Page 5

CHAPTER 5

JACE

W hat was Axel’s problem now? And why did I give a shit?

I didn’t, but he and I were going to talk after this game. He could stare at me until his eyeballs mummified, but he better lose that pissy attitude.

Coach Banning suggested we hash things out in his office, and if needed, with the aid of a counselor. I didn’t mind the former, but the latter was a hard no. I wasn’t in the mood to get analyzed, at least, not with Axel. Besides, there was nothing here that could be fixed. Axel was best friends with Preston, Preston hated me, and it followed that Axel did too. It went both ways. I hated Preston for what he did to me, so…

Not to mention, Axel and I were competing for the same spot. Coach kept saying that he’d have his decision in a few weeks, but weeks turned into months. Every game and every goal told me that I deserved that center spot. I was confident it was mine.

Until the third period happened, and my ego crashed. Hard.

We had the lead at 2-0 but Mansfield wasn’t ready to admit defeat. They charged back with an unexpected goal, a stunning corner shot that whizzed past Maddox’s blocker. Our goalie was now angrier than a nest of disturbed bees, pacing back and forth and shaking his head so hard I was surprised he didn’t hurt his neck. My sixth sense thrummed loudly, and I knew something strange was about to happen. Only, I’d had that feeling since Axel joined our team, so maybe my intuition was jammed up?

Nope, my instinct was right on target.

Axel scored with five minutes remaining in the period. I was elated like the rest of my team that the Cougars were up 3-1 but being witness to the end of Axel’s scoring drought? It had me wanting to stomp my feet and slap my stick against the ice until it shattered. Instead, on the next play, I jumped the gun and crossed the blue line before the puck did. The ref called offside, rightly so, and Mansfield had an advantage, a face-off in the neutral zone. Their best forward, Daskell, scored on us again.

The air in the rink was so thick with contention I was nearly choking on it.

But of course, I didn’t screw up once, but twice. My temper got the better of me when I battled for the puck with Gacey. Then I was stuck in the sin bin for two minutes for a holding call. It felt like a fucking eternity, and I only had myself to blame. The worst part? I had to spend my time watching Axel score, yet again, and on Mansfield’s power play. He managed to score on them with a man down. Unreal.

When my time was up, I shot out of the bin like my ass was literally on fire. Watching Axel score not once, but twice, had that effect. No way was this asshole outplaying me.

I skated past Silas, on my way to take my spot, when he tapped my arm.

“Everyone can hear your teeth grinding,” he whispered. “Stay focused.”

“I am,” I bit out.

“I mean, on the freaking puck. Not on him.”

“For someone who hasn’t said much in months, you sure do have a shit ton of opinions all of a sudden.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I’m finally feeling like a real part of this team. I can see our momentum and I want to go all the way. We all have something to prove. Some of us more than others.”

Silas played a great game today; I’ll give him that.

And me? This period was a bomb. But it wasn’t over yet.

“Stop thinking about yourself,” he continued. “Think about what’s best for the team.”

“Thanks for the advice, old man. And guess what? I’m always thinking about the team. I?—”

The ref blew the whistle, thank fuck, and there was no more time for talk.

Axel was on the same line as me, along with Colin Goring, one of our grinders. Silas’ advice rattled around in my head, and I begrudgingly admitted that he was right. Putting aside my personal feelings, Axel was just another teammate. And the truth was, I wanted to win this game more than I wanted to show up Axel.

When the puck dropped, Colin took possession, and we mounted our attack. Until Colin got slammed by Gacey, and the puck went wild, bouncing off the boards like a pinball. In the scrum, Daskell got ahold of the puck and took off with it. But Maddox was ready for him and blocked one of the fastest slapshots I’d seen all game. I zoomed around the net, Maddox passed the puck to me, and it was on. The crowd chanted my name and I pushed harder, sprinting down the ice, when I spotted Axel in my line of sight.

When Mansfield’s defense closed in on me, I had no choice. With one quick flick of my wrist, I shot it straight to Axel, and he took it the rest of the way home. I deked around Gacey, barely, and saw an opening. This was it. Axel, thank fuck, knew it too and when he shot the puck back to me, I geared up and hit the bullseye, right between their goalie’s legs.

The buzzer lit up. 5-2. This game was ours; I fucking knew it.

“Jace, that was amazing!” Colin shouted as he reached me and grabbed my shoulder. The crowd was shouting so loud that I barely heard him. “Great freaking goal!”

“Thanks,” I replied and spotted Axel skating towards me. Slowly.

Fuck it. I met him halfway and gave him a pat on the shoulder, whether he wanted it or not. Whether I liked it or not. I ignored the fact that he still smelled incredible and focused on the fact that we’d worked together and succeeded.

“We did it,” I announced.

“You’re welcome,” he growled, his blue eyes as fiery as ever.

“No celebratory kiss?” I goaded him.

“I’d rather suck face with the Zamboni driver.”

“He’s like, eighty or something,” I quipped. “Didn’t know you were into dudes and old ones at that, but that’s cool. Daddies are hot.”

“Shut your mouth, Rowland. The game isn’t over yet.”

I tapped his stick in response. That was as civil as Axel and I were going to get.

Coach called for a line change, and I gratefully accepted the break.

“Rowland, Lund, Goring, great play,” Banning called out as we filed off the ice. “I expect to see more of the same.”

“Yes, Coach!” we replied at the same time.

Finally, my roller-coaster emotions settled. Things were only going to get more intense the closer we got to nationals, and I couldn’t have a repeat of today. The goals, yes, but the stupid penalty, no. And no way was Axel going to mess with my head. All I had to do was separate the athlete from the person, and I was good. Right?

“Let’s go guys! Bring it home!” I yelled out to my teammates.

I glanced up at the clock. There was less than thirty seconds left.

The hometown crowd chanted ‘cougars roar’ and ‘green and gold’, the booming echo louder than any concert. I turned my stick upside down and started banging it on the floorboard, making more noise, and the rest of the guys on the sideline did the same, as we cheered on our teammates. No doubt we’d be hoarse and hard of hearing by the time we hit the locker room.

Twenty seconds left and Ethan managed to get another shot on goal, but Mansfield’s goalie was faster and blocked it.

Ten seconds remaining and I was vibrating, jumping up and down along with everyone around me, screaming as loud as I could. Gaskell made one last attempt at Maddox, but Kayden and Silas were all over him and blocked the shot.

No goal.

When the final buzzer sounded, everyone in the box jumped onto the ice. A five-goal game was a huge win for any team, and for us, it solidified everything we’d been working on for months.

After the initial celebration on the ice, we did our usual lineup with the opposing team to thank them for a good game and then scuttled back to the box for Coach Banning’s postgame scrum. There was always a detailed discussion about the plays at the next practice—what worked, what didn’t—but Banning liked to give his initial thoughts while the game was fresh. Coach even offered a rare smile before he started speaking. It only lasted about a tenth of a second and if you blinked, you missed it.

“This is our second highest scoring game this season, and it feels like we’re hitting our stride. Things that happened today that I want to see more of; great communication, an aggressive offense, and a defense that’s getting more cohesive with every game. What didn’t hit right—several unnecessary penalties. Losing our cool now isn’t an option. Your head needs to stay in the game and if it’s not, come talk to me. Rest up tomorrow and get ready to practice hard this week,” Banning paused and scanned our group. “Axel, Jace, Finn, and Silas, I want to see you in my office after you get changed.”

Uh oh, Coach used our first names and that meant a long lecture was coming.

No one on the team would dare say anything right now but I knew that as soon as we hit the locker room, the razzing would start. In the meantime, I got nudges and rude gestures (when Coach wasn’t looking) and ignored all of them.

With Banning’s dismissal, we shuffled off to get showered and dressed. I was already feeling the aches in my lower back and when I sat down in front of my stall to remove my gear, my knees cracked loudly. Thankfully, that was the worst of it. Last year, I’d injured my groin, and I didn’t want to go through that hell again. It took me forever to heal and I had to give up sex for two whole months. Sixty days, for god’s sake. For me, that was like two freaking years.

Ethan stood up on one of the benches and let out a sharp whistle.

“Party at my place to celebrate the win!” Ethan shouted. “Everyone—and that includes you, Moss—better be there!”

There were claps and hollers and more whistles. Silas grunted so I wasn’t sure if that was a yes or a no. He attended the team dinners, which were mandatory, but only rarely the parties on campus. No one knew why and no one felt comfortable asking. If he wanted to tell us, he would. But lately, something had changed. In fact, he’d been at the most recent one, where me, Dane, Kayden and Maddox, came out. Ethan dubbed it the Rainbow Rave. After our teammates got over the initial shock of our news, we partied until sunrise. Even Ethan’s frat brothers were impressed by our stamina.

“You gonna feed us?” Kayden asked with a grin.

“Duh,” Ethan chuckled. “You think I’m going to invite a group of hungry-ass hockey players to my house without food? I’m crazy, not stupid. We’ll order pizza and wings and any other junk food you want.”

I grabbed my kit and headed for the shower room. Normally I’d take my time, but I wanted to get washed up and get my lecture over with. While I was heading into the room, Axel was coming out, a white towel wrapped tightly around his hips. An array of colorful bruises near his ribs and on his massive biceps had me looking longer than I should’ve. I glanced down at my own body and realized I was much the same. Not the body type, the bruises.

Axel knocked into me when I walked past, and I got another whiff of that fucking bodywash.

Ugh, why couldn’t he smell rank like most jocks?

“Watch it,” I grumbled, pissed off at him, and at myself. “I don’t need another hit today.”

He either didn’t hear me or chose to ignore my comment. Either way, it was a good thing. I was tired and hangry, and I imagined so was he. It wouldn’t take much to spark our tempers. I took my shower in record time and headed back to my stall.

After changing into my jeans, black converse, and a sweatshirt, I threw on my Cougars ballcap—backwards, natch—grabbed my neon green puffer jacket and my backpack.

“Have fun getting lectured!” Dane called out and everyone laughed.

I gave my friend my best finger and headed out the door.

By the time I got to Coach’s office, Axel was already there, of course.

“Shut the door, Jace,” Banning stated. “I want to speak to you and Axel first.”

My stomach clenched hard, but I did as Coach directed, closing the door and taking the empty seat beside Axel. There wasn’t much space in this cubbyhole of an office and when my knee brushed Axel’s, I jolted hard. Or was that him?

“I’ve done my best to leave you two to sort out whatever it is you need to sort out,” Banning started, and leaned back in his chair, running an aggravated hand though his short, dark hair. “But clearly that hasn’t worked, and I’ve had it. When you work together, like you did in the third period, you’re unstoppable. I want to see that happening during every period, every game. So, starting this week, both of you are to report to the rink at six pm on Thursdays. We’re going to spend an hour each week working on your offensive plays. Together.”

Axel’s knee started popping up and down in a nervous rhythm and it was driving me nuts.

“Wait, why—” Axel started.

Wrong move.

“This isn’t up for debate, Lund, and I just explained why. It’s mandatory,” Banning snapped. “You’ll also be working with Finn and Silas for another hour, each on your own skills but also, helping each other out. The goal is to learn more about our teammates and to work better, together. Are you getting what I’m saying?”

“Yeah, we’re being singled out,” Axel huffed.

“And?” Banning bit out, and thankfully, Axel kept his mouth shut. “I’m doing what’s best to improve your game and the team’s. In a month’s time, you’re going to thank me.”

I wouldn’t hold my breath.