.
“Your video has threemillionviews already,” I told him.
“Is that, um, a lot?” he asked.
I playfully smacked him on the chest. It was like hitting a brick wall.Or a steel one. “That is a lot of views, yes.”
“Cool. There’s only one view I care about, though. What did you think?”
