“Seriously?”
She nods. “Don’t act like you know!”
“I won’t. Thanks for the heads-up.” Our parents are always trying to surprise us. They think it’s the coolest thing, even though both their daughters are very anti-surprise. Especially on the day of a competition. It would be nice to see them, though. “Are you coming with them?”
“Unless they decide to start trusting me to stay home alone.”
“Well, I hate to bet against your budding independence, but it would be good to see you.” I hold up my hands where she can see I’m crossing my fingers. “So, here’s hoping you’re still untrustworthy.”
She laughs. “I should get in the shower before dad puts in a workout DVD and makes me join him. Wish you were here. I miss you.” She sticks out her bottom lip.
“Me too. Love you, Al.”
“Don’t forget—you don’t know anything! They’re going to wait until Friday when we’re getting on the plane to tell you.” She smiles big into the screen.
“I won’t say a word,” I promise.
“Why couldn’t your competition have been a month ago. I won’t even be able to see a hockey game while we’re there.” Her smile gives away her tease.
“Love you too.”
“Call me during the game later. I just want to hear the noise of the game.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
“Bye, S.”
Inside the restaurant, the team is easy to find as they take up one entire side. A few other girlfriends and family members have crashed.
There’s an empty chair pulled up next to Rhett’s, but I skip it and sit on his lap so I can hug him. “Hey.”
He chuckles softly. “Hey. Miss me?”
“Maybe.” I squeeze him harder and then drop a kiss on his mouth. I’m well aware his teammates and coach are probably watching, but I don’t care. He’s at the Frozen Four! It’s surreal and I want him to know how excited I am to be here with him.
“Wanna meet my parents?”
“What?” I jump up and look around. “I thought they weren’t getting in until late tonight.”
He stands and nods his head to a booth nearby. A man and a woman with a little boy sitting next to them stare back at us. “They got in earlier than planned. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
“Oh, god. And they just saw…”
“You tackle hug me and shove your tongue down my throat.” He nods. “Yep.”
He chuckles when I cover my face with a hand.
“I’m so embarrassed and I just got really nervous.”
“You’ll be fine. They’re cool.” He pauses. “I told them you were my girlfriend.”
I smirk. “Am I your girlfriend?”
“I could refer to you as my sidepiece or my old lady, but those didn’t have the same ring to it.”
I smack his arm playfully. “And you’re not the president of a motorcycle club,” I joke back as butterflies swarm in my stomach.
Rhett’s mom has a friendly smile. Her eyes take in every detail of her son’s body language, from his hand around my waist to how close we’re standing.
“This is Sienna,” he says. “Sienna, these are my parents and that is Ryder.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I lift a hand to wave.
“My brother is number twenty-three,” Ryder says, staring at my shirt.
I glance down and my cheeks flame. Ginny made us matching shirts with our boyfriends’ jersey numbers on them for this weekend and I’d completely forgotten I was wearing mine to surprise Rhett. It reads, Property of #23.
“Are you excited to watch him play?” I ask the adorable mini-Rhett.
He shrugs. “Mom says I can have popcorn and a lemonade.”
Rhett chuckles. “Who needs hockey when you have the snack bar?”
“Are you staying for the weekend, Sienna?” his mom asks.
“Yes, I came with the Scott family.”
She smiles warmly. I can tell they’re beyond nice, but there’s still a beat of uncomfortable silence where none of us know what to say.
Rhett slides into the booth next to his mom and holds his arm out for me to sit next to him. There’s only a sliver of space so I’m basically sitting on his lap again.
“Mom, I forgot to tell you that Sienna skates. She took second in her competition last weekend. She’s really good.”
I feel myself blushing at the attention.
“You do?” His mom moves forward to see around Rhett. “Oh, well, we’ll have lots to talk about then.”
“Mom skated in college too.” Rhett nudges me.
“You never told me that.”
“It was a long time ago,” she says.
Coach Meyers announces that the boys have five minutes before they need to load up for the arena.
Mr. Rauthruss leans toward his youngest son. “Your brother is leaving. Do you want to give him your present?”
The little boy nods and holds his hand out, offering Rhett a shiny black rock.
“This is for me?” Rhett asks, taking and inspecting it.
“I found it at school. Sarah and Rachel wanted it, but I told them I was giving it to you for luck.”
Rhett’s chest shakes with a silent laugh. “Thank you.”
Ryder smiles proudly.
I stand and Rhett slides back out of the booth. His parents and brother get up too to hug him and wish him luck.
“We hope to see more of you this weekend, Sienna,” his mom says as Rhett and I start toward his teammates.
“Me too. Nice to meet you all.”
We walk out with the team as they start to load up on the bus.
“You survived,” Rhett says when we’re outside.
“Shut up. I was so nervous. I’ve never met a guy’s parents before.”
“I’ve never introduced one before,” he says. “They already knew Carrie.”
“Right.”
He wraps me up in his arms and hugs me. “Thanks for coming.”
“Are you kidding? They have popcorn and lemonade.”
He chuckles. “Are you going over to the arena for the first game?”
We break apart and he takes a step toward the bus stairs. “I don’t know. I’m just along for the ride, but I imagine we’re going wherever you guys are.”
He nods and I realize he’s starting to get nervous.
“You’re going to be great. You have to be otherwise I’m going to get my ass kicked in this shirt.”
He glances down at it and then fists it and hauls me to him for another kiss before getting on the bus.
25
Rhett
We win our first game, but it’s close and we head back to the hotel with grim expressions and the final game looming over our heads. The morning of, Sienna and I have breakfast with my family at the hotel.
She has a jacket on over her property of number twenty-three T-shirt which makes me laugh. My mom is asking her about skating and it’s nice. I knew they’d like her.
My knee bounces with anticipation as I half listen and finish my food. One more game. Win or lose, this is it.
“What time are you going over to the arena?” my mom asks, breaking my train of thought.
“Bus leaves in an hour,” I say.
“Do you have my rock?” Ryder asks. His face is covered in chocolate from the donut he ate.
“Sure do.” I pat my pocket. “Brought me luck last time.”
“Can I see it?”
I hand it over and he inspects it, turning it over in his sticky hands. “Maybe we could share it? I could have it for this game.”
A surge of panic shoots through me. I wouldn’t say I’m overly superstitious, but when the stakes are high, I don’t like to mess with something that’s working. I kept the rock in my bag for the last game and touched it before every period. It probably wasn’t the reason we won, but I’m not pumped about messing with probability today.
Still, I nod. “Yeah, we could do that. Hold on tight to it
, okay?”
He grins.
I push back from the table. “I need to get ready. I’ll see you guys there.”
“Good luck,” my mom says cheerily. I get a nod of luck from my dad and Ryder holds up the rock, then drops it. The chances of him holding on to that for the next four hours before we play seem slim.
“That was nice of you,” Sienna says when the doors close on the elevator.
“And incredibly dumb.”
“You don’t really think that tiny rock is why you won the last game, do you?”
“No, of course not.”
She’s grinning.
“Maybe.”
“You’re adorable, and it makes the fact you let him keep it even sweeter.”
I grumble quietly as we enter the room. Adam and Reagan are inside watching TV.
I get my bag ready, check and double-check it.
“Would you sit down,” Adam says. “You’re making me nervous.”
“Yeah, well join the club.” I sit on the bed and then stand. “I can’t sit here. I need to move or do something.”
Adam sits forward. “Come on, babe. Let’s give them the room. We’ll be back in thirty.”
My brow furrows as my buddy and his girlfriend leave us.
“What just happened?”
Sienna climbs on my lap and threads her fingers through my hair. “I’m pretty sure they just left so we could have sex.”
“What?” A rumble shakes my chest.
“Wild guess that’s how your buddy releases his nerves before the game.”
“Right.” I shake my head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not even sure sex could calm me down right now. Today is my last game. It’s the last time I’m ever going to play with these guys. I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss it.”
She massages my head and my scalp pricks with a chill that runs down my spine. My eyes fall closed. Now that my body is starting to relax, I’m very aware that her boobs are at nose level. I nuzzle in and she laughs. “I thought sex wouldn’t calm you down.”
“Might not, but it’s worth a shot. Besides, it was the captain’s orders.”
* * *
Waterville is big and physical, and they boast the best record in division one hockey. They’re also last year’s national champ and that title gives them both the boost of confidence of being in this position before and the hunger to hold on to it.
“I think I’m gonna shit myself,” Jordan says as we dress in the locker room. He jogs to the bathroom stall on the opposite side.
Maverick has music going on his phone and he dances around trying to keep the mood light, but the undercurrent of nerves is there for everyone.
When we take the ice, I swallow down a lump in my throat as I scan the crowd. I find my family and then Sienna and the girls, and then it’s time to go to work.
“What do you say, men?” Adam says, skating through us.
“Men today, huh, instead of boys?”
“Between me and you, if we’re going to win today, we’re going to need to play like men instead of boys.” He stops beside me. “Ready to do this thing?”
“Yeah.” I shoot a puck into the net.
“Well, that’s not very enthusiastic. Did you not work out your pregame nerves?”
“It isn’t nerves. Well, not just nerves. This is all bizarre. I never cared about it all ending until now.”
He fires at the net. “Yeah, I feel that too. The thing is, it won’t be the same regardless. Next year it’ll be a new group of guys starting out. Which means we might as well go out with a bang. Let’s give them something to aspire to.”
26
Sienna
“Oh, come on!” Ginny yells when Heath takes a hard hit from the Waterville defense.
“Sit down,” someone calls behind her and sweet Ginny turns and flips them off with such flair I have to bite back a laugh.
Mr. Scott places a hand on her shoulder and reluctantly Ginny sits back down.
“They’re going to hurt him.” She throws a hand up.
“He’s tough,” Reagan assures her.
“Is she always like this?” I ask Dakota.
“No, but I think seeing her all mini-psycho is adorable.”
Waterville scores and our entire row groans.
“This is not good,” I say to no one in particular. Rhett comes off the ice and tosses his water bottle to the back of the bench.
Dakota sighs. “I didn’t want to have to do this.”
She reaches into her bag and pulls out a T-shirt. It has Maverick’s number on it.
“Did you make that?” I ask. It looks almost like mine, Ginny, and Reagan’s but a little messier.
“No, of course not. Maverick did.” She rolls her eyes. “He was feeling very left out.”
“No property of?”
“I belong to no one, which I made very clear when he said he was going to make me one, but I promised him I’d wear his number it if things were looking bad.” She pulls it on over her head. “It can’t hurt, right?”
My gaze goes to the Valley bench. “No, it can’t.” I stand. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going? The period is about to end.”
“To get a good luck charm.”
* * *
Waiting outside of the locker room, I can hear Coach Meyers’ voice bouncing off the walls inside. Silence finally falls and the head coach pushes out of the locker room. He lets out a breath, hands on hips, composing himself before he starts down the tunnel.
The team follows a minute later. The security guard that I begged to let me loiter in the tunnel, watches me closely. I smile at him again, giving him my best, I’m not a stalker or a serial killer smile that probably conveys the exact opposite.
Rhett appears and I push off the wall. “Rauthruss!”
His head lifts slowly and his brows scrunch together when he sees me. I stay put, as instructed by the guard and Rhett walks over.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, no, I just wanted to give you this.” I hold out my hand to give him the black rock his brother gave him yesterday and then took back this morning.
“How?”
“I sweet-talked a five-year-old boy, then bribed him with a foam finger. I’m not proud.” But I knew how important it was to him. I could see his disappointment this morning.
“Thank you.” His sweaty, heavily padded body steps forward and he hugs me.
“Now, go give someone a black eye.”
The security guard clears his throat.
“I was joking. It was a joke. He gave me a black eye—” I stop when the guard’s hard face remains impassive. I have not made a friend. I look back to Rhett who is still standing in front of me looking down at the rock in his hand like it’s a diamond. “Go,” I tell him.
“Thank you.” He smiles and jogs after his teammates.
I get back to my seat as the second period is about to begin.
“There you are,” Dakota says. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I take a seat and the four of us join hands. “They’ve got this, right?”
“They’ve got it,” Reagan says with more confidence than I feel.
But as the second period begins and then ends, it seems like our optimism was on point. Valley fought back and now leads three to one, thanks to two goals by Maverick and some impressive saves from Ketcham.
“I’m so sweaty.” Ginny fans her shirt away from her body. She looks to us. “Why am I the only one sweating?”
“You’ve been jumping up and down for the better part of two hours,” Dakota says.
“I want this for them so bad.” Ginny blows out a breath that puffs out her cheeks.
The third period is chaotic. Both teams are skating hard and hitting even harder. The coaches are red-faced, standing at their opposing benches shouting at their players. And every person in the arena is glued to the action on the ice.
It remains scoreless for the fir
st fifteen minutes. Every time Watervillle has the puck, I hold my breath and hope they don’t score. It’s been close too many times and Ketcham deserves a freaking medal for the number of saves he makes.
At the two-minute mark, his luck runs out and the red and black shirts stand and cheer around the arena.
“It’s just one goal. We’re still ahead,” Reagan says. “We’ve got this.”
The words barely leave her mouth before Waterville gets a breakaway and scores again.
“Oh fuck,” Reagan mutters. Her sudden worry and lack of conviction that we’ve still got this makes my chest ache.
“Should I take off the shirt?” Dakota asks. “Maybe I cursed them.”
“You didn’t curse them. They’ve got this,” I say in my most convincing voice.
There isn’t a butt in the chair all around the arena. It hums with energy as the two teams take a time-out. The four of us are a bundle of nerves, swaying, clasping hands, but no one speaks.
Rhett’s line goes back in and I hold my breath for him.
Heath wins the face-off and Valley takes the puck down the ice, looking for a shot on goal. There are so many bodies in front of the net it’s hard to see what’s happening, but when a Waterville player skates hard in the other direction, my stomach drops. Rhett and another Valley jersey chase him and the Wolverines lose control allowing Rhett to knock the puck free.
It’s Maverick that gets there first and Valley has a slight advantage as Waterville tries to reset to defend their goal. Mav passes to Heath who shoots. It’s blocked but Maverick is there ready to knock it in. The goal post lights up and the roar of the arena is deafening.
With fifteen seconds left, Waterville tries to tie it up, but when the final buzzer sounds it’s Valley by one. They did it. They won a national championship.
I call my sister and when she picks up, I can’t even make out her hello, but I know she can hear the stadium and that she’s smiling. I bounce around, hugging the girls, hugging strangers. Ginny’s crying, Dakota’s screaming so loud she’s the only voice I can hear over all the others.
Broken Hearts Page 17