I couldn’t stop myself from looking, but Dani’s seat was still empty. Had she gotten nervous and bailed? I wouldn’t blame her one bit because she hated being on display.
Once in the locker room, I walked over to our goalie corner to chat with Booksy and Stocks before Millsy came in for a final pep talk. Utah had been playing decent and we wanted to finish out the preseason with a final win, so I needed to stop thinking about Dani and focus on doing my job. Not that I’d lagged during the warm-ups, but it was game time and nothing else mattered.
***
A short while later, we headed back to the bench and I stepped onto the ice with the starting line, making my way toward where I always stood for the anthem and line announcement. The lights were dim and I shifted from foot to foot as the anthem was sung. Then the lights flashed throughout the arena, and I caught sight of Dani in her front-row seat just to the right of my net.
A smile split my face when she gave me a nod, and she smiled back. I lifted my gloved hand and waved, probably looking like a dork but not caring one bit.
“Looks like your girl showed after all,” Micah said, knocking his glove into my shoulder.
“Of course she did,” I stated like I hadn’t doubted her for a second. “Now, how about we win and you make me look good since she’s here?”
He barked out a laugh. “Thought it was fake dating.”
“Doesn’t mean I want to look like I suck in front of her. This is her first Stampede game. We owe it to her.”
“Of course. Wouldn’t want her to have a bad taste in her mouth about the team. She probably already got a bad taste when she had to kiss you.” Then he chuckled like he was amused with himself.
“Josie rubbing off on you too much?”
He winked. “No complaints over here.”
“You two done chitchatting so we can actually play?” Dom called out.
“Tucks’s girl is here. Had to help calm his nerves. Make him look like he knows what he’s doing in that net tonight, okay, boys?” Micah teased.
“Fuck off,” I muttered, but there was no malice in my tone.
“Should we let a few slip past so he can show off his skills?” Timmy asked.
“Just play the game you’re supposed to.” I skated back to my net while they all moved toward center ice for puck drop.
I pulled off my helmet and raked my hands through my hair before putting it back on. Then I grabbed my water bottle, squirted some water into my mouth, and tapped the bottle on the top of the net three times like I always did.
I knocked my stick against each side of my net, banging against the pipes three times each, muttered “we got this” and dropped down into my starting position, my focus trained on center ice.
Tally won the first face-off, sending the puck back to Santa, who deked around one of Utah’s forwards and skated toward Utah’s net. I glanced up at the Jumbotron and watched the other goalie easily block Santa’s shot, but Sin snagged it, only to have one of Utah’s D check him into the boards. As they battled at the other end of the ice, I shifted from side to side in my crease. Standing still wasn’t an option; I wanted to be up and ready to go when they made their way toward me.
Soon enough, the direction of play changed. Utah had the puck and crossed center ice, heading right for me. Micah and Timmy fell back, ready to help me defend, and I moved my body, keeping my eyes on the puck. Micah tracked the Utah forward who currently had the puck, keeping him close to the boards. They skated around the back of the net, and I shifted my body tomimic their moves. There was a scramble close to me in the left corner as four guys tried to take possession of the biscuit.
The puck cleared the group, going up the side of the ice toward one of the Utah defensemen, who cradled it against his stick before sending it back to one of his forwards. The Utah forward skirted around Tally and Sin as Micah closed in next to me, barely outside my blue paint.
I dropped to one knee, my blocker out, then shifted to stand again. The Utah forward closed in and took his shot, but I read him perfectly and dropped down, blocking the shot. Timmy managed to snag the bouncing puck and knocked it over to Tally, who started it back up the ice.
As my half of the ice cleared out, I once again grabbed my water bottle, took a sip, tapped it on top of my net three times, and slipped it back into the holder on the back of the net. Then I hit both pipes and got back into position, waiting for the next play.
Fuck, I loved this game.
Chapter 7
DANI
Ibit back a chuckle as Gabe again tapped his net with his water bottle three times, then spoke to his pipes. Goalies were quirky as hell, but when he did it, it was adorable.
I hadn’t been completely truthful when I told him I didn’t like hockey. I had loved watching it when I was a kid, when my dad was still playing and I hadn’t realized what a dick he was. He’d soured me on it once I realized he loved the game more than his own children. His image had always been more important than how he treated his family behind closed doors, especially when we didn’t agree with him. If I was some place with a TV and a hockey game was on, I’d pay a bit of attention to it, a rare occurrence over the last few years since I’d immersed myself in my work and volunteering. But I definitely wouldn’t mind watching more games while Gabe and I were fake dating. I’d always loved how fast the sport was.
“He’s looking at you again,” Belinda said, humor lacing her tone.
