Page 138 of Scarred

“It looks good,” McCormick says quietly, looking my way.

He’s been silent this whole time, which isn’t unusual. I just assumed he was in his head about the game tonight and didn’t have anything to add.

“What does?” I ask, glancing up at him as I sit down on the bench and reach for my headphones.

“Seeing your name on someone again.”

My chest tightens because he’s the only one who says what everyone else is avoiding.

“Yeah,” I admit quietly. “It does.”

He runs a hand through his dark hair, and you can tell by the blank stare in his grey eyes as he looks straight ahead that he’s no longer in this room with me, but someplace else in his mind.

He finally snaps out of it as he shakes his head slightly before giving me a slight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“It’s good to see you smiling again. Most people don’t get a second chance at love. I’m glad you’re not wasting it.”

The way he says it makes me think he’s no longer talking about me.

He squeezes my shoulder before walking over to his locker to do his final game prep routine.

Pulling on my headphones, I lean against the wall and close my eyes.

McCormick is right. A second chance at love is rare.

Before I met Luna, I didn’t believe it was possible to feel love again toward another woman. Not only did I not believe it…I didn’t want it.

My heart had other plans, though, and now that she owns a piece of me…the last thing I’m going to do is waste this fucking gift that I’ve been given.

My eyes are locked on the other side of the arena. We are exactly one hundred and seventy-eight feet apart, but we might as well be face to face.

I can’t see every detail behind the mask, but I feel his eyes on me as I narrow mine at him.

Sweat drips down my neck, and I tighten my grip on my stick as I crouch down to protect my space that I’ve been doing a damn good job of protecting since the first drop of the puck.

The only problem is…he’s been doing the exact fucking thing.

With the score of 0-0 and only a minute left in the second period, it’s all going to come down to the third, and I refuse to walk away second best goalie tonight.

The ref’s whistle blows, getting everyone in place for the last faceoff of the period, and I force my gaze away from the other net and to Luna in the stands right behind him.

It’s crazy to me that out of thousands of fans crammed into this arena, she’s the only one I see.

Even this far away, when the fans are so loud it’s deafening, I feel only her.

A calm washes over me as our eyes meet, resetting my focus as I shift to the puck about to drop.

Stone is ready, taking control and passing it to McCormick, who takes another shot that’s blocked. I watch it play out on the other end of the rink, ready at a moment’s notice for any movement headed my way.

The clock dwindles down, and when the buzzer goes off, I skate in first to the locker rooms, getting stick taps from my team as I pass by them.

I’ve kept this game at a zero tie, but we all know none of that matters now. The third period is all we are focused on as we file into the tunnel and head to the locker room.

Coach starts going over plays with McCormick and Hayes while other players look over the game footage and strategize.

Stone is going over a play with Kane when Bobby, one of our equipment managers, walks over looking nervous.

“I just got a text from Savi,” he says, his southern drawl coming out more with his nerves.