I wanted to kiss him in the worst way, but I didn’t know if I could. Sure, you would think the moment would’ve moved us todo it, crowd be damned, but I understood that a certain set of boundaries existed.
And then our teammates closed in, throwing their arms around us. That was a nice team moment, sure, but I wanted to enjoy being alone with Kayden for as long as possible.
I couldn’t complain, though. Even in the moment, I understood that Kayden and I had persevered through an insane amount. We’d weathered our intense attraction to one another. And then we’d pressed on through our relationship and the bevy of challenges it’d posed. We’d broken up, but still found a way to work together and win the first National Championship in Larkin Lions history.
That alone time with Kayden would have to wait.
When we skated back to the bench, the coaches greeted us with hugs. Normally, I hate hugs, even in the best of circumstances, but it felt okay in that moment.
Of course, I should’ve known what else to expect. Someone snuck up behind us with a cooler full of Gatorade and dumped it over my and Kayden’s back. Even though it was freezing, that’d probably been part of Kayden’s dreams. It’d definitely been part of mine. But the seriously big deal for me was the moment that would come next.
I’d always dreamed about being interviewed by ESPN after winning a championship. Or NBC sports. Or whatever. Someone with a microphone would approach me and talk about the hard-fought battle. They would ask me how I did it, and I would tell them that I knew we could do it. We just had to have a lot of guts and determination. Then they would ask me what I would do next. I wouldn’t tell them that I was going to Disneyland. If anything, I would try to say something original. All the mental practice in the world hadn’t prepared me for that moment, though.
As it turned out, that dream was about to come true.
50
KAYDEN
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. It’d really happened. Seriously. The one thing I’d worked so hard for all season actuallyhappened. Sure, it might not have come exactly the way I’d thought it would, but that didn’t matter. It’d actuallyhappened.
At first, I didn’t believe it. The whole thing felt so surreal, like something out of a dream. I listened to the roar of the crowd and drank in their excitement, but I didn’t feel an adrenaline surge through my veins. At first, I only felt numb, probably because the reality of it all hadn’t sunk in. But it’d really happened, the Larkin Lions were champions, and no one could take that away from us.
Most importantly, Erik and I had done it together.
After the buzzer sounded, I didn’t hesitate, I just threw my arms around him. And he squeezed me just as tight. I didn’t hesitate, I just did it, not worrying about his reaction. Winning could cure an awful lot of problems, I guess. Before, I would have doubted even a National Championship could’ve cured the shambles that our relationship had been in.
On the other hand, it wasn’t like he’d taken me back. Not yet. He might’ve squeezed me back like that out of obligation. In a moment like that one, it would’ve seemed crazy not to do it. He was on top of the world after the biggest win of his life. Maybe I shouldn’t have read too much into it.
All I wanted was to look at Erik, gaze at his beautiful face, and remember all the good times we’d had. Winning the championship together would beat all, of course, and I wanted to live in the moment for as long as possible. But Erik skated away from me. I wouldn’t let that deter me, though.
As I returned to reality, I noticed a few arena staff members rolling a red carpet onto the ice. And then a tall guy in a suit and ESPN microphone walked out onto the carpet. Yeah, it was really happening—and tous.
Now here’s the real kicker: I saw one of the same arena staff carry the championship trophy out onto the carpet. When we lined up as a team, the trophy was passed to each of us before being handed to Coach Hardison.
At first, the Larkin University athletic director, Sy Wilkins, did the talking. You know, because he personally had so much to do with winning this game, right? The players were just pawns. Thank the guys in the suits first. It didn’t matter, though. Not one word he said stuck with me. I’d honestly tuned out pretty much everything. Excitement over the win had finally struck me too much to listen to Wilkins, but there was so much more to it. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Erik, who stood right beside me, but hadn’t turned to look at me. If he was feeling the same way, he was making me wait to hear it.
Same old Erik De Ruiter, right?
Then the reporter put the microphone in Coach Hardison’s face. Some of what he said did sink in with me. He gave a speech that mostly included the words you’d expect like “hard work,” “determination,” “guts,” and “so proud.” Best of all, he used theword “perseverance,” which I thought summed up Erik and me to a tee. I turned to Erik again, gauging his reaction to everything happening around us. He looked happy but not as excited as he should’ve been, given the gravity of the moment. He was missing something, I knew that damn well. Something was missing for me too.
The reporter stuck the microphone in the faces of several teammates before stopping in front of me.
“That was an amazing comeback,” he said. “How did you do it?”
I’d always dreamed of what I would say the first time I was interviewed on live television. My speech would be so passionate, so moving. The sports channels would be replaying it for days. But now, with the microphone in my face, I’d practically drawn a blank.
“It’s been a long road,” I said, “but I knew we would get there.”
“Never any doubts, huh?”
“Not a single one. I believe in this team, and we all believe in each other.”
“I understand you’re the team captain. Is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
And then everyone, especially Erik, turned to look at me as if I’d run out of the house without putting on pants.
