Page 102 of Off The Rush
“Hey, Luka!” JD calls out, snapping me back to reality. He grins as he passes me the puck, and I quickly catch it with my hockey stick, trying to focus on warming up.
“Hey,” I respond, forcing a smile as I pass the puck back to him. But my mind stays on Alec, watching as he exchanges a few words with Coach before taking a seat on the bench. He’s putting up a brave front, but I know how much this is eating him up inside.
“Alright, guys, let’s get this show on the road!” Coach shouts, clapping his hands together. Our teammates hoot and holler in response, pumping themselves up for the game. I can feel the energy coursing through my veins, urging me to fight for every inch of ice tonight.
But before we start, I need to clear the air. Skating over to JD, I meet his warm brown eyes, so full of determination and passion. My gray eyes must be reflecting my turmoil, but I have to ask.
“JD, are we doing the right thing?” I question, my voice barely audible over the ruckus of our team. He hesitates, looking over at Alec before meeting my gaze again.
“I don’t know, man,” JD admits, running a hand through his black hair. “But Alec wants us to play, so we’ll do it for him. We’ll figure everything out tonight, okay?”
“Okay,” I agree, nodding. I trust JD, and if Alec wants us to play, then we’ll give it our all – for him and the team.
“Let’s go kick some ass!” JD exclaims, giving me a friendly shove as we skate toward our starting positions.
Coach’s words from before warm-ups ring in my ears. He told JD and I we are on thin ice.
The game is about to begin, and I’m determined to make Alec proud.
The referee drops the puck, and I square off against the smirking guy in front of me. He’s big, with a chiseled jawline and a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Nice of you to show up, Blondie,” he taunts, his voice dripping with condescension.
I grit my teeth and ignore him, focusing on the black disk as it hits the ice. The game is physical from the get-go, with both teams slamming into each other with brutal force. Every hit sends a jolt through my body, but I channel that energy into pushing harder, faster – anything to win this game for Alec, JD, and our team.
“Hey, Eriksson!” the same guy yells, skating past me and delivering a crushing check into the boards. I wince, feeling the impact reverberate through my bones. My anger flares, threatening to boil over, but I know I need to keep it under control. Losing my temper won’t help anyone – especially not Alec.
“Is that all you got?” I snarl, pushing myself off the boards and skating after him. I can feel the fire in my veins, urging me to retaliate, but I force myself to focus on the game instead. We’re down one goal, and I’m determined to tie it up before the end of the period.
JD is clearly off since he let in two easy goals.
“Stay focused, Luka!” JD calls out from across the rink, clearly sensing my struggle. I nod at him, grateful for the reminder. We’re in this together, and I can’t let my emotions derail us now.
As I weave through the opposing players, my heart thuds wildly in my chest. The crowd roars around us, the noise almost deafening, but all I can hear is the sound of my breath, ragged and heavy with effort. Every muscle in my body screams for relief, but I push those thoughts aside – there’s no room for weakness now.
“Come on, Luka,” I whisper under my breath, willing myself to keep going. “Keep calm for Alec. For JD. For Emma.”
I line up for another face-off, my heart still pounding from the last play. The smirk on the opposing guy’s face sets my teeth on edge, but I force myself to ignore it. They’re just trying to get under my skin, and I can’t let them win.
I hit the puck to a teammate, who immediately sends it back. It’s only a second before I’m being roughly shoved into the boards.
“Hey,” he says with his weight against me, “I hear you like to share with your teammates.” His eyes flicker over to JD, who’s positioned near the boards. My blood instantly starts boiling, but I bite my tongue, determined not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.
“Tell me,” he continues, leaning in closer, “when do I get a turn with your little brown-haired hottie?” He smirks again, and that’s the last straw.
“Shut your damn mouth!” I snarl, slamming my glove into his face. He stumbles back, but quickly recovers and throws a punch of his own. It’s a vicious fight, fueled by rage and adrenaline. Our gloves and sticks are quickly discarded as we trade blow after blow.
“Get off him!” JD bellows, barreling into the fray. He throws himself between us, shielding me from the other player’s fists. “What the hell did he say, Luka?”
“Asked when he could have a turn with Emma,” I grit out through clenched teeth. JD’s eyes blaze with fury, and he wastes no time in joining the fight. The crowd roars around us, egging us on, but all I can focus on is the burning need to defend Emma’s honor.
“Look at these cucks,” another guy from the opposing team sneers. It’s like a spark igniting a powder keg – both teams erupt into chaos, shoving and punching each other with reckless abandon. The rink becomes a battleground, an explosion of violence and anger that threatens to consume us all.
“Enough!” a voice booms, cutting through the noise. It’s our coach, his face twisted with anger and disappointment. “What the hell has gotten into you all?”
“Ask them,” I snarl, nodding toward the player who started it all. “Making crude comments about my girlfriend.”
“Back to your benches, now!” he orders, his gaze sweeping over both teams. The fight begins to break up, but the tension still hangs heavy in the air – it’s far from over. For now, though, we have no choice but to swallow our anger and focus on the game.
“Thanks for having my back,” I murmur to JD as we skate back to our bench, my knuckles throbbing with pain.
