Page 11 of Fear of Love (Falling #3)

“Next on the ice, the man we call The Beast … Your right winger, number eighteen, TREVOR HALL!” The roar of the crowd increased as Tasha followed suit with a banshee-like yell.

“And finally, your star player, number eight, captain of the Knights….” the announcer said with a dramatic flair. “The one and only, WYATT BOONE!” At Wyatt’s name, the entire arena shook, the ground vibrating beneath my feet.

I leaned to the left just as Josie shot up from her chair and screamed. She was a freak when it came to hockey. She had always been a huge fan, but it had only gotten worse now that her fiancé was an actual hockey player.

I was practically on top of Landon as I tried to get away from Josie’s ear-piercing screams. One day she was going to lose her voice. I glanced up and gave Landon a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

Landon opened his mouth to reply, but the bellows around us grew as Bryton, Trevor, and Wyatt skated toward us.

They came to a stop in front of the plexiglass where we sat. Each couple had a thing they did before every home game for good luck. Mila and Bryton did the sign for i love you. Tasha and Trevor did a cross above their hearts. And Josie and Wyatt tapped the glass three times.

I didn’t need to look at my friends to know they had dreamy looks on their faces. Not that I blamed them. If my boyfriend went out of his way to see me right before playing a game, I’d look like that, too.

As the team warmed up and stretched on the ice, us girls talked as much as we could with all the noise around us. Beside me, Landon seemed fine sitting there and listening. Once in a while, I felt him staring at me, but I tried my best to ignore it.

All conversation stopped the moment the team spread out on the ice, ready for the face-off.

There really was something intriguing about seeing hockey in person, watching the players fight for the puck before taking off in the opposite direction. Hockey players weren’t small by any means, but they moved incredibly fast. The weight of their pads didn’t seem to weigh them down at all.

Wyatt stood in the middle, legs bent, hockey stick out as he got ready to snag the puck from the opposing team. Trevor and Bryton stood behind him, waiting for their time to take off down the other side of the rink.

As soon as the puck dropped, Wyatt and the other player fought to get it, their sticks colliding as well as their bodies. In a move I could barely see, Wyatt snatched the puck, sending it down the ice toward Trevor.

He easily caught it with his stick and took off for the net. His legs were so freaking powerful as they propelled him forward, the other players hot on his heels.

It was almost like a dance. The way they weaved in and out, turning on a dime, sending ice spraying. The Toronto Knights were a well-oiled machine. Hours and hours of practice paid off as they all moved as one, anticipating where their teammate would be before they were there.

Watching Bryton, Trevor, and Wyatt was unlike anything I had ever seen. The three almost had the same mind. One would steal the puck, the other slamming the opposing player into the wall before sending it toward their teammate to score.

And when they scored… Damn, you’d think the roof of the arena would collapse from it. The entire place quaked as fans shot to their feet with violent roars.

My body hummed with energy as the first period flew by.

The guys were on and off the ice during that time.

But when they were playing, both Wyatt and Bryton managed to score twice, putting the team at 2-0.

There were still two periods to go. Everyone here knew better than to think the Knights were a sure win. Anything could happen.

“We’re heading up, want to go?” Josie leaned in and asked. Giving her a nod I turned to face Landon.

“We’ll be back in a few minutes.” He graciously stood and moved into the aisle to let us girls slide past. My side grazed his front as I stepped past, sending tingles up my arm. Keeping my eyes forward, I headed back up the stairs toward the bathroom, the others behind me.

The moment we got in line, I knew the questions were about to begin.

The way the girls were sending each other looks told me they clearly hadn’t forgotten about Landon bringing us beers at the start of the game or the conversation we were having about him before he interrupted.

They had minds like steel traps, so there was no way I was getting out of being interrogated.

“So,” Josie started.

There it was.

“That was nice of Landon to get us a drink,” Tasha said offhandedly.

“Yep.” I nodded, purposely not looking at them as the line to the bathroom slowly moved.

“Especially when he hasn’t done that before,” Mila added. The side of my face burned from their questioning gazes.

“Some would even say he seems to be staring a lot,” Tasha continued.

“Hmm, hadn’t noticed.” I shrugged as I lied. I totally noticed and felt Landon’s eyes on me periodically. The annoyed sighs behind me made my lips twitch.

“The guy clearly likes you Lydia.” Josie was the one to say it.

“Yeah, right. The guy can barely stand me.” I shook my head, immediately banishing that thought. He may have apologized and took me to get food, but it didn’t mean he liked me.

“Maybe it comes off that way because he doesn’t know how to tell you he likes you,” Tasha said, her tone taking on a more contemplative one. “A lot of the time, people, men especially, don’t know how to vocalize their feelings, so instead, they find other ways to show it.”

“See, he doesn’t know how to express himself.” Josie nudged my arm.

“Even if he does like me, I don’t want a relationship, and I doubt he does, either.

” I might’ve been slightly jealous of my friends’ relationships, but I didn’t actually want one.

The last time I was in a long-term relationship, it turned out horrible—stomp-on-my-heart-and-never-recover horrible.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through that again.

Plus, I was always busy with work. They didn’t call me a workaholic for nothing.

“Since when did fun require a relationship? Fun doesn’t always come with strings.” Tasha’s eyes sparkled as she threw me a cheeky smile.

The girls dropped the conversation, but Tasha’s words lingered in my head as we used the bathroom and headed back to our seats.