Chapter 17

Gripping my stick, I watched the puck intently as it moved from player to player. We were two minutes into the second period, and I’d barely had to defend the goal because my team was on the attack today. Scotty and Erik had scored twice already, making this a potentially easy win if I could continue to keep any of Brighton U’s attempts out.

But just as Erik passed the puck to Scotty, a Brighton U player intercepted it and skated toward me with ease, knocking off Cade and Brooks on his way.

I was up. Squatting into position, watching the puck closely, ready to stop any goal attempt.

As it was passed from player to player, I lost my focus when Cade bashed one of the opposing team against the boards. The boards right above…wait a minute.

What the fuck was she doing here?

Buzz.

I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw in anger because they just scored. I took my eye off the puck for one second, and it ended up in the back of my net.

Grumbling, that wasn’t even the thing annoying me most.

“Dude, what happened?” Scotty asked, but I wasn’t concentrating enough to answer. I was furious, and ready to break the plexiglass to get into the crowd.

Mine.

That was all I could hear in my brain, blaring like it was being shouted through a megaphone because what the fuck was Madison doing here with Adam Hartley?

Scotty gave me a push, forcing me to look at him. When I did, he pointed in Madison’s direction with his stick. “Is this about Baby Bright and the fact she’s got a new boyfriend?” He yelled loud enough that if Cade was near us, he would have heard it.

Something emanated from my chest. Something I couldn’t stop, and something that sounded a lot like an overprotective growl. Madison was not dating Adam.

Madison was mine.

Sure, the guy had been sniffing around her since that stupid Draft event, but if he thought he could just take her, he was vastly mistaken.

“He’s not her boyfriend.” I was just as loud back, almost hoping Madison could hear it from her seat, but she wasn’t even looking at me. She didn’t care that I was down here, playing a game, losing the game because she was here with someone else.

“Neither are you.”

Scotty’s words should have been the dose of reality I needed to get my head back in the game, but it wasn’t working. Not today. Not after everything. After the way she acted at the football game, I genuinely thought she was bluffing about her friendship with Adam. But here she was, rubbing it in my face.

I pushed my face mask up because I wanted a better look at her.

Madison was smiling, laughing at something Adam said. I kept staring, unable to stop myself from watching her. It was like a car crash and worse than before. When our eyes connected, she froze, and that pretty smile of hers dropped. I stared at her for longer than necessary, trying to prove a point. What that point was, I wasn’t sure yet, but I was definitely making it.

Scotty shoved me. “Dude. You’re making it obvious.”

He skated away, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was still staring at her, trying to convey a message that I hoped she’d be able to interpret. Oh, what a dangerous line she was walking with her choice of companion.

Madison eased into her seat, smirking as she smiled at Adam. She knew she was getting to me, and I was powerless to stop her from doing anything. When she looked over her shoulder to her other side, I frowned because she was smiling at Aiden.

When did he get here?

Was she here with both of them?

A football sandwich. Wasn’t that what she said she wanted before? I swallowed down my anger because all I could think about was them having a threesome after the game in Aiden’s infamous soundproof bedroom.

Okay, I was at the point where I was going to break my hockey stick with how hard I was gripping it through my gloves.

Madison’s eyes widened when she seemingly confirmed it was her I was staring at. Should have been obvious, really. She was the only thing worth looking at in this entire rink.

She masked her surprise by licking her lips, and then I could have sworn she cuddled up to Adam.

I fully expected Adam to wrap his arm around her and kiss her on the forehead, but something even more disturbing happened.

Aiden tugged at her Crushers jersey, making her fall into his hold. She laughed, slapped his chest, and snuggled in.

What the actual fuck was going on?

I had to be dreaming because this was a nightmare that I couldn’t believe Cade was allowing. His sister and the biggest lothario on campus were snuggling, acting like they were on a date. As her nails scratched against Aiden’s shirt, Madison kept her gaze on me, challenging me to do something about it.

But what could I do?

My jaw clenched and I dropped my stick in frustration, accidentally hitting the player who just scored.

“Need glasses or something? It might help you actually see the puck next time,” he taunted as he skated past.

Not one to let that slide, I pushed him to the ice before he knew what was coming. I was the unassuming player on the team because people expected the goalie to guard the goal with their life and stay out of fights, but I wasn’t in the mood for that today. Today, I refused to ignore his taunts because I wanted to hurt something, and he just so happened to be there.

He crumbled to the floor, groaning out in surprise, and as he lay on the ice, I ignored his flailing form because I was still staring at Madison.

“I fell on my stick, you moron.”

Was he talking to me? I didn’t care. He’d soon learn that the only reason he scored was because my girl was in the crowd, trying to act like she wasn’t my girl.

I didn’t have time to think about the fact that I was calling Madison my girl in my head because someone pushed me so hard into the top of the net, we dislodged it and hit the boards behind. My side bent unnaturally against the pole, but before I could even finish bouncing off it, another Brighton U player pushed me from behind.

I threw my stick in the air, knowing I was in trouble. When two more players shoved me, I realized I was surrounded. Guess I shouldn’t have taken so much joy in knocking over their asshole teammate. After a few more shunts, I dropped to the floor, letting them think they pushed me to the ground, and ended up at the bottom of a dog pile while players tried to land blows that didn’t hurt.

At some point, my helmet came off, so I stayed still just in case a rogue skate came my way. Blow after blow, I took the hits because I had no other option. It wasn’t that painful, but the more time I spent in this pile, the less time I had to watch Madison.

The pile started to get lighter, and I heard the whistle blow, so I knew it was only a matter of time until I was out of here.

“Don’t you ever fucking touch our goalie again!” Cade yelled, pushing two of the guys off me and forcing them to the ground.

The refs had blown the whistle a while ago, but no one had listened. Cade offered me his hand to help me on my feet, and as I got back up, I realized that Scotty, Erik, Brooks, and Alex had all been relegated to the sin bin for apparently fighting the rest of the team.

Cade tossed me my helmet and I caught it with ease. “You okay?” he asked, skating around me.

“I’m fine,” I gritted out because it just had to be Cade that saved me, didn’t it? The one guy who was always there for me. Even in my darkest hours, he was the one who unknowingly saved me. And yet, I was more than willing to betray him at the drop of his sister’s bra.

“Okay, then let’s stay focused and make sure we beat these assholes.” With tight, flat lips, I nodded.

Stay focused.

He was right. That was what I needed to do. Too bad his sister was so damn distracting. She’d done this on purpose just to taunt me or maybe prove to me that I wanted her. I didn’t know. It didn’t matter because it got the reaction she wanted.

She was mine, and right after finishing this game, I was going to prove that to her.

I tossed my gloves into my locker, stewing in my own anger because that was the worst game I’d ever played. Frankly, I couldn’t believe Coach kept me on the ice. My teammates were congratulating each other over the win as they walked out of the locker room, ready to celebrate at Covey’s Cantina, but I was in no mood for celebrating. I’d nearly blown it for us by letting Brighton U score another two points. Thankfully, Scotty and Alex were on fire tonight and managed to keep us ahead, but the game was close. Too close, and it was all because I lost my focus over a girl.

It was pathetic. I was pathetic. I’d never let anyone break my concentration like that during a game, but I couldn’t think straight. I still couldn’t. Just remembering the way Aiden’s arm clasped around her shoulder made me want to kiss the shit out of her and claim her in front of everyone. Even Cade.

What the fuck was Madison doing to me?

Blowing out a breath, I took my jersey off in an attempt to remain calm. When that did nothing, I removed the chest padding and placed it on the bench. Nope. Still nothing. I still had that hot heat sitting on my lungs, getting warmer with every inhale.

She was fucking mine, and I vowed that I wouldn’t let her attend another game without her wearing my jersey because everyone needed to know that fact.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

Pulling my gloves off, I gripped the fabric before tossing them into my locker because that was the only way I could vent my frustration.

Scotty walked into the room and stopped in surprise when he saw me. With his hair slicked back, in his casual gear, he looked ready to celebrate or go on a date.

“What are you still doing here?” I’d ask him the same thing, but that would make him think I cared, and I didn’t. I really didn’t.

I turned my attention back to my locker, looking at the pile of pads as though they’d somehow give me the meaning of life.

Scotty took a few steps toward me. “Dude, don’t beat yourself up over those goals you let in. It’s just one game. You’ll bounce back,” Scotty said with a pat on my shoulder. When I looked up at him, he backed away and laughed nervously. “Umm. I’m guessing this has nothing to do with the game if your face is anything to go by.”

“I missed a few pucks, but we still won, didn’t we?” I griped before turning and sitting on the bench so I could take the shin pads off.

Scotty raised his hands. “Okay. Well, sorry I asked.”

“Where’s Cade?” I looked around the locker room for that asshole. I needed to talk to him because he was still blissfully unaware that I was so infatuated with his sister that I was thinking of all the ways I could claim her as mine in the rink. Most were indecent and had broken a resolve in me. It was high time I let her brother know what my intentions were because this feeling wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“Oh. Is this still about Baby Bright?”

I pinned him with a glare because he was loud enough for anyone to hear if they were walking in. He winced, looking around before mouthing, “sorry.” My facial expression was enough of an answer for him.

“Dammit. I’m a bad friend. I guess I assumed she’d gotten bored with your brooding and dumped your ass in favor of the brooding asshole on the football team. I thought that’s why you were annoyed today.”

“Madison’s still mine.”

“Might want to tell her that,” he mumbled before wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “In fact, maybe you should come to Covey’s tonight and tell her. Pretty sure that’s where she’s heading with Aiden and Adam.”

“I’m not going there.”

“Why not?”

“I hate going out, and I hate people.”

“Oh, we’re back to that again. Angry and menacing under your curtains.”

“They aren’t curtains.” I threw the rest of my pads in my locker. I needed to get out of here. I needed to think, and it wasn’t happening in this place. The rink had too many memories associated with Madison, and it was making my brain fry. “And I’m not going to the bar because if I see anyone on the football team, I’m going to punch their lights out.”

Scotty drew in a sharp breath. “Yeah, please don’t do that. That will get you at least a semester suspension, and you’re the best goaltender we got. Save for the last few games, but we all have a few off streaks.”

I quickly shoved on my clothes, not caring that I stunk because I hadn’t showered yet. I needed to get out of here. Stuffing everything except my phone and wallet in my locker, I slammed it shut and locked it before pushing past Scotty.

“Where are you going?”

I glared at my friend, pinning him with a look that surely made it obvious. “To find Madison. I need to talk to her.”

Scotty threw his head back, barking out a laugh. “Good luck with that. I hope you catch her before you find her making out with a football player.”

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

I had a one track mind when it came to Madison, and I bit my tongue, tasting blood at the mere thought of Madison kissing one of those guys. I sunk my teeth in further when I thought about them touching.

Madison wasn’t going to be with anyone but me. That girl was so mine. She knew it. I knew it. I’d just been fooling myself, thinking that I could get over her by telling her I wasn’t interested and ignoring her. That was a mistake. That just made her push me harder.

“Just remember, we’re getting on a bus at four a.m. for the airport tomorrow. Hockeyfest waits for no one.”

I waved him off but didn’t look back because I only had one thing on my mind. Find Madison. Pulling out my phone, I opened the same app I used before to check her location. It was the app Cade forced me to download when we were in high school that let me know exactly where she was at any moment. I wasn’t sure how I’d gained permission to have Madison’s location, but I assumed it had something to do with Cade granting me access just in case Madison blocked him or her parents. Like she’d ever do that. She loved her family and had nothing to hide.

Except for me, of course. Now, she had to hide because there was no going back. I wanted her, and she just needed to get on board with it. I smiled and pinched the screen to zoom in on that little pin. It was still in the building, and when I zoomed in further, I knew exactly where she was.

I pushed open the door, grinning to myself because it was the first time in weeks I felt like I had a purpose and knew what I was doing. I was approaching the pin, and when I heard two familiar voices, I immediately looked up.

When I saw what was going on in front of me, I was ready to kill him.