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Before anyone could comment more, the teams

were announced. As they got to the Hammers lineup, the

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crowd became more and more rowdy. The energy in this place was unreal; it felt like the arena was literally vibrating. When the announcer called Talon’s name, the building practically shook. Cheers and screams drowned out any other words that could be heard.

Talon jumped the boards and lifted his hand, a

greeting to the adoring public. Somehow, the noise only seemed to increase before tapering off as both national anthems were played. Once the music faded, the boys squared off.

Despite all the hockey gear, Talon was still easy to

pick out on the ice. On his skates, he towered over many opponents. The whistle blew, and the Hammers won the puck, easily passing to one another. It always fascinated me how fast the puck could move. Before I could even process it, Talon had scored.

“Way to go, Talon!” Dre and I beat our hands on

the boards.

Skating by us, he flashed a smile, held up one finger

and pointed his stick at me. All eyes were on me or the jumbotron where my pink face was prominently displayed. Oh god, this was embarrassing.

Dre put an arm around my shoulders and shouted in

my ear. “That is like the ultimate hockey callout to say you’re his girl.”

“Just friends, my ass.” Nat laughed, flicking the tip

of my braid. “He’s majorly crushing on you.”

Davis grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “I

told you he was. Didn’t need to make it such a public display.”

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I didn’t even have anything to contribute to the

conversation. My cheeks were still flushed, and my heart was racing. The limelight and I didn’t mix. Plus, I was sure I would get thousands of questions come Monday. A professional athlete had just dedicated a goal to me. My brain was struggling to process that.

My eyes focused back on the ice as Chris was

shoved into the boards. He bounced off and kept heading toward the goal. The players’ ability to just keep going was surreal to me. Then I thought about my own ability to bounce back; they called that resiliency.

Another player stole the puck from Chris, flying

towards Zeke. Zeke caught the puck in his glove before sweeping it behind him. A player was there to pick it up and pass it back to Chris. Chris hopped a stick and swung a pass to Talon. He reared back for a shot but it pinged off the side. Clearly, he was determined. So far, his first game back was phenomenal.

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CHAPTER 16: SECRETS