Page 60 of Broken As Puck

Kelly, who was also on my team, skated over to me. “I thought we were going to have to take it easy, but these guys might give us a run for our money.”

“They’re incredible,” I agreed.

Eventually, the game started. I was paired with Nico to begin with—a fact he seemed delighted by. It was strange facing off against Harris and Young, who were both in the opposing forward line, and stranger still protecting a goalie I hadn’t worked with before.

It was fun, though. The teens playing with us were obviously thrilled to be there and brought a new sense of energy to the ice that I reveled in. Sometimes, we got so caught up in winning that it was easy to forget we’d started playing out of a love for the sport.

I could tell some of my Chaos teammates were holding back, reluctant to get too physical, but they all seemed to be having a blast, and the kids we were playing with were damn good. The goalie behind me—Kobe—was pulling off saves that even Davenport would be pleased with.

When the game ended—with the other team winning, thanks in part to the goal-scoring power of Austin Harris—the charity’s president took to the ice again to announce the winners of the silent auctions that had been going on during the game.

We all kept moving as they made their way down the list, not wanting to cool off too much before we were able to shower. A few players had donated either autographed items or services, and they took turns joining the president to present the winnings to those who had purchased them.

I’d donated a two-hour personal coaching session for an up-and-coming defenseman and, when it was time to announce the winner, I skated over to the president and removed my helmet to reveal my head of bright, rainbow-colored hair. A cheer rang through the stadium, and I raised my hand and waved.

The president arched their eyebrows. “That’s quite something.”

I grinned. “It seemed fitting.”

They read out the person’s name and how much they’d donated and my mouth dropped open. Wow, I hadn’t realized my time was worth quite so many zeroes.

The winner was a young woman with short hair and a pierced eyebrow. I shook her hand. “Thanks so much for bidding. My phone number and email address are on the certificate, so you can call later to arrange a time.”

She beamed at me. “Thanks! I’m so excited! I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you.”

“More than meeting. We’re going to carve up some ice.”

She accepted the certificate from the president, and we posed for a photo together before being ushered away for the next winner to be called forth.

When the auction winners had all been announced, the spectators began to disperse, although some lingered around the edges of the rink, hoping for autographs.

Kobe, the goalie, skated over to me. He’d taken his helmet off and his eyes were wide and blue, his sweaty hair tied at the nape of his neck. “Your hair looks so cool.”

“Thanks.” I ran my hand over it, grimacing at the cold dampness from how sweaty I’d become during the game. It probably didn’t look quite as impressive as it had been earlier now that it was flattened to my head.

“Love it,” another kid said, skating a circle around me to check it out before stopping beside Kobe. “Is it permanent?”

I shrugged. “The hairdresser said it’d last a couple weeks.”

“And you’re…okay with that?” he asked, shifting his stick from one hand to the other. “Even though you’ll have to play other games like that and be seen in public and stuff?”

I smiled gently. “Yeah, I’m okay with it.”

He cocked his head. “People might think you’re gay…”

“And?” I didn’t care what people thought. Once upon a time, I’d cared too much, and I’d learned that lesson. Now, I only cared about what mattered to me and the people I wanted in my life.

“Huh.”

Drew joined us, eyeing my hair as if he didn’t know what to make of it. I’d been a little surprised when he’d volunteered for the charity game, but I supposed the fact he had a chip on his shoulder didn’t mean he was a homophobe like Delacrue.

He grunted. “It suits you.”

The kid’s eyes widened with a combination of wariness and something akin to hero worship. He’d seemed confident enough with me, but his mouth worked silently and he clearly had no idea what to say to Drew.

“You guys played well,” Drew said and skated away.

The kid squeaked, then slapped his hand to his mouth and blushed bright pink. “Oh, fuck. That’s so embarrassing.”