Page 2 of Pucking Tangled

TWO

Owen

The Lancaster Barn Raisers set up in the offensive zone, working the puck around with precision against the Tallahassee Renegades after their left wing, Martin Wilson, tripped up Luca.

Casey held it at the half-wall, his eyes scanning the ice before he sent a crisp pass to the point where Waylon, their steady-handed veteran defenseman, settled the puck. The other team’s defense started to collapse, but Waylon faked the shot and froze the defense.

He slid the puck over to the left circle, then sneaked into the high slot as the puck circled back. Without hesitation, Casey fed it to him again.

Waylon skated into it and BOOM! A blistering one-timer ripped past the Renegades’ goalie.

POWER PLAY GOAL!

Waylon took the Barn Raisers to a three-point lead with only three minutes left in the third period .

Wilson returned to the ice after the penalty and Owen wasted no time letting him know how pissed he was, sending a silent message to stay the hell away from Luca.

The guy probably spent more time in the penalty box than he did on the ice in this game. The entire Barn Raisers’ team still wasn’t sure how Martin hadn’t been ejected yet.

Guys like him were bad for the sport.

Sure, they all played hard and dirty from time to time, but Martin was the type of player who was going to get another guy seriously injured.

Owen had seen it happen before. When you’d been in the league as long as he had, you picked up on the bad seeds and spent most of your games trying to protect your teammates from them.

What was worse was the fact that Martin messed with Luca’s head. All damn game, he seemed to taunt Luca.

As much as Owen hated guys like Martin, Luca was going to have to learn to toughen up, too, if he wanted to survive playing professional hockey.

Especially now that the Barn Raisers were heading into the playoffs.

When you were chasing the Stanley Cup, there was no room to let assholes get in your head or have bad games.

One game could cost you the entire season, the closer you got to the final round.

For the next several minutes, each team fought hard on the ice, the Renegades trying to pick up another goal and the Barn Raisers attempting to keep it from happening while also working to increase their lead.

When Luca ended up with the puck at the one-minute marker, he took a clear shot at the goal, the puck sliding into the net seconds before the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game.

The entire arena was on their feet, cow bells ringing and fans cheering for the home team as the Barn Raisers ’ bench hopped the wall and skated out to celebrate .

Across the ice, Owen and Casey locked eyes, giving each other a knowing look as players skated around, hugging each other and cheering.

When they finally reached each other, Owen fought back the urge to knock Casey’s helmet off and kiss the hell out of him.

Their PR team and upper management would have a field day if they did.

It was no secret within the organization that they were together, but they'd been warned to keep their relationship off the ice and out of the public eye.

Instead, Owen gave his boyfriend a platonic hug and a devious smile. He couldn’t wait to get home to really celebrate.

Privately.

Luca and Waylon fist-bumped and then Waylon dove onto the ice and pretended to make snow angels, much to the crowd’s amusement.

Owen skated over to Luca and hip-checked him.

“Nice goal, Rook. You had me worried after the scuffle with Martin. Gotta work on staying focused on the ice. Don’t let assholes like him throw you off. ”

Luca nodded. “Thanks, Cap. Yeah. He got under my skin for a bit there. I’ll work on it, for sure.”

“Good. We’ve got three days to get play-off ready. Keep your head in the game.”

“One hundred percent.” Luca gave him a fist bump.

The team began clearing the ice and heading for the locker room, where everyone was still buzzing.

“Waylon! Amazing fucking power play, bro!” Mateo Henry, another veteran on the team, hit Waylon with a towel.

Owen smiled at the guys who were like family to him while he quickly stripped out of his gear and headed for the showers.

Coach Theo Michaels walked in right about the time that Owen was making his way back to his locker to finish drying off and get dressed in his suit.

“Great game today. Even against a team as rough and dirty as the Renegades , you all played your heart out and kept it as clean as possible. You handled yourselves like a championship team. I want you all to go home and enjoy the next two days off. Rest. Soak in the moment and we’ll meet back here on Saturday for a morning skate and to review some film. ”

Owen gathered his things and slung his gym bag over his shoulder.

“Hey, O. Can I catch a ride back to the house?” Casey asked casually, like they hadn’t been carpooling since they moved in together.

“As long as you’re ready in five,” Owen teased.

“You two meeting us at Rumspringa?” Waylon dared to ask as he slung his duffle bag over his shoulder. Rumspringa was a local bar that a lot of the guys hung out at after games because it was so close to the arena. One that he knew Owen avoided like the plague.

“I’ve got a better idea.” Casey stood up on the wooden bench in the middle of the locker room. “Party at our place tonight. Most of you know the address. If not, text Owen. BYOB. Make plans for a designated driver or you’re staying at our place. No drinking and driving.”

Owen winced. “This is a terrible idea, Case.”

A house full of rowdy and hyped-up hockey players? Fuck.

So much for that private celebration with Casey that he was looking forward to.

Not to mention the impression their house party would make on Mia. That was probably the last thing she’d want to deal with .

“Relax, Dad. Let’s live a little.” Waylon smacked him on the back. “You heard the man! Party at our place!”