The security guard clears his throat.
“I was joking. It was a joke. He gave me a black eye—” I stop when the guard’s hard face remains impassive. I have not made a friend. I look back to Rhett who is still standing in front of me looking down at the rock in his hand like it’s a diamond. “Go,” I tell him.
“Thank you.” He smiles and jogs after his teammates.
I get back to my seat as the second period is about to begin.
“There you are,” Dakota says. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I take a seat and the four of us join hands. “They’ve got this, right?”
“They’ve got it,” Reagan says with more confidence than I feel.
But as the second period begins and then ends, it seems like our optimism was on point. Valley fought back and now leads three to one, thanks to two goals by Maverick and some impressive saves from Ketcham.
“I’m so sweaty.” Ginny fans her shirt away from her body. She looks to us. “Why am I the only one sweating?”
“You’ve been jumping up and down for the better part of two hours,” Dakota says.
“I want this for them so bad.” Ginny blows out a breath that puffs out her cheeks.
The third period is chaotic. Both teams are skating hard and hitting even harder. The coaches are red-faced, standing at their opposing benches shouting at their players. And every person in the arena is glued to the action on the ice.
It remains scoreless for the first fifteen minutes. Every time Watervillle has the puck, I hold my breath and hope they don’t score. It’s been close too many times and Ketcham deserves a freaking medal for the number of saves he makes.
At the two-minute mark, his luck runs out and the red and black shirts stand and cheer around the arena.
“It’s just one goal. We’re still ahead,” Reagan says. “We’ve got this.”
The words barely leave her mouth before Waterville gets a breakaway and scores again.
“Oh fuck,” Reagan mutters. Her sudden worry and lack of conviction that we’ve still got this makes my chest ache.
“Should I take off the shirt?” Dakota asks. “Maybe I cursed them.”
“You didn’t curse them. They’ve got this,” I say in my most convincing voice.
There isn’t a butt in the chair all around the arena. It hums with energy as the two teams take a time-out. The four of us are a bundle of nerves, swaying, clasping hands, but no one speaks.
Rhett’s line goes back in and I hold my breath for him.
Heath wins the face-off and Valley takes the puck down the ice, looking for a shot on goal. There are so many bodies in front of the net it’s hard to see what’s happening, but when a Waterville player skates hard in the other direction, my stomach drops. Rhett and another Valley jersey chase him and the Wolverines lose control allowing Rhett to knock the puck free.
It’s Maverick that gets there first and Valley has a slight advantage as Waterville tries to reset to defend their goal. Mav passes to Heath who shoots. It’s blocked but Maverick is there ready to knock it in. The goal post lights up and the roar of the arena is deafening.
With fifteen seconds left, Waterville tries to tie it up, but when the final buzzer sounds it’s Valley by one. They did it. They won a national championship.
I call my sister and when she picks up, I can’t even make out her hello, but I know she can hear the stadium and that she’s smiling. I bounce around, hugging the girls, hugging strangers. Ginny’s crying, Dakota’s screaming so loud she’s the only voice I can hear over all the others.
It’s perfect.
Almost two hours go by before I finally get to see Rhett and the team. There was the trophy ceremony, followed by cutting the net, and then whatever celebrating they did in the locker room.
Valley fans fill the lobby area waiting to see the team. When the first player walks out, the roaring applause and cheers starts up again.
Maverick comes out looking more humble and shy than a guy who scored three goals in a championship game. Dakota rushes from my side and jumps into his arms. “Who gets a hat trick at the Frozen Four?”
He drops his bag and hugs her back, finally laughing and looking more like the Maverick I expected.
The guys are swarmed as they come out. Rhett and Adam are the last two. I don’t charge him like the other girls did. I let his family congratulate him first, hanging back and watching as he hugs his mom and dad and then picks up Ryder.
At last it’s my time and he bear-hugs me, lifting me off the ground.
“Are you ready to celebrate, angel?” He spins me around. “Fuck, I love you.”
Before I can say it back, he seals his mouth to mine and keeps spinning. I chuckle. “You’re going to make me dizzy.”
He’s smiling when he puts me down. His parents watch on. His mother looks… not as happy as you’d expect for a mom whose son just won the Frozen Four.
When Rhett picks her up and spins her around, she finally breaks into a smile. “Put me down.” She swats at him playfully.
“Me. Me,” Ryder says.
Rhett spins him around even faster.
When he stops, Rhett sways. “Woah. Okay, maybe I need to eat something before I keep spinning people around.”
He’s grinning so big my chest feels like it might burst. I glance at my watch and take a few deep breaths.
“Are you okay?” Rhett’s happy grin falls, and his gaze darkens.
“Yes. Just a lot of excitement.”
He takes me in his arms and stills. “Breathe. Relax. We can have a chill celebration.”
“Are you kidding?” I turn to face him. “I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.”
And he does, holding me steady as we watch the team and their friends and family celebrate.
Everyone’s phones are ringing and pinging with calls and texts to wish them congratulations. Rhett’s is nowhere to be seen or heard.
Even his parents are blowing up. His dad has Ryder on his shoulders as he talks to his brother, Rhett’s uncle, laughing and joking about how they nearly gave him a heart attack in the final period. Rhett shoots his dad daggers at that comment, since I’m currently feeling off-kilter thanks to my own heart, but I’m not bothered. Nothing could ruin this night. This moment. It’s perfect.
His mom is trying to have a much more civilized conversation. She has a finger plugging one ear, phone pressed tightly to the other. She walks away from the commotion, presumably to hear better.
“Better? Want me to grab one of the trainers?”
“I’m okay.” The lightheaded feeling is starting to pass, but I still lean into Rhett.
“All right, men. Let’s load up.” Coach Meyers stands next to the bus.
“I’ll meet you there,” I say, reluctantly stepping away from him.
He hugs a sleepy-eyed Ryder. “Thanks for letting me borrow this.” Rhett hands him back the black stone.
“You can keep it.” Ryder yawns. “It seems like you might need it more than me.”
The three of us laugh.
“We’re leaving early in the morning so I guess this is goodbye until graduation.” His dad slaps his back as they hug again.
“Thanks for being here,” Rhett says.