Page 98 of Hot As Ice

The Ravens players finally hit the ice for warm-ups and I hold my breath. This is it. There’s no backing down now. I spot Hunter right away. I love watching him. The way he moves with so much control and confidence is extremely impressive. No wonder I surrendered myself to him. Who wouldn’t? He’s commanding and powerful. He’s the captain of the team for a reason, after all.

When he sees me a few minutes later, apprehension and fear zing through me, like I’m in over my head. He stops in the middle of the ice for a few seconds and our gazes clash. Then he goes back to shooting the puck at the goalie with his teammates.

“This is gonna be intense,” Derek says. He rubs his hands together and grins. I’m a little less excited about it now, but I’m not about to back down. The players from both teams leave the ice after warm-ups, and I try to ignore the nerves in my belly. Grabbing some popcorn from Derek, I stuff my mouth and chew as if it’ll calm me down.

The game officially starts with Hunter and the captain of the other team facing off for the puck drop. Hunter wins the face-off and passes the puck to another player. Even though I’m mad at him and here for revenge, it’s so fun to watch him play and I get caught up in the excitement of the game. But this game is not like the others I’ve been to; it’s a lot more…violent. Both teams have more penalties in the first period than I’ve seen the Ravens get in entire games before. Belatedly, I remember Greenwood is the same team with that one player, Axel Bauer, that Hunter absolutely despises.

“Is it just me or are they extra aggressive tonight?” Derek asks after a Greenwood player slams a Ravens player into the boards right in front of us.

“It’s not just you.”

“Wonder why.”

Hunter and Axel are often battling it out for the puck, and I remember how last time they almost got into a fight. The way things are going, another fight might be imminent. The crowd isn’t helping calm things down, either. People are shouting and cheering every time things get physical.

I’ve been sitting with my black puffer jacket zipped up this whole time, but as soon as second period starts, I decide to unzip it. I hope my ‘Dump Him’ shirt will be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. The bull being Hunter.

Derek laughs as I shrug out of my jacket completely.

I smirk, even though a rush of heat goes through me. Am I going to regret this? A minute later, Hunter skates past our section and slams his stick against the glass in front of us with a big bang. Derek and I and some other people in our section jump back. Welp, I guess it was like waving a red flag.

“Oh shit,” Derek says. “You’ve done it now.”

“Whatever. He’s a big boy. He can handle it.”

“Um, I’m not so sure about that.”

First period was scoreless, but second period gets exciting as both teams score within minutes of each other. But then Greenwood scores twice more in rapid succession. That’s when all hell seems to break loose. During another face-off, Hunter suddenly takes his gloves off and lunges at Axel. It seems to come out of absolutely nowhere. A loud gasp goes up in the arena followed by shouts and cheers. Hunter rips Axel’s helmet off and punches him in the nose. Blood gushes all over his jersey and onto the ice. Everyone around me is out of their seats while I stay rooted in mine with my hands over my mouth. My heart is pounding out of my chest.

The refs separate the two players and Hunter is sent off the ice.

“He’s so fucked,” Derek says, sitting back down. “They’re going to suspend him.”

“They are?”

“Oh yeah, he’s definitely out for the rest of the game.”

One of the officials steps out onto the ice after conferring with the Ravens coach and announces that Hunter Cruise will not be returning to the ice. A feeling of dread wraps itself around my chest.

“Told ya,” Derek says.

“Damn.” I grab my phone out of my purse and tap into the messages app. Hunter’s messages pleading with me to talk to him are still all there. Even though I haven’t replied to any of them, I like reading them sometimes. My fingers hover over the keys and I suddenly want to text him, ask if he’s okay, but I quickly decide against it and put my phone away.

The final score is 4-2. The Ravens lose.

Tonight went…better than I could’ve ever dreamed, from a revenge perspective anyway. But there’s this hollow feeling in my chest. Watching Hunter get into a fight and his team lose their winning streak didn’t make me happy at all.

“You’re a badass,” Derek says as we exit the arena. “Remind me to never get on your bad side. Ever.”

I give him a teasing smile. “I will remind you often.”

He stops suddenly, looking at something past me, and his mood changes instantly. “Oh, shit,” he says.

I look where he’s looking and my heart drops. Hunter is leaning against his car in the parking lot, arms crossed. He’s staring at me, jaw clenched. My heart starts going a mile a minute.

“Fuck,” I mutter. Hunter’s looking at me like he’s going to kill me.

“Let’s go,” Derek says, taking my arm. “Come on, I’m walking you to your car.”