Page 74 of The Shot You Missed
The women turn their attention to us, and the hollow, sharp feeling in my gut eases when we’re met with bright smiles and open arms. Suddenly, we’re being hugged as if we’re long-lost friends or something.
It’s overwhelming in the best way.
“Yay, you made it!” Griffin’s wife, Mira, says as she pulls me into a crushing hug. “We have jackets for you.”
“I have them.” Logan’s girlfriend, Blair, holds a jacket in each hand. One saysNavarroon the back with his number, 2, and the other simply saysRogues. She smiles as she hands Lola the Rogues jacket and beams when she gives me mine. “I amsohappy you’re here. We all kind of knew Bash was waiting for someone, and meeting you, it makes sense.”
My heart swells until it’s almost too big for my chest. “Oh. I… Thank you?”
The beautiful woman laughs, throwing back her head and making her brown curls bounce. “Come on. Let’s get you two a drink.”
“Hell, yeah,” Lola chirps. “It’s definitely wine-o-clock.”
Everyone laughs, and I breathe a little easier at the easy acceptance they offer.
Maybe this will work. Maybe I’ve found a place I can fit in.
“Woo! Look at your man go,”Lola shouts after Sebastian blocks another shot attempt. They lost the second game in the series by one, so I know he felt the pressure going into tonight.
He takes every loss personally.
I’m on my feet cheering and shouting like he’ll be able to hear. He’s only let one goal through, while Dallas’s goalie missed three. At the top of the third, it’s looking good for the Rogues, but hockey is a fast-paced game, and a lot can change in twenty minutes.
“Go, baby, go!” Mira screams as Griffin gains control of the puck and goes flying down the ice, past the neutral zone, and into Dallas’s defensive zone. He passes to Maddox, who taps it over to Logan. It’s like a dance. Logan takes a shot, but the goalie blocks it.
“You’ll get it next time,” Blair’s little brother, Reed, shouts.
“So, Lola, Griffin tells me he’s trying to set you up with one of the Lightning players.” Mira grins at my best friend and does a little eyebrow waggle. “I think he has one of their wingers in mind, but he’s waiting to hear back from her.”
“That’s the dream,” Lola says, splitting her attention between Mira and the game. “I’m feeling a little left out of the club, here. I want a hockey player of my own.”
Mira laughs. “You know they stink, right?”
“Oh, yeah. But they’re also hot.”
“Well, some of them,” Mira replies. “Some of them have had their noses broken a few too many times. Though I guess the ladies don’t tend to have that problem, since they wear helmets with full face cages because they’re smarter than the guys.”
Isla snorts. “Right? We went to one of the Lightning games, and when I asked Madds why they don’t wear cages, he just shrugged. Didn’t even try to give me a good reason.”
“Because there’s not one,” Lexi replies. She rolls her eyes so hard, I’m surprised they don’t get stuck in the back of her head. “Boys are dumb.”
“Agreed.” Lola flashes her brightest shit-eating smile, and I can’t stop my laughter.
The whole night has been like this. Everyone teases each other, the laughter flows freely, and there’s never a dull moment. It’s been amazing.
“At least the goalies wear a full cage,” Blair says. “But I guess that’s more important when you have pucks flying at your face at a hundred miles an hour all game.”
“Seriously. I don’t know how he doesn’t spend the whole time flinching.” I wince sympathetically. “One summer when we were sixteen, he tried to teach me how to play goalie. Got me all dressed in his pads and gear and lobbed soft shots at me, and I still wanted to curl up in a ball. I couldn’t do it.”
Our conversation is interrupted by cheers from the crowd as the Rogues’ offense makes another push toward Dallas’s goal. Everything else fades away as we turn our attention back to the ice and the men who have our hearts. And as the period goes on, I’m overwhelmed by how accepted I feel. How much I’m enjoying the company of these women. Howeasythis all is.
Why was I so scared going into tonight?
Maybe things are finally falling into place. Maybe this could really work.
I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but it’s hard not to imagine a life spent with Sebastian and the people around me. It would be so full of laughter and joy. And a life here, like this, would be so far removed from the bullshit I’ve always had to deal with in LA that the possibility is like a siren song.
When the Rogues win, all of us in the family box jump up and down in a big group that mirrors the players’ celebration on the ice. One big unit. A happy family.
