Page 71 of Slap Shot at a Second Chance

It was true that people grew apart, but Brian was one person I never wanted to grow apart from. He was my brother, and I wanted us to win this championship together.

Andy shot another goal and the cheers from the fans got louder as we closed the gap between us and the opponent team. The referee blew the whistle for the twenty-minute interval and the coach told me to come over to him.

“Can you still play?” he asked and I nodded, Brian skated toward us and looked at Avery for a quick second before looking at the coach.

“Don’t do substitutes. Let us close the game,” he told the coach and he looked at the both of us unsure before he nodded.

Brian skated away without another word and I looked at Avery smiling.

“Stop frowning, we won,” I said confidently and the coach kissed his teeth, indirectly telling me to leave.

“If you don’t leave now. I’ll take you off the ice!” he threatened and I chuckled as I skated away and joined the team that was huddled in a circle.

“We’re left with twenty minutes to win the game. Make sure you pull hat tricks out of your ass if you have to, got it?”How motivating.I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing at Brian’s choice of words.

He really is something else.

“Yes, captain!” We all roared and separated just in time as the referee blew the whistle and the game continued.

I had thought that the last twenty minutes were intense but God no, it seemed as if our opposing team had come back high on something. The game moved faster than the last segment had, and it was clear to see that every player on the ice was in the zone and we were all trying to win the game.

The puck would make it close to the goal post but never really making it past the line to score any team a score. It felt like trying to get a thread through the hole of a needle.

My stomach clenched as I watched Andy make a beeline to the opposing team’s goalpost, and heeding his captain’s words, he pulled a hat trick out of his ass when he scored that goal!

I had never in my life seen Andy move that quickly or hit the puck with so much force that forced the goalie to move away as the puck came flying into the net. The oddly quiet arena came to life as the buzz rang, announcing the end of the game and the scoreboard monitor changed our score to seven–six.

The screams filled our ears and I found myself automatically rushing toward Brian, we both opened our arms wide and slammed into each other as we hugged. The excitement coursed through my veins as I pressed our heads together, gently slapping his back.

I would never get used to this feeling, no matter how many times we won or lost. I loved hearing the arena go crazy with excitement and celebration, while the teams that worked their asses off comforted each other.

“Man, one would think you two were the ones that scored the final goal,” Andy said and we chuckled as we separated, both of us slapping his head gently and he groaned before laughing. The rest of the team joined in on the hug and we all chanted together.

This right here is my family for life.

The boys all moved away and I was left with Brian, I extended my hand forward and he looked at it before smacking it away, and wrapped his arms around my shoulder, pulling me in for another hug.

“Does this mean we’re good again?” I asked and he laughed as he separated himself from me.

“We’re still going to talk,” he threatened as he pointed his finger at me and I chuckled.

“Brian,” I spoke softly and he raised his eyebrow as he looked at me.

“Don’t tell me you’re breaking up with my sister or else I’ll kill you!” he said and I shook my head, raising my hands. “I just accepted you being together, so you better not break her heart, do you hear me?”

Oh,what a scary older brother.Avery sure is lucky to have a brother who wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if I ever hurt her.

“I want to marry her,” I said, and my heart slammed against my chest as I finally admitted to my best friend the thought that had been swimming around my head for a long time now. He was the first to find out about my intentions and I could tell he was shocked.

“What?” he asked softly and I resisted the urge to rub my neck.

I had to come out as confident so that he would know I was not playing around. I was serious about his sister, and I fucking loved her.

I loved Avery so fucking much that if we spent another month not being married and living together, I would lose it. I loved her and loved how she had blessed me with a beautiful son who accepted me as his father with no hesitation.

“I’m going to ask her to marry me, but this time I want to do it right. I want you to give me your blessing,” I said confidently even though I felt like I was going to puke.

I wanted her to be my wife.She will be my wife, no matter what.And if Brian could not accept that, then he would just have to live the rest of his life bitter.

---