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)
I was ready. My hand snapped up to block the puck, making it clatter down at my feet. I snapped it down the ice right to Leah’s stick, adrenaline rushing through me as I looked up at the clock. Thirty seconds left!
“That’s it, Leah!” Stephen shouted from the crowd, the others joining in with matching yells and cheers.
“Come on, Lily. Line it up,” I murmured as I watched Lily, Suzette, and Soraya all push forward toward Denmark’s goal.
Suzette set herself up closer to the goal, while Soraya hung back with Lily as they passed the puck back and forth. Every move had to be the right one. If they messed up, Denmark could easily recover and either score or push us into overtime.
“Let’s go!” Hugo shouted.
Lily suddenly passed the puck to Suzette, who shot from an angle. The puck flew right through the goaltender’s legs, striking the back of the neck with a whoosh sound.
The crowd jumped to their feet to cheer as the buzzer went off a few seconds later. We just made it in the knick of time, making the ultimate comeback from our defeat at the very beginning.
“That’s the match! USA wins!” the announcer yelled into the microphone, his voice echoing across the arena.
The crowd jumped to their feet, applause and cheers ringing out so loud that it reached the ice. USA flags waved around from the seats as people expressed their pride and excitement, the energy in the atmosphere surging. In an instant, it was like everyone became one.
I turned to the right, still struck with disbelief at the fact that we actually won. We did this! My eyes moved over the crowd until I spotted my mom, who had her hands cupped around her mouth as she cheered for us. My heart skipped as joy and pride swelled in my chest.
She was the one who encouraged me to play ice hockey. Who brought me to practices, watched my games, and celebrated with me after a win or comforted me after a hard loss. No one else deserved to be here watching me more than her.
“Leah!” one of my teammates shouted.
I snapped out of my thoughts and nearly knocked over Anne and Naomi as I skated right into them, sweeping them into a tight hug as our victorious cries sounded across the ice.
“Did you see that shot? That was amazing!” I exclaimed, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest.
Suzette, Soraya, and Lily joined our huddle, exchanging hugs and praises as journalists and reporters prepared to swarm us for questions and interviews.
“We really did it,” Soraya laughed in disbelief. “Holy shit!”
“Of course, we did,” I replied as I gave them all a proud smile. “This is our season!”
When I was handed the championship trophy, I lifted it above my head, the arena’s lights gleaming off its surface. I didn’t want to let the trophy go as reporters came up to me, asking me how I felt and what I hoped was next for us. I didn’t have a clear answer, but I knew that I wanted to do even better next year. I wanted to keep outdoing ourselves and showing people what we were truly made of.
And it was time for me to conquer my own fears and own how I felt.
After handing over the trophy to Suzette for shooting the game-winning goal, I hurried off the ice and worked my way through the crowd until I found the guys in the lower level seating area. I took off my skates and went up the stairs to them, holding my hands up before they could congratulate me and hug me.
“Wait! I need to say something before I chicken out,” I told them, needing to get my feelings off my chest. It was killing me keeping this secret from them.
Hugo nodded, encouraging me to continue.
“I can’t imagine my life without all of you. I don’t even want to imagine it without you,” I blurted out the words, letting my thoughts spill without holding any of them back any longer. “What I’m trying to say is that I love you. All of you. That may be crazy, but it’s how I feel. I’m tired of hiding it.”
To my surprise, the guys chuckled as they glanced at each other.
“We were about to tell you the same thing,” Mikael told me.
My jaw threatened to drop.
“Really?” I asked as I eyed every single one of them, making sure they weren’t playing some trick on me.
Colm took my hand and pulled me closer to them with a warm smile on his face.
“Really,” he promised. “All of us. We came here in the first place to tell you that, but we wanted to wait until after the tournament.”
I couldn’t believe that I was so in sync with six different people. We were our own team off the ice, complementing each other and supporting each other. I wouldn’t choose any other people to be on my team.