AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I grunted. Nothing was better. I had a hole in my heart I couldn’t repair. I could never undo what I did.
Ilya left the bag, approaching me slowly. “What happened?”
Calder pulled the gloves from my hands giving me the freedom to jam my palms into my eyes.
I swiped at the tears stinging my eyes. “I fucking lost any chance with her.”
I heard a collective sigh from the guys. I knew Ilya had been there, Milo too. But when I heard Kole come in, I remembered his heartbreak from when the girl he was about to propose to came to his game and kissed a guy from the other team.
Kole’s voice startled me out of my head. “Hey, Pierce.”
I glanced up. “How’s the leg, Kole?”
He gave a humorless chuckle. “Doctor cleared me, so I get to play again. But you look awful.”
I was a fucking moron. “Phoebe found out about Neve and me. It was years ago and I don’t even know how it happened.”
Kole huffed out a laugh. “Pretty sure you know about the birds and bees and all that shit.”
My temper flared pulling me to my feet.
Milo pressed a hand to my chest. “Easy, Pierce. You know how it happened. You went to an event together, had too much to drink, and thought ‘love the one you’re with.’ It happens.”
I scrubbed my jaw. “I shouldn’t have let it happen. Phoebe looked like I slapped her when she found out. I’m afraid she’ll leave and never come back.”
Silence descended on the locker room. We all sat with that, knowing what it felt like from various aspects of our lives. As I was faced with losing my best friend and the woman I loved, I was already grieving what I was sure I’d lost. It hurt so badly I clutched my chest.
“Sit down, man,” Ilya prompted, yanking me over to a bench. “You’re too big to topple over.” He checked his phone. “Phoebe is with Kiley and Molly at the salon. She’s fine. And she’s still in Taylor Ridge.”
I tried to get a grip. She was still in town.
When Coach clapped his hands and interrupted to give us a two-hour warning for the game against the Jersey Riptide, I was breathing again. I looked up at Ilya. “Is she coming tonight? To the game?”
He gave me a warm smile and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Yeah, Kiley and Molly are bringing her.”
I rubbed my hands on my thighs trying to dry them off. I was so hot from boxing and clammy from worrying that I was now a sweaty mess. Good thing it didn’t matter. I sure as hell wouldn’t smell any better in the hours to come.
Knowing Phoebe was still in the city calmed me down for the game. I still felt a little shaky sometimes, my heart doing this weird fluttery thing when I thought about her and the conversation we needed to have later, but I squeezed my nails into my palms and tried to stay focused on the present. Where I was. What I was supposed to do. I had to concentrate out there or I would either get clobbered by the other team or annihilated by Molly after the game.
The goalies had already started their warm-ups by the time I got my pads on and pulled out the mint smelling salts. Something about mint helped my concentration, so I sat on the bench with the damn container right up to my nose. Focusing on breathing, I pictured the ice and what I would do out there.
Then it was time.
Without a word, we took our places in the player’s box. With Milo’s battle cry, we knew it was time and we were ready to go. And it was Sam’s first game with us as a Cavalier. Would be exciting to see how he fared in his first game.
Hopping the boards, I headed toward my position.
Molly yelled as we went out. “Put some heat on it, guys!”
Oh, yeah. It was on.
From the moment the puck dropped and Ilya grabbed it for our side, we were on top of it. The forwards passed, I bashed someone out of the way a few times to make sure we stayed in control, and we dominated on the ice. Scored twice too.
The locker room between the first and second period was animated. Everyone was pumped. We were two goals up and feeling fine. Barely even winded.
So, when we got back on the ice in the second period, it felt like whiplash.
When we came off the ice after the first rush, Ilya was panting. “Holy shit, Pierce. What the fuck just happened out there?”
