Chapter 10

Austin

"Alright, listen up," Coach Moss shouts as we gather around him. He ducks down low and starts laying out the strategy.

It's been a wild game. We're tied, five-five with only thirty-six seconds to go.

We're on a timeout and when we start back, we'll be taking the face-off in our zone. It's dangerous territory.

"Let's end this here," Coach says with a fierceness in his tone. "This is our house. Kemp, I need you to bring the puck into their zone. Time to earn that big contract of yours."

"Yes, Coach," Sebastian says with a nod.

"When we get it up there," Coach continues, "Z-Back formation. Sutton, you take the final slap shot."

Harris leans in. "Actually, Coach, I think Austin should take it."

My stomach drops as I turn to him in shock. What did he just say?

Coach Moss looks at him long and hard. "You've been working with the rookie?"

"I have," Harris says. "He's ready. He won't let us down."

"They won't be expecting that," Coach Moss says, thinking about it. "Alright, let's do it. Gambill, don't fuck it up."

A nervous quivery feeling takes over my body as we break and skate over to the circle.

Harris bumps into me and gives me a little nod like he's sure I can do it. I hope he's right.

We line up in front of the other team and the crowd is so fricking loud. I can feel the vibrations in my chest. My heart is racing. My mouth goes dry.

I look around at the flying spotlights whipping around the excited crowd, lighting them up. A lot of those people out there have my jersey on. I don't want to mess up in front of them again.

Everyone I know is watching at home. My family, my friends, my former players… I can't let them down.

I shake out my hands as the referee comes skating over with the puck.

This is not good. I'm getting inside my head. I'm too anxious, too on edge. This game has been a war and I don't want to let everyone down by missing another shot.

I take a deep breath as the referee holds the puck over the circle. I'm biting at my bottom lip as I wait for it to drop.

The puck hits the ice and the centers explode into action. Sebastian loses the face-off and they immediately take a shot on our net.

It bounces off our goalie Nolan's chest and they get it back. Nolan is out of position as they immediately take another shot on the open net.

Nolan practically does the splits as he catches it in his glove. The crowd goes nuts. My jaw nearly drops. That was the best save I've ever seen in person. I don't know how he contorted his body like that.

There's a scuffle against the boards as Tucker gets into it with someone. Both teams skate over, pushing and jawing as the referees try to break us up.

No punches are thrown and before long, we're lining up for another face-off.

This time, Sebastian wins it and we bring it to the other side.

I feel the pressure as we quickly get into the Z-Back formation. The crowd is so loud. The game is moving so fast. I'm going to miss. I'm going to fucking miss, I just know it.

That's when I catch a glimpse of her.

Norah is sitting in the front row, watching.

Just her presence here calms me. It brings everything back down.

She's going to love me regardless if I score or miss. I'll still be able to hold her in my arms tonight. I'll still be able to kiss her lips. It won't matter one bit to her.

And she's all that matters now.

Everything else fades away.

The crowd, the noise, the lights, the pressure. It all just disappears.

A hyper-focus takes over and the game slows down.

I watch as Harris fakes a slap shot, bringing the defender out of position. He shoots me the puck and it feels like slow motion as I bring my stick back, suck in a breath, and then let it rip.

The puck flies off my stick just like my hero showed me and it sails forward.

Everyone in the arena is silent for a split second as they watch the puck spinning toward the net.

It rips past Tucker who's elbowing a defender, and sneaks in an inch away from the goalie's glove.

The crowd erupts as the puck hits the back of the net. The noise is deafening.

Before it even hits me that I've scored the game-winning goal, my teammates swarm me, smacking my helmet and grabbing my jersey.

"Killer shot," Sebastian says with a big smile on his face. "That was epic!"

"Nice," Tucker grunts. He never says much, so it's a pretty big deal.

My head is spinning as everyone else congratulates me while the crowd roars.

Finally, Harris Sutton comes over. "Way to take the torch, kid. You're going to do amazing things in this league. I can't wait to watch."

I slap his shoulder and smile at him. "Thanks for letting me learn from the best, Flamethrower."

I feel like I'm floating as we head back to the bench. There's still nine seconds left in the game, but I think we'll be okay.

People start sitting back down, but Norah is still jumping up and down, hollering in celebration.

I grin as I skate over to her. She's incredible. I wouldn't have scored the game-winner without her. I'm sure of that.

"Way to go, baby!" she hollers through the glass when I arrive. I wish this glass wasn't here so I could kiss those soft lips.

"I have something for you," I shout as I reach into my glove. I pull out a key to my new house. It has a little pink bow on it.

Her eyes light up when I show her.

"Move in with me."

I'll never forget the radiant smile on her face as she nods her head up and down, tears filling her eyes. "Okay!"

I toss the key over the glass and she catches it.

The crowd around her cheers as she jumps up and down in excitement.

I'll get to wake up to that beautiful girl every morning.

I can't fucking wait.

The next gift I give her will be an engagement ring, you can count on that.

I'm forced to skate back to the circle because the game is starting back up again. They pull their goalie, but we close it out and win.

The win feels great, but moving in with my girl?

That's just sublime.