Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

OLIVER

" D on't go and get all unhinged on me, Cyclone," Noah said. I could just picture his fucking grin in my mind, because God knew the guy rarely ever wasn't smiling.

I scoffed. "You're spending way too much time with Zoe and Eden. You're like a bookstagram account."

Noah snickered. "And this is why we're friends. Who else would get my sensitive side besides the guy who secretly reads hockey romance?"

"First, it was for a reel. Second, have you met my step sister? She sends me all the hockey boy trending reels because she thinks it will help me move up to the play on the big ice." I sighed. I loved my sister, and yep, I watched every single one. And sent her all my reactions. It was our thing.

"Um, considering she was my first crush, yes."

"Dude."

"Was," he repeated. "Mikayla will always be my first love, so I'm devastated you'd ever think I'd forget her. But I had my chance, and now she has a ring on it."

"Dude." I groaned because Noah had a way of waxing poetic like no one else I knew. My best friend and goalie for the Montreal Triumph. The first person I called when I found out Sunders was out for the rest of the season. And the Revenge were deciding between me and another player to call up because they didn't want to mess up the rest of the line's chemistry. Fucking Kas Holken needed a winger.

"Got it. But, yes I have, and yes, I remember the first time she tried to hide that abs man chest cover from your dad. In your room," he chuckled. "Back to unhinged. Focus on the game, and not the fact that the Revenge sent anyone there to watch you and possibly move you up to replace one of their All-Stars so close to the playoffs."

"Not helping," I hissed, ducking my head as the guys started trailing in to get ready to hit the ice for pregame warmups.

My best friend of fifteen years chuffed like a damn horse. "We both know you should've been brought up by now. Fuck the noise, Ollie. You deserve it. It's your ice, so go own it."

"Go, OLLIE!!!" Two decidedly female voices cheered in the background.

"Don't tell me I'm on speaker with Eden and Zoe?"

"Oh, Ollie! Come on!!" Zoe said, her tone infectious as Eden chimed in.

"Slap that shot, Ollie!"

Noah groaned. "The puns, Eden. We talked about this. At least make it-"

"That's the only way I go. No more, no less." Eden might sound sweet, but she had a wicked sense of humor. And bright pink hair. Which I saw a lot of, because the two of them loved to jump on when Noah and I FaceTimed.

My bromance was spinning into a platonic, polyamorous affair.

I wasn't complaining. Eden and Zoe kept my boy in good spirits and our rom-com movie night streak was alive thanks to their suggestions.

Yep. My best friend and I watched rom-coms once a month together with the girls. FaceTime if we couldn't get together. Which was more often than not.

The girls also made us have a movie night with that damn Zac Efron vet flick with the dog.

Still not over that one.

"Ollie," Eden said, "you deserve whatever the Universe sends your way. Ignore the crazy thoughts and get the damn puck-"

"IN THE NET!" The three of them chimed in as they dissolved into giggles. Yep. Noah giggled.

"Don't you have a game?"

"Time zones, my man. Just scored the W. Road game, remember? Brought along my besties for moral support, and we didn't want you to hit the ice without a little love."

I rolled my eyes as I tipped my chin at Emerson and Ilya, my line mates and the guys who I spent the most time off the ice with. Which didn't amount to much since being drafted at the end of last season. Head down, train, practice, game day. Rinse. Repeat.

"And remember," Zoe's voice sing-songed, "All work and no play makes Ollie a dull boy!"

I winced because a few of the guys shot amused glances my way. "Goodbye!"

"Bye-"

I cut the three of them off with a grin before they could embarrass me any further.

Ilya ambled up on his skates, which only added to his diminutive height. The defensive line man grinned. "Ready, Cyclone?"

I stood. "I wish you'd stop calling me that."

He laughed and headed towards the door. "After your first game? No way. I've never seen anyone tire themselves out in five minutes like you, Ollie. Cyclone it is."

The spray of ice as I faked and spun blinded me temporarily, but it didn't matter. I knew exactly where Ilya sent the puck without seeing him shoot it, and where the hole would be before anyone else saw it. I brought my stick back and nailed it, sending the black rubber donut straight into the goal. As I turned, arms raised in victory, I saw her.

Blue eyes. Blonde hair in a high ponytail. She wasn't smiling, but the way she studied me like she knew things about me that I didn't. It spawned a need in me to make her smile, anyway I could.

Shit. I couldn't afford the distraction. Not tonight. Not with the Revenge scouts here, trying to replace Sunders for the rest of the season. It was my big chance, and I couldn't blow it.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from her, even as the game resumed. Thank God Coach called for a change up, because the way things were going, I'd trip over my skates any second now.

Hell, her body spoke without words. The way she took in every moment on the ice, her eyes darting and following the puck with ease. The way her lips turned up, like it was her favorite thing in the world. Then, she looked my way.

All those silly romance novels Mikayla read talked about that moment that stole your breath. I'd teased her about it, but here I was. In my very own can't breathe moment. Blue like the sky on winter's day when Dad took me out to skate. The clearest and most vivid blue I'd ever seen.

Home. Her eyes reminded me of going home. And wanted more than anything, to know how those eyes looked when she laughed, or she fell apart in the best possible way. I wanted her to show me how to make her fall apart like that, to please her and make those eyes light up just for me.

The last ten minutes of the game flew by in a blur. Four more minutes of play time, and another goal, but when I looked back after scoring, she was gone.

When the buzzer sounded, I celebrated with the rest of the team. But even though I'd had one of my best games ever, the disappointment when I searched for her in the seats overshadowed it all. She slipped away, and I didn't even know her name.

A shower and bowl of cereal in my apartment later, my couch pillows my only comfort, I waited for Noah's text. Usually he did it right away, but time zones messed everything up.

My phone lit up. I grinned.

NOAH: I knew Cyclone wouldn't disappoint!

EDEN: Nicely done, Ollie!

ZOE: Who were you making googly eyes at?

And there it was. The games streamed online, and Noah watched when he could, giving me tips about the goalies I went up against.

Goalies know goalies.

OLIVER: No one.

NOAH: Were you eye-pucking during a game? Next level, Cyclone.

Of course Zoe noticed. She was like a damn truth detector or something.

EDEN: Let Ollie have his moment.

And Eden was the hopeless romantic. With bright pink and purple hair.

EDEN: There. Who was she, Ollie?

NOAH: E. with the penalty kill!

FML. They weren't going to ‘Let It Go' like Elsa, so…

OLIVER: Just a girl in the crowd.

EDEN: Ooh! A mystery! #ImInvestedAlready!

ZOE: Strangers to Lovers! Quick! Grab a car and chase her!

OLIVER: Game ended two and a half hours ago, Z.

NOAH: If eye-pucking some girl makes you have a game like that…

My thoughts exactly. But how the hell did I find her?

OLIVER: Gonna hit the sack, guys.

EDEN.: Congrats on the gamer, Ollie!

ZOE: Nice eye-puck!

NOAH: PUCK YEAH!

I shook my head. Because as annoying as they were, I knew Noah, and the girls, had my back.

One last text before bed.

OLIVER: Any tips?

My big sister watched my games and sometimes caught things I didn't.

MIKAYLA: Find that girl so she's at all your Revenge games. I'm manifesting, Ollie! Love ya!

Well, she caught that one.

"Pack your bag, Sutton. You're going to the big game," Serena Knight, my agent, said. ‘You've been called up.'

"When?"

Her laugh was immediate. "Tonight. The team needs you at practice tomorrow. They set up a place for you to stay. The organization owns a building. A few of the guys live there, which will help with team building. I called movers-"

"I won't need them. I'll just bring a few things." Because if I messed things up, I'd be right back here. Or worse. No way I wanted to be homeless or have to stay at my parents' place in Love Canyon near Palm Springs. Desert air and hockey, or ex—if I lost my place completely—players didn't mix well.

Her tone softened. "Ollie, they're going to keep you. I feel it. But I understand. Keep the apartment, and I'll get someone to check on things once a week."

I glanced around at my apartment. Grey and black with bright blue pillows, Mikayla insisted I needed in case I ever ‘wanted to have anyone special over' next to the coffee table that had a few favorite books. A floating shelf that held one of my prized possessions.

A graded Giant Sized X-Men #1 comic. Wolverine joins the X-Men.

A splurge from my signing bonus, and the only thing I spent any money on. Not that I made a lot, but I refused to let my dad pay for anything after college, and even then I only let him pick up my books because he wouldn't take no for an answer. Scholarships and a part-time job meant I kept my head down, maintained my grade point average, and went from training to games to home.

No extracurriculars. Or girls. The house I stayed in with a few of the guys on the team had a ‘seriously' floor, as Noah called it, and it was off limits to girls unless they were there for more than a night or two.

"Thank you, Serena."

"Pack up that Jeep and get your ass to Seattle, Cyclone," she teased. "I'll be at your first game."

I shifted my cell from one ear to the other. My equipment would take up most of the space, but the front seat would fit the rest that couldn't be jammed into the back. "You don't have to-"

She scoffed. "If you think I'm missing one moment of you hitting the ice during the playoffs, Oliver Sutton, then I have nothing more to say to you. Plus, Mikayla called and asked if I could wrangle tickets. Sutton cheering section activated! Plus, there's a possibility you'll play Noah's team if Seattle gets into the playoffs."

Oh shit. How the hell did I forget that little detail? My top level debut could be against my best friend's team, depending on when the Revenge put me in the line up. And that jerk Shaw.

I groaned.

"Don't tell me you forgot! Oliver !"

I had. Because my brain fixated on one thing. The girl. In the midst of everything, she took over the spots that everything else had once occupied. I scratched my head. "Maybe?"

"Just wait until he finds out. No one does things quite like Noah LeCavalier."

I snorted. "You mean blow things out of proportion like him?"

She laughed. "Exactly. Now, go pack and text me when you get there. And Oliver?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm so proud of you."

Ten minutes later, I had my equipment ready to go. The bags by the door, because I had a habit of not leaving things strewn about. Unlike Noah, who had kept his stuff all over the room we shared, so I kinda had to keep my stuff in a state of constant organization. I carefully packed everything from my dresser I'd needed for a few weeks and was putting the comic in a box with a few other things when my phone pinged.

NOAH: CYCLONE!!!! Fuck my life. How the hell am I supposed to cheer for you to score goals when it might be my job to stop them??? AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TEXT ME RIGHT AWAY?

Since I knew he couldn't help himself, I called my best friend.

"Seriously. I'm hurt. You never call. You never text anymore. This is feeling one-sided."

"Dude, I have to leave tonight. Practice is at 8 am tomorrow, and I have to meet with the coaching staff before hitting the ice. Max Vaughn, Noah." I raked a hand through my hair because a poster of Max Vaughn hung on my wall until I left for college, and even then, Mikayla refused to let anyone take it down until my dad and stepmom sold the house last year. "I was going to call you from the road."

"It's a forty-five minute drive. Not long enough to celebrate the momentous occasion."

"Are you mapping my drive?" I chuckled. "Aw, don't worry, mom, I'll text when I leave and when I get there."

"No. I did not map your drive. Eden did."

"Hi, Ollie!!!!" Eden screamed in the background. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, E. Are you ever alone?" I asked as I taped up the box on my bed and carried it out to my Jeep. Even with my equipment, the three other boxes I packed up fit.

Talk about cautious optimism.

"Sure, but," he lowered his voice, "I think E is going through something, but she won't say what. So I am Bridgertoning her, ordering takeout, and then see if I can crack the case. And Zoe's been weird too, this week. I think she's seeing someone, but she hasn't said a word. It's like my girls are slipping through my bestie fingers."

"Did she say anything when you asked her? And isn't she always over your place?"

"Zoe is, but Eden doesn't just show up out of the blue. I caught her checking her phone right before I called you and she had this weird expression on her face. But when I asked her about it, she brushed it off. Hence, Bridgerton and takeout."

Noah took his Netflix seriously, so if he was pulling out the big guns, he must be worried. "All I know is when Mikayla's worried or stressed, she hates anyone knowing, so maybe she just doesn't want to add to your plate with playoffs coming."

He sighed. "And now I'm hanging out in my damn bathroom so she can't hear me, which is going to stress her out even more because she thinks I'm telling you some secret that I don't want her to hear."

I let out a chuckle. "Go Bridgerton and eat before you get hangry."

"You're right. Fucking playoffs are freaking me out."

"Go eat, and I'll call you when I get there, Mom."

"Thanks, honey. And Ollie?"

"Yeah?"

"For real. You deserve this. But I won't go easy on you."

"I would expect no less, Noah."