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Damn right, do your fucking job.
The offending person ends up in the Sin Bin and I huff out a breath. At this rate, they’re going to run out of players. Their coach is red faced and angry, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he keels over. The man should do some yoga or some shit to help his blood pressure.
Ciaran continues to do his job, clearing the way so that the team can work together to get the puck in the net. Unfortunately, Malibu Academy’s goalie is decent, and he knocks the puck out, allowing one of their players to circle around the net and take off in my direction.
Bring it on.
The next few minutes are brutal as they take shots at me while my teammates fight for the puck. There’s a lot of jostling, but I’m focused on blocking every single one of Malibu Academy’s shots.
“Your mama could shoot better than you,” Ciaran crows. “Try harder!”
The forward hesitates for a second as Ciaran distracts him, and Alastair takes advantage by knocking the puck away from him. Everyone explodes into motion, while I blow out a breath. Fuck me, that was intense.
I welcome it though. I need to drown out the way Noor looked when she passed out on the ground, or the wild look in her eyes as she escaped the school. I think she got locked inside while she was hiding and lost track of time.
It would be easy to do.
The buzzer goes off and the red light on the opposite end of the rink lights up as I grin.
“Yes!” I yell, knowing we scored.
The break comes at just the right time, and I skate leisurely to the bench to hear what Coach has to say.
“These guys are tough,” he mutters, meeting my gaze. “It got a little fierce there. Good work, D.”
“Thanks, Coach,” I grunt, listening to his strategy as he begins to talk.
Alastair’s gaze is intense as he listens, and I know he’s running through plays in his head. Things he’s seen on tape of our opposing team’s plays, their weaknesses, and how to piss them off.
“They’re gonna keep coming for our goalie,” Alastair says. “Are we gonna let them?”
“No!” everyone yells, making my lips twitch in happiness.
I love my teammates. This gives me the validation I need, and since I’m an only child, it helps me feel like I have siblings. Even when they drive me insane.
The buzzer sounds to show that time is up, and I shove my head gear back where it belongs. Ciaran’s no longer wearing the bandana he wore during practices and our last game, and I have to say I’m glad for it. The head covering made his scalp itch, and he complained about it for hours after playing.
He makes having a buzzed head look good, and his curls will come back in. I know that had to have hurt his soul to have them cut. Ciaran loves his hair and his dick in that order.
The thought makes me chuckle under my breath, and I head back to my net.
Come on, boys. Let’s fucking do this!
“Draven, you got a minute?” Coach asks on Tuesday morning.
Noor hasn’t been back to school, though the principal made an announcement Monday morning that she had been found but was going to be doing virtual school until further notice.
I didn’t even know virtual classes were an option. According to Alastair, his dad is over the moon because Mrs. Denton is too preoccupied to focus on him, though she’s still coming into work.
“For you? Always,” I reply, heading to his office. I’m still wearing my padding and skates, but I’ll survive.
We just finished up practice for the night and we’re all cleaning up. Well, at least, I was in the process of that.
I remain standing because I know I smell funky. The sooner he says his peace, the better.
“The coach at the Colorado Snow Canyons called me about you,” Coach says, getting right to the point. “He was scouting at the Malibu game, and you caught his eye. He wants to see if you’re interested in playing with the pros. I know you’ve been wanting to go to college first…”
“I just want to have a solid financial plan,” I say, my hand scrubbing my face. “I want to know I have a career, one that will take care of me. Don’t I need to go to the junior leagues before they’ll want to look at me?”
