Page 18 of Puck You
Thankfully, the stage lights made it impossible for me to see most of the faces in the crowd.Hands shaking, I glanced back at the screen to check that my slides were up.With that final confirmation, I took a deep breath, turned back around, secured the slide advancer in my right hand, and started speaking.
“I’m so impressed with the resources this program has to offer, and I wanted to take this opportunity to praise Mr.DuLane and the other generous supporters who helped make this life-changing facility possible.”
I clicked through several slides of the arena that had already been shown in the previous presentation.“Hockey is an incredible sport, and everyone competing at this level deserves access to a safe environment that helps foster great athletes.DuLane Arena offers this and more to themenwho play for the Dallard Ravens.”
I paused for a moment, heart thumping against my chest in anticipation.Somewhere out in the crowd, Pearson was doing her best to inconspicuously record my speech.
“Meanwhile, the female hockey players at DU are forced to play in a run-down, out-of-date facility that is nearly falling apart.”
My words rang out, and an even deeper silence fell over the crowd.I advanced the slide again, bringing up photos of our current practice facility.
“The training equipment is old, the facility can barely regulate temperature enough to keep the rink frozen, and it’s located inconveniently far from the student athlete housing.”
I could see someone making their way to the stage and knew my time was up.With a deep breath, I gripped the microphone tightly and shared my parting statement.
“So again, please take a moment to honor Jerome DuLane for his generous donation to themen’shockey team.As we women work under worse conditions to gain our fourth national title, the men have all the resources they need to acquire their second.”
A man was at my side, pulling me away from the podium while simultaneously apologizing into the microphone.Adrenaline pumped through my body as I was escorted off the stage.The ballroom and the lobby passed by in a blur, and before I knew it, I was being pushed out the front door and into the hotel parking lot.Triumph pulsed through my veins, even as I stumbled forward and nearly face-planted into the pavement.
“What in the hell were you thinking, Ms.Gillman?”The words were spat with utter fury.
I righted myself and turned to face my aggressive escort.DU’s athletic director loomed over me in a tall wall of muscle and hardened features.Mr.Castillo looked just about ready to flay me alive, though the fact that he knew my last name—knew exactly who I was—was far more concerning.
“Yes, I know who you are.I’m the one who approved your full-ride here,” he said, “and I’m the one who has the power to take it away.”
A small voice in the back of my head warned me to be cautious, but my heart was leading tonight.There was still too much adrenaline pumping through my veins to act rationally.
“Nothing I said up there was a lie,” I told him.“I didn’t exaggerate the situation or spread any false information.”
I waited for him to set me straight, to tell me right then and there that I was being kicked out, but he didn’t.Instead, a loud, shrill sound came from his pocket.Castillo extracted his phone from his dress pants and answered the call with a gruff “What?”before swinging around and stomping toward the entrance.He paused in the threshold to look over his shoulder.
“You will go home and not speak a word about this to anyone.Tomorrow, you’ll receive an email with the date and time for a meeting with me where we will discuss your future at this school.Right now, I have to clean up your mess.”
All the fight left my body as he disappeared into the hotel.I stood in silence, the truth of what I’d done settling over me slowly, my adrenaline waning.Move, I commanded, eventually managing to shake myself out of a stupor.I stumbled through the parking lot with only one goal: get the hell away from here as fast as I could.
A wave of changing emotions washed over me like fleeting dream: there one moment, gone the next.Disbelief shifted to elation, which quickly morphed into an overwhelming sense of dread.I made it nearly four blocks before the pain in my feet could no longer be ignored.All at once the shock wore off, a penetrating cold settling over me.I only managed a few more steps before I had to lean against a lamppost to remove my heels.After another couple of blocks, my feet were numb.
Why didn’t I call Lydia to pick me up?It was the first sane thought I’d had in the last half hour, one that brought me to an abrupt stop as I pulled my phone from the small clutch in my left hand.At the same moment, a pair of blinding headlights flooded the street.I squinted against the light as a car came to a screeching stop beside me, stumbling back several steps as the door swung open and a tall figure exited the vehicle.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”demanded a whiskey-smooth voice.
Sebastian Evans ate up the space between us in three long strides, the light from his car casting shadows along the side of his jaw and under his cheekbones.He was beautiful and terrifying, all intensity and sharp lines.
“I can’t do this with you right now.”I tried to move around Sebastian, but he stepped into my path and placed both of his hands on my shoulders.The shock of his touch was like avolcanic eruption, heat rushing over my skin and spreading down my arms in a blazing trail of fire.
“You’re freezing.”There was a touch of concern in his voice, which was surprising enough to jolt my brain into gear, and I flinched away from the contact.
That was when I realized how cold I really was.Have my teeth been chattering this whole time?
Sebastian let out a huff of irritation, and in the next moment, I was being ushered over to his car.“You’re going to freeze to death out here,” he grumbled, opening the passenger door and guiding me into the seat.
Warmth enveloped my skin in an instant, and I held my shaking hands close to the hot air pouring from the vents as Sebastian walked back around the hood and slipped into the driver’s side.
“What the hell were you thinking trying to walk back to campus, especially without a coat?!”he asked with a stony glare.
I shook my head in disbelief instead of answering—this entire night was taking a wildly unexpected turn.I’d gone from feeling empowered to terrified to unable to form a single word in the span of thirty minutes.A sudden burst of laughter escaped from between my lips.From across the center console, Sebastian was watching me with his head cocked to the side, mouth parted in bewilderment.Maybe I was losing my mind, or maybe this situation was so ridiculous there was nothing else to do but laugh.
“Why am I in your car?”I asked once my laughter died down.My eyes darted around the vehicle, taking in the pristine space with skepticism.Was Sebastian kidnapping me?Did he plan to drive me to an isolated spot along the coast of Lake Michigan and throw me in?More laughter bubbled to the surface.
