“I think our odds are pretty damned good, buster.” I stood up, slid my arms around his waist and kissed him. Nothing felt better than Jakob’s beard scratching my face. Yeah, for real.
Part of me wanted to just forget about hockey and only worry about Jakob and me. Feeling his chest pressed against mine caused that. Or did it just exacerbate a feeling I already had? I didn’t feel a hard-on in his pants—yet—but that would come sooner than later. For now, I wanted to soak up the moment.
“We should think of a plan, though.” My face remained only an inch or so from Jakob’s.
“I’m game if you are.”
“If we face each other in the title game, we can’t have any contact.”
“You’re serious?”
“Uh huh. You know that we’ll have to get down to business and the team will expect it, too.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“That means no meeting up for sex either. Not even a hand job.”
I was about to push out my bottom lip but wanted to remain dignified.
“I know it’ll be a big sacrifice,” he said, “but I think we can handle it. Besides, if we do wind up playing each other again, we’ll have to focus.”
“I know.”
“That means we shouldn’t even think about each other until all is said and done.”
That note struck me the hardest. If anything, I would’ve expected to be the one suggesting such an extreme measure. Maybe he’d only meant that as a figure of speech. Like, he didn’t really mean that we should banish one another from our thoughts.
Was that even possible?
I wouldn’t have expected to be the one feeling hurt by it, but?—
No, I won’t admit to something like that. It didn’t hurt me at all. I just didn’t like the idea. Shouldn’t we be able to focus without pretending that the other doesn’t exist?
“Okay,” I said. “At least there’s next-to-zero chance you guys will be playing in the championship game.”
Jakob flashed a final grin.
34
JAKOB
Our first-round matchup pitted the Larkin Lions against Miami of Ohio. I honestly didn’t think we would make it out of that game alive, but we still managed to escape with a W. Somehow. No injuries, thank God, but to say we played our hearts (and guts) out would be an understatement.
The game ended in an overtime shootout. The winning goal was scored by yours truly, Jakob Martin. That would hold me in good stead with the teammates that’d harped on my lack of focus. They would have to see what a good job I did of tuning things out, right?
On the Zane front, we didn’t talk about our games or the playoffs. In fact, we didn’t even talk about hockey. We made love. Constantly. Ask the neighbors because it must’ve kept them up all night. We came close to needing to perform CPR on one another, but it was worth it. After all, we needed some outlet in which to relieve our stress.
By the semi-finals, I knew the Larkin Lions had hit our stride. The Pitt Panthers hockey team was a powerhouse that was expected to win it all. Zane probably would’ve reminded meof this fact, and how they would pulverize us, but we weren’t talking about hockey at all, remember?
We went on the road for that game while the Riptides traveled to Boston to take on Northeastern. We won our game in Pittsburgh despite the insurmountable odds and roaring crowd. The Pitt faithful fell silent long before the end of period three. Their enormous hopes were dashed just like that. We slayed the giant, which meant that we would advance to the title game.
Crazy as it sounds, Pitt’s coach approached Coach Hardison after the game with his hand extended. He told Hardison, “The Larkin Lions are a team of destiny.” And then he told him, “I hope you guys go and win it all.”
Hardison didn’t make a habit of sharing the details of private conversations with us. Telling the entire team about it really did instill in me a belief that we actually could make it.
They say it’s not whether you win or lose but how you play the game. Even I know that’s not completely true. Winning mattered and not just for glory. Playing in the NHL had been a big deal to me ever since I was a little kid. Shit, it waseverything. Winning an NCAA championship would only improve my chances of being drafted and living out my dream.
And the opportunity to make my dreams a reality was drawing ever closer.
