Page 108 of Pucking Them
Yet the harder I try to fall asleep, the more awake I feel.
I’ve tried everything over the years: avoiding caffeine and screens before bed, deep breathing exercises, and drinking warm milk. D’Angelo even set up a Fifteen Minute Rule. If I didn’t fall asleep within that time, then I was to get up and move to another room in the house and do some light chores off a list that he wrote out to calm my mind and wear me out.
D’Angelo’s idea sometimes works, as do the times that he orders me to kneel beside the bed, which sends me into a relaxed subspace.
Yet I don’t want to wake him up tonight for that or leave his side.
After the game, I’m desperate to feel close to him.
Also, Robyn has both her legs thrown over mine, and I won’t risk waking her.
Yet my mind is racing.
I’ve run the game through my head four times already.
We should have won.
The entire team came together. Zach was on fire in goal. Grayson stepped up and scored. D’Angelo was focused and determined, leading us with an edge of brilliance.
I scored twice too.
Yet Wilder scored three times.
I hiss out a frustrated breath. Then I smack my lips, trying to spit out Robyn’s hair that has worked its way into my mouth.
How much of her long hair must I accidentally eat at night, when I spend so many hours wearing her hair like a fiery mustache?
I grin. I should take a selfie one night like this to show Robyn.
I am bathed in the calming moonlight, while around me I am surrounded by the soft, sleeping breaths of my family.
I am caught between the woman and man who I love.
My brother sleeps on the far side of Robyn with his arm slung around her waist, spooning her.
I shake my head, trying to clear it.
…Wilder smirks, raising his stick to hit the puck…
I grit my teeth.
What did the Bay Rebels do wrong?
Zach was legendary in goal. It wasn’t his fault, no matter how much coach tore him a new arsehole after the game.
D’Angelo stood up for Zach, who looked like a beaten dog.
Zach is as loyal to D’Angelo as everyone else on the team is. He tried his fucking best.
Yet no matter how many times I go over the game, I don’t think anyone was at fault. The Penguins are just a bloody elite team. I may hate them for how they’re treating D’Angelo, but they’re still one of the best teams in the NHL.
They’re as good as we are.
Possibly, better.
Until this season, everybody would have laughed to think that the Bay Rebels could have won a single game against them. Nobody would still bet against the Penguins winning and making it through to the final.
They’re the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
