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The crowd erupted, a mix of cheers and groans. My stomach dropped as the scoreboard changed to 3-2.
There were only thirty seconds left.
I could see Mac’s anger and frustration as he skated to the bench, his teammates patting him on the back, trying to keep spirits up.
Then, as if things couldn’t get worse, one of the Yetis’ players shoved Strelow, and before I could even figure out what started it, fists were flying. Mac was in the middle of it, trying to pull his teammate away, but it was chaos. The referees blew their whistles frantically, trying to break it up.
Sebastian and I watched in helpless horror as the fight escalated. Mac pulled Strelow away, but not before both teams were sent to their benches, and penalties were handed out. The Evergreens would be down a man for the rest of the game.
“Damn it,” Sebastian muttered, his grip on my hand tightening. “This isn’t good.”
The last thirty seconds were a blur of desperation and grasping for the puck. The Evergreens gave everything they had, pulling Lightning from the net for an extra attacker. Mac won the faceoff, sending the puck to Strelow, who fired a quick shot. The Yetis’ goalie made the save.
Mac dove into the fray, battling for control. He got the puck to Sloan, who took a shot, but it was blocked by a Yeti defenseman.
The puck skidded out to the neutral zone, and the last seconds ticked away.
The buzzer sounded, and the game was over.
The Yetis had won.
I watched as Mac skated to the bench, his face a mask of anger and disappointment. The Yetis celebrated on the ice, their fans cheering wildly. The Evergreens skated slowly, heads down.
Sebastian and I made our way down to the locker room, wanting to be there for Mac. I felt a mix of emotions—pride in how hard he had fought, but also sadness for the loss.
We found Mac sitting on the bench, his head in his hands.
“Mac,” I whispered, sitting down beside him. I placed a hand on his back, rubbing some of the tension out of his muscles.
He looked up, his eyes filled with frustration and anger. “I can’t believe we lost,” he said, his voice tight. “We were so close.”
“You played your heart out,” Sebastian said, sitting on Mac’s other side and wrapping his arm around him.
Mac shook his head, his jaw clenched. “It’s not enough. I wanted to win. For the team. For you guys.”
I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close. “We know, Mac. And we’re so proud of you. You were incredible out there.”
Mac let out a deep sigh, leaning into our embrace. “It just hurts so much,” he admitted. “We worked so hard for this.”
“I know,” I said, my voice gentle. “But you have us, and we’ll get through this together.”
Sebastian nodded, his hand resting on Mac’s shoulder. “We’re a team, remember? On and off the ice.”
Mac took a deep breath, the anger slowly giving way to a weary acceptance. “Yeah. We are.” He looked at us, his eyes softening. “Thanks for being here. It means everything.”
I kissed his cheek, my heart swelling with love for him. “Always, Mac.”
The next morning, I woke up to the smell of bacon as my phone dinged. I blinked my eyes clear, not sure if I was reading the screen correctly.
Ava: Happy birthday, Emily!! We’ve all been talking about going to the lake house for a while, and I FINALLY got Bash’s parents on board. Want to join us?
I glanced at Mac, who was still asleep next to me. A scowl marred his beautiful face, and he looked like he had been wound up tight all night. Bash had held him against him until he fell asleep, but he was down worse than I’d ever seen him.
We had planned on staying home for the next week to celebrate the Evergreens’ win. The thought of losing hadn’t crossed our minds, so we didn’t have a back-up plan. I was really looking forward to a week off from hockey and wedding planning, but he would need more than this. A trip out of town for a few days would do the trick. And no reception meant less chance of them seeing the news.
I wish I hadn’t read it, but curiosity got the best of me on the drive home and I read the entire article that had popped up during the game.
That article was bad enough, saying our relationship was unnatural and wouldn’t last.
