Page 13

Chapter Thirteen

BODE

T he mood is electric. Even though it’s only a preseason game, everyone is pumped.

The start of a new season.

It’s early. The game doesn’t start for another hour, but the place is packed. People are crowding around the glass, hoping to get a signed puck from one of their favorite players.

“You ready, man?” Jasper is next to me, shooting pucks toward our goal as we warm up on the ice.

“Fuck, yeah.”

Championship banners line the walls in the arena. More than half a dozen retired jerseys sit next to them.

New York is one of the great hockey teams. Even when they’re having a bad season, their fans are always supporting them.

Us? Nashville has their die-hard fans, but these new fans that keep coming on board? I don’t want to lose them.

It’s a good feeling having the support of the fans behind us.

I want us to have a banner ceremony one day. I want it so badly, I can taste it.

“Looks like some fans made the trip.” Marcus skates over to us, his stick resting on his shoulders. A group of kids in red jerseys are waiting by the tunnel where we’ll head back to the locker room before the game starts.

I wave at them and watch excited grins spread across their faces.

“Holy shit. Look at you interacting with kids.” Jasper’s jaw is practically on the ice. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do that.”

“Fuck you.” I nail him with the butt of my hockey stick. “I’m nice to people.”

“There’s a difference,” Marcus clarifies. “You’re nice to them, but I don’t think I’ve seen you wave at kids before.”

I shrug a shoulder. “Well, things are different now that I have Caleb. I wouldn’t want people being a dick to him.”

“Okay, seriously. This whole nice guy thing is weird.” Jasper cringes. “I seriously don’t know if I can handle it.”

I smile at him—the fakest smile I’ve ever given him. “If the kids weren’t watching, I’d flip you off.”

Jasper smiles back at me. “There’s the Bode we all know and love.”

“Hey, I contain multitudes now.”

“Listen to you and the big words,” Jasper jokes. “I think you’re finally growing up.”

“Only took him his whole life.” Marcus skates off as the whistle blows and we’re beckoned back toward the locker room.

Fishing a few of the pucks off the ice, I toss them over the glass toward the kids.

“Thanks, Bode!”

Three happy faces stare back at me, waving. I wave as I head toward the visitors’ locker room. Once I’m there, I’m too hyped to care how stark the room is. That’s the way it is for visitors—but we don’t need it to be fancy.

We’re here to play a game.

“Alright, gentlemen. First game of the preseason.” Coach Andrews steps into the locker room in a finely pressed gray suit. The overhead lights are glaring off his bald head. His coke-bottle glasses make his brown eyes look bigger as he scans the room.

“We’ve been working hard and looking good in practice, but it means nothing if we can’t put together a solid game.”

“So much for a pep talk,” Noah mutters under his breath next to me.

“I like what I’m seeing. We’ve got a good team. One of the best I’ve worked with, and I’m not just saying that to blow smoke up your ass. I want you to go out there and leave it all on the ice. Not just tonight, but every game. I don’t want you to have regrets that you could have played harder when you look back.”

I nod, feeling the familiar buzz move through me. The energy of the arena is rocking, even from here. This is why I love hockey—the way we can put everything out of our heads and focus on the game.

Right now, in this moment, nothing else matters. Everything going on in my personal life is pushed to the side.

I can’t worry if Caleb is doing okay or when his next teeth are going to start coming in. I can’t think about my gorgeously sexy roommate.

The only thing that matters is the puck and starting this season on a high.

“New York is a good team. They have the crowd on their side. I want you to work as a team and go out there and show them what we’re made of. Even though we were one win away from the finals last year, we’re still the underdog tonight. Let’s go out there and prove them wrong!”

“Hell yeah!” someone shouts as Coach pulls us all toward the center of the locker room.

“Knights on three. One, two, three…”

“Knights!” we echo, grabbing our sticks and helmets and heading back toward the ice for the puck drop.

We’re announced to boos from the home crowd, as expected. There are a few clusters of red, proudly repping the Knights jerseys, but they are far outnumbered in the sea of dark green.

When the lights go down, the crowd erupts. A warrior’s song, like Vikings going into battle, announces the home team lineup. I recognize most of their team. A few new faces that got traded, but I’ve come to know a lot of these guys playing against them over the years.

Even had a few nights out with some. We leave everything on the ice. After? We can hang out and have a beer together.

After the anthems are sung, Marcus calls the starting lineup together.

“Alright, boys. We’ve been through a lot together. I want us to make this the best season, okay? You heard what Coach Andrews said. Leave it all on the ice. I love you guys.”

“Let’s do this!” Noah fires back before we break the huddle and take our starting positions.

The puck drops and Marcus tries to grab it, but New York is faster. It’s easy to see their skill, but Noah is already setting up, stopping them from making it into our zone and shooting the puck back toward Marcus.

He sends it over to me and I fly down the ice. Dax is neck and neck with me as I pass it to him, but before he can get it and send it back to Marcus, New York stops us.

“Damn it.”

I push after them, but they slide by our defensemen and get the puck in the back of the net.

It’s an easy goal to start the period.

One that we get back after Graham stops them and sends the puck to Jasper. The bar down goal is a thing of beauty, clanking off the cross bar and sailing down into the net.

“Nice job, old man.” I clap him on the helmet as he slides onto the bench next to me.

“Careful who you’re calling old. I’m only two years older than you.”

“Ancient in hockey.” I wink at him before hopping over the boards for a shift change.

New York is able to put the biscuit in the basket before the end of the first period, and we come out ready for action. Dax scores on a deflected pass and I get the assist on a beautiful pass to Marcus before the end of the second period.

It’s a slog toward the end of the game. We’re evenly matched and fighting for every inch gained on the ice. We’re still hanging on with a close lead, 3-2, as the minutes tick away.

That’s when my chance comes.

An errant stick deflects the puck. Grabbing it from our zone, I take off down the ice. There’s only one defenseman to beat as I deke him out.

Now it’s just me and the goalie. Watching as he settles into the goal, I fake right then left and fire it into the net.

The lamp lights up and a collective groan issues from the home crowd.

“Hell yeah!” I pump my fist as the guys all pile on to congratulate me.

“Nice work!” Marcus bumps my shoulder pads with his fist. “That was a thing of beauty.”

Damn. That felt good.

Skating to the bench, I slide in the open gate and take my seat.

“Nice work, Adams.” Coach taps my helmet. “Way to read the play.”

I nod, swigging my water and watching as the remaining time fades away, earning Nashville our first win of the season.

The mood in the locker room is raucous. Everyone is ecstatic that we managed to beat the home team day one.

“Great job, men. Take tonight to enjoy this win and then tomorrow, we’ll start preparing for our game against Boston.”

I answer a few questions for the press waiting in the locker room before I get cleaned up and back into my gameday suit, ready to make the short trip to Boston.

The buses are waiting for us as I jog up the stairs and take my usual seat.

“How was the first game away from Caleb?” Marcus asks, sitting down next to me.

“Honestly? I miss him. Is that weird?”

He’s been out of my life longer than he’s been in it, but he’s already wormed his way deep inside my heart.

I also miss Stevie, but there’s no need for me to tell him that.

“Not at all. I’d say you get used to it, but you don’t. I miss the family something fierce when I’m gone. Even worse when we can’t video chat beforehand.”

I smile at him. “At least you can. I don’t know if Caleb would understand what is going on.”

“He’d probably want to eat the phone.”

“Sounds about right.”

The bus pulls out and I settle in for the trip.

I feel good. A win to start the season?

Yeah, this is a high I want to hold on to for as long as possible and keep it going through the season.

And maybe it’s the sign of good things to come.