Page 103 of Catch
“Spoken like a true HAB,” Hudson quips.
“What? I’m not a Canadiens fan.”
“Not that kind of Hab, I meant HAB, as in husbands and boyfriends. You know, like WAG, wives and girlfriends of professional athletes.”
I roll my eyes. “I’msonot one of those.”
Hudson smirks.
“Sure you are. You just don’t want to put a name to it.”
Is everyone on this campus under the assumption that Ethan and I are boyfriends? Well, everyone except me and Ethan. I can laugh at the situation even though my heart is telling me there’s nothing funny about what I’ve gotten myself into.
The play resumes, and the whole game moves so fast that if you blinked, you’d miss something. The Cougars have possession of the puck more than not, but they’re struggling to get anything past Wisconsin’s goalie.
The clock is ticking down with three minutes remaining.
Wisconsin makes a valiant effort to score again, but Maddox deflects the shot, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m so hyped for Ethan and his teammates that my knees are popping up and down, and my hands are clenched tight. The Cougars are so close to a win, so close.
“I think they’re gonna take it,” Hudson comments.
The rink gets louder and louder as Sutton students begin chanting, “Cougars roar!”
As three minutes turns to two and then one, we’re all up on our feet again. Jace makes a breakaway, but one of Wisconsin’s biggest forwards slams into him, and they hit the boards with a resounding crunch. I don’t think I’ll ever get used tothat sound. I worry that Jace is injured, but both guys skate off like nothing happened. I don’t know how they do it.
Twenty seconds to go…
“You got this!” I shout.
After what feels like an eternity, the final buzzer sounds, and the rink erupts into a frenzy I’ve never seen before. Everyone is screaming and jumping, music is blaring, and all the Cougars rush to center ice to celebrate. I take as many photos as I can to record the moment. It’s a huge day for the team, and the school.
When the initial excitement wears off and the crowd starts to calm, Archie nudges me.
“Let’s go down to the locker room.”
“I don’t know that they’d want that.”
Would Ethan want me there?
“I ran into Ethan and Finn before the game,” Archie adds. “They want us all to come down and wait for them.”
The crowd is starting to disperse, and I follow my friends as we make our way down the stairs while everyone else is walking up. We head down the narrow hallway that leads to the locker room and wait on the bench nearby.
The opposing team heads down the chute first, and their downcast expressions and lack of chatter say it all. As an athlete, I have empathy for them. As Ethan’s friendand fellow Sutton U student, however, I’m more than happy that we won.
We wait a few minutes in the damp, cold hallway, until I hear the hum of voices and spot Ethan and Dane leading their team off the ice. They’re all smiling, laughing, and their energy is magnetic. My pulse rockets to an all-time high, and I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans.
I look up and Ethan’s gaze locks on mine. The undeniable intensity that flashes between us is hotter than ever and there’s something else in his expression that makes my heart pound harder. Is he angry? Upset? I can’t quite tell. His face isflushed, rivulets of sweat running down his cheeks, and he stalks faster, heading right to me.
I stand up without realizing I’m doing it.
“He shoots, he scores!” I call out. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
Shit, maybe I shouldn’t have said that with his teammates nearby. Fuck, I can’t control my mouth around Ethan. Who am I kidding? I can’t control myself around him, period.
Ethan doesn’t say anything, which makes the nerves in my belly ignite like sparklers. He keeps walking faster and bypasses the locker room, moving to stand directly in front of me. Without saying a word, he rests his stick against the wall, removes his gloves and reaches for me, cupping my face his hot, sweaty hands.
Holy fuck, what is happening?
