44. Josie

44

JOSIE

" I think I'm going to be sick."

"It's okay, there's still time."

"Bro, she's going to break my hand."

I heard all of their voices, but I was too focused on what was happening on the ice to care. I felt Mateo trying to pull his hand from mine, but I latched on even harder.

"Josie, ease up a little," he groaned. I briefly took my eyes away from the ice and smiled sheepishly at Mateo, letting go of his hand.

"Sorry."

"Geez woman, are you secretly the hulk?" he said as he shook his hand out and flexed it.

"Hey, I warned you about sitting next to me." On the other side of me Mila snickered.

"Gotta toughen up there little, bro." Behind us Landon slapped his brother's shoulder and Mateo glared at him over his shoulder. If I wasn't so stressed about the game, I would have laughed at their bickering, Evelyn just shook her head and leaned forward to talk to Mila. I felt bad that Tasha and Lydia weren't here, but the two had to work and couldn't make the flight over.

I looked around the arena, trying to settle my nerves as Coach talked to the players on the sidelines. Although seeing how packed the arena was it didn't ease my anxiety.

The hockey arena in Boston was huge, like really huge. Every seat was filled for tonight's game, which was to be expected. It was the Cup Championship final—a do-or-die game.

The Toronto Knights had a one game lead against the Boston Bears, and if they won tonight, they would win the Cup Championship . And currently, we were tied 2-2, in overtime, so we needed one goal to win. One goal.

I'd been a ball of nerves since the playoffs started and it'd only grown as the team progressed through the cup finals. I was certain I was more nervous about tonight's game than anyone else, including Wyatt and the team.

Wyatt had worked so hard for this moment. To come back from a knee injury and make it to the finals was a huge deal. He was playing the best he ever had, too. The fact that he'd brought his team back after losing quite a few games at the start of the season was amazing. It just showed how great of a player and captain he was.

It'd been six months of early morning practices, days on the road for away games, and trying to juggle a new relationship on top of it. There were bad days for us. Little arguments about the other person being too busy and not making time for the other. But they never lasted long. How could I stay mad at a guy who five minutes later would come up, wrap his arms around me, placing kisses along my neck while telling me he loved me. It was next to impossible.

I won't lie, the Playoffs were hard on both of us. Wyatt was gone for days at a time and traveling back and forth for each game. When he was home, he was either exhausted or at practice with the team. It even led to a fight with me telling him he was working too hard and if he didn't slow down, he would re-injure himself.

It was the worst fight we'd had so far. I was just concerned with how hard he was pushing himself, only he took my words to mean I didn't want him playing anymore. We both got caught up in the heat of the moment, yelling at each other.

Wyatt had stormed out of my apartment back to his.

Two full days of no contact.

Both of us were too stubborn to apologize first, even though we were both miserable. It may have only been two days, but it was the longest two days of my life. On day three, I gave in and went up to his apartment only to run into him doing the same thing. Let's just say making up lasted all night.

"Here we go," I announced as the players got back on the ice. It was seriously do-or-die right now. As soon as I saw Wyatt on the ice, I gripped Mateo's hand again. From the corner of my eye, I saw him wince, but he didn't say a word.

My leg bounced nervously as I watched the guys fight for the puck, inches away, every player putting their all into the last few minutes.

"Come on, come on," I chanted under my breath as I caught sight of Wyatt moving down the ice, the puck in front of him. Like always, Trevor and Bryton were right there beside him, blocking and weaving around other players. Even after all this time, I was still in awe at the way they all moved together.

The other players on the team were trying their hardest to keep their opponents at bay as the three skated towards the goal. Pieces of ice flew up from beneath their skates and I could practically feel the determination coming off them. I knew everyone else around me felt the same, as we all sat there with bated breath for one of them to score.

As Wyatt neared the goalie my grip on Mateo's hand got even tighter as I scooted forward. This was it. I only had eyes on my man as he skated as fast as he could.

"Shoot! Shoot!"

Almost like he'd heard me, Wyatt drew his stick back and sent a fast slap shot straight for the net. It was like everything slowed down as the puck shot through the air. The goalie lunged to the side, missing the puck completely as the puck flew past him, striking the back of the net.

The buzzer sounded, and the entire stadium erupted in deafening cheers. I launched to my feet, screaming.

They won!

I turned to Mila, both of us jumping up and down as we wrapped our arms around each other. Landon, Mateo and Evelyn were no better as they screamed for Wyatt.

Turning towards the ice, I saw Wyatt skating towards me, ignoring his other teammates as they hugged and slapped each other. Unexpected tears welled at the sight of him. He took his helmet off, his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, but he was literally glowing. The smile on his face mirrored my own.

I was seated behind the glass but that didn't stop Wyatt from coming right up to it, placing his hand on the glass. I felt the tears run down my face as I pressed my hand against his.

I knew this moment meant more to him than he'd ever say. There were times where he'd doubted his ability to get here, but I never did. I'd seen it on his face that very first game I went to. This was his comeback and boy, did he do it.

"I love you," I mouthed.

"I love you," he mouthed back. At that exact moment Trevor and Bryton came up and tackled him to the ground, yelling and cheering as they dog-piled Wyatt.

Laughing, I wiped at my tears. Never could I have imagined that I'd feel so complete, so happy.

And it was just the beginning.