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Amanda sighs, and even though I can’t see her, I sense her hesitation about whether it can be done.
“You have my promise, Ethan,” she says after a moment. “But this better be good!”
“Oh, it will be!” I say, unable to hide my excitement and relief. “You can bet your jewels on it!”
“Most of the jewels I have are the ones you gave me,” Amanda says dryly.
“Figure of speech, ‘Manda…” I say, rolling my eyes. Raphael passes by, pats me on the shoulder to get my attention, and points to the locker room, which is where we should be. “Thank you, Amanda. I owe you big time. I’ve got to go now.”
I bid her goodbye and join the guys inside. I’m shaking with pure electricity. Raphael notices, and in the final moments before changing into our gear, he approaches me and elbows me in the ribs.
“What the coach said about you sneaking out, is it true?” he asks.
I snicker, full of myself. “Yes. Yes, it is, my friend.”
“And I suppose you’ve spent the night with a certain blue-eyed brunette,” Raphael states matter-of-factly.
I give him a sidelong glance. A gentleman doesn’t tell, but I feel like letting him in on my little secret.
Truth be told, I’m dying to tell someone anyway.
“I’m making an announcement during the second intermission.” I change the subject, and Raphael’s eyes immediately widen.
“You’re not retiring, are you?” he asks, a hand on his chest in shock.
“No, you idiot!” I dismiss his worries with a wave. “It’s a different kind of announcement.”
I stop at my locker, and then I reach for my jacket’s pocket and take out the little black velvet box. I pop it open to show him the big and fancy engagement ring I bought for Mia.
“Dude…!” Raphael exhales. “That’s big!” He turns in head and starts to yell, “Hey guys—!”
All eyes are on us as I hide the box and place my hand over Raphael’s mouth. He protests for a minute, but soon gives up and just stands with his lips covered and his hands splayed in the air.
“It’s a secret!” I whisper to him. “I’ve been planning this for weeks. Don’t ruin it!”
He slowly nods, shows me a double thumbs up, and it’s only then that I let him go and start getting changed.
I give the ring to the coach to hold, and soon after the game starts. The national anthem, the side dispute, and the battle for the puck. The Cyclones gain and early advantage, but Smith intercepts their advance before they breach our defensive line.
Ruslav gets the puck and passes it to Andrews. Andrews passes it to me. I dodge the left defenseman, get tackled by the right defenseman, and pass the puck to Raphael just in time for him to score our first goal.
The first period goes on like that, and we’re playing at full throttle, opening up a good point advantage as we go into the second period.
The mascots entertain the audience during the first intermission. For a moment, I fantasize about proposing to Mia straight from the podium, with the championship ring on my finger as I put the engagement ring on hers.
However, I quickly wipe the stupid grin off my face, and know that proposing at the second intermission is a good plan.
In the second period, we lose a bit of that steam. The Cyclones shrink the difference, but we come out still as the winners of the match.
“Matthews!” the coach calls my name when I reach the box for the second time that day. He fetches the ring from his suit pocket and hands it to me. Immediately, I feel like my stomach is about to hurl. Before I realize it, coach is waving me away and saying, “Best of luck!”
Howler, our husky mascot, comes with a microphone and reaches for my hand. He skates me to the center of the rink, and all of a sudden, I’m on the Jumbotron.
I tap the microphone. It’s live, ready for the speech I’ve been practicing. But my mind draws a blank, and all I can think about is if Mia is in the bleachers or not.
God, I sure hope she is.
“Um… This is a bit out of the ordinary but bear with me,” I start. The audience starts to chant my name.
