He falls to the ice but gets back up quickly. I notice how he rubs over his chest. It’s a telling sign for him. He’s feeling anxious. I know the hit didn’t hurt him with all the pads. At least, I hope it didn’t.
My own nerves surface as the end of the first period comes.
“Want anything?” Peyton asks, indicating she’s headed up to the concessions.
I shake my head, keeping my eye on Kellan.
He looks up to me and gives me a small smile before focusing back on the group.
That smile doesn’t ease my concerns.
By the time the second period starts, I’m on the edge of my seat.
At first, it starts off fine. The guys are playing hard. There are more hits between the teams, making me flinch as I hear the contact.
Then it happens.
Kellan is flying down the ice when one of the Ravens checks him into the glass. This time it is so hard, it sounds like the glass might break at the impact. The player skates away, leaving Kellan in place, only Kellan doesn’t move. His hand is on his chest once more as he collapses to his knees. Then he is face down on the ice.
I scream. “Kellan!”
* * *
“James, the owner of the Boston Foxes, is here, so be on top of your game. Got it?” Coach calls out to him.
Clay nods before we head out onto the ice to warm up. I blow my pregame kiss to Cora before taking up the spot next to him.
“Does having him here make you nervous?” I ask.
“Of course, but I put it out of my head. It doesn’t matter that he is here. I need to play my best as always,” Clay tells me.
Looking up, I spot Brantley Gibson. My body tenses as I think about the man standing on the other side of the glass. “He’s not even here for me, and I’m nervous,” I admit.
“He’s a human like you or me. He’s here to watch us play, sure, but we need to win this for us. Try to shake it off.” He finishes his warm-up, skating around to check on the other guys.
I finish mine as well, but the tension doesn’t fade. If anything, it gets worse.
I rub my chest, heading toward the bench.
“You got heartburn, kid?” Coach asks me.
I shake my head. “I’m fine. Nerves. It’ll pass.”
He nods, watching the rest of the guys skate over.
After they’ve announced us and done the national anthem, the game is ready to start. I’m out first.
I’m pushing myself hard. Harder than ever before, needing to look good. Not for me, but for Clay. I want to make our team look better so that he gets a shot at being drafted.
Line change comes, and I watch Clay skate out and attempt to make something out of chicken shit. It doesn’t work for him either.
Back and forth we go, playing hard. I can tell the moment things change for the Ravens, though. They start to play a bit dirty. The refs don’t catch the occasional tripping or the way they hit us into the boards extra hard, but I do.
Coach finally puts me and Clay on the ice together, and that’s when the magic happens. We fly down the ice like we’ve done this a million times. When he passes the puck back to me without looking, I’m ready to catch it only to send it right back to him. He sends it into the net, bringing a smile to my face.
We’ve got this.
After celebrating a moment, we get back in the zone. We push harder, fighting for every inch we can get from these guys.
