Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
For anything. For the next second. The next ten years. For the eternity that I hoped to spend with him and the others. I was ready for it all, on and off the ice, and nothing was going to hold me back any longer.
“Let’s go home.”
Epilogue: Leah
A few months later
When I was on the ice, there were moments when I felt like I was floating.
No weight. No limits. Everything felt clear, even as the adrenaline pulsed through my veins.
The end of my stick danced along the ice as my eyes did the same moves, trailing the puck as it glided down the field toward me.
The shouts from the crowd, which was full of people I deeply cared about, faded into a muffled lull as I concentrated. Even after playing big tournament games, home games still carried a lot of pressure for me. This was our house. Our university. We needed to win for everyone there watching.
Naomi and Anne played the defensive, skating backward and following the two Dartmouth wingers. They made a few attempts to steal the puck away, but as the last minute of the game continued to tick away, I prepared myself to keep Dartmouth from scoring and tying things up.
“Stick down! Eyes up, Carney!” Coach Clinton shouted.
I tightened my grip on my stick as Dartmouth’s right winger broke through my defenders and took a shot at the top left of the goal. Time seemed to slow as my eyes trailed the puck in the air, the fingers of my right hand unwrapping themselves from my stick. Not a single breath left me from the moment that puck was shot.
Not until it hit my glove, and the crowd jumped to their feet with victorious cheers. I released my breath just as the buzzer went off, the announcer’s booming voice filling the arena.
“And that’s it! Yale takes the win by a point!”
I threw my hand up into the air, nearly being tackled into the goal by Anne and Naomi as they embraced me.
“You have the fastest hands around!” Anne told me with a ringing laugh.
“Maybe you should’ve been a softball player,” Naomi joked.
I smirked and playfully pushed them away so that they could celebrate with the rest of the team. My eyes shifted to the left toward the same section I always looked at after a game. Like with every other home game, that section was always filled with some of the most important people of my life.
“Good hustle, Leah!” Anthony yelled from the seats, flanked by Mikael and Stephen, who waved at me with proud grins on their faces.
Jed and Colm stood to the right of them. Colm was tucked under Jed’s arm, grinning as Jed pressed a kiss against his temple without hesitation or caution.
Hugo stood to the left, gazing at me with pure adoration in his eyes. He then turned and said something to his mom, who politely clapped along with others in the crowd.
It was safe to say that a lot of things had changed over the past few months. Once we returned to the states, the women’s hockey team was welcomed back with plenty of press and attention, and I couldn’t be a prouder captain. We played the games that followed with more determination and skill than ever before, and I could always count on the guys to be cheering for us in the stands.
Finally, the aggressive rivalry between our teams fizzled away. We both had great seasons, and the only thing that mattered was that we got to play the sport we all loved. We couldn’t take that away from each other.
Another thing that all of us had in common was that we fought for what we wanted. I stood by the sport I loved and the men I loved, and that wouldn’t ever change. I chose all of them, and they chose me.
What was I still doing on the ice?
I pushed off on my skates and reached the door to leave the rink, looking up to see the guys heading down the stairs toward me. With a glowing smile on my face, I threw my arms around Hugo’s neck as he reached me first, a shrill laugh leaving me as he lifted me.
“Great block!” Hugo told me as he playfully spun me before setting me back down.
“I swear, my body just moves how it needs to,” I said, knowing he knew what I meant. When I was in that goal, my body tapped into pure instinct during the moments I needed it most.
Hugo chuckled and glanced back up the stands to his mom.
“Free for dinner on Friday night? My mom wants to take us somewhere,” he asked.
“Of course,” I replied, still feeling a twist of nervousness in my stomach whenever I was around his family. It only took a month of no contact for his mom to reach out for a talk. Parents didn’t want to lose their children in any way, and if they were willing to try and be more supportive, Hugo was going to let them.