Page 5 of Thrown Off Balance

“Maybe you should be a good little boy and skate away before the ref gets here,” I taunt him.

That’s all it takes. Barry pulls his arm back and tries to punch me. I duck just in time and the momentum of his punch throws him off balance. He tumbles to the ice, looking like a complete idiot.

“Off the ice, Barry. You get five minutes in the box for fighting and instigating.” Steve sighs. He doesn’t want to deal with fighting at the beginning of a new period. He knows it’s only going to get worse. Now the other team will be short a player for a large portion of the period.

Steve’s been working as a ref for as long as I’ve known him. He doesn’t play favorites and he doesn’t put up with fighting. Especially because I didn’t take off my gloves or try to fight back. If I was a willing participant, he wouldn’t have cared as much. Which is why I didn’t take my gloves off.

“Are you kidding me?” He roars, getting to his feet and right in Steve’s face.

“Are you going to be an issue the entire game?” Steve doesn’t backdown. The linesman comes over and backs up Steve. They work well together and don’t put up with much.

“I didn’t start this!”

“Of course you didn’t.” Steve rolls his eyes. “You can't get your panties in a bunch over being slammed into the glass. This is hockey. You’re the only one throwing punches.”

“And I'm about to throw another one.”

Barry pulls his arm back, more than ready to go after Steve this time. Instead, I lunge for him and wrap my arms around his waist, taking him to the ground. As soon as he’s lying flat on the ice, I scramble to my feet.

“Sorry, Steve. Wasn’t trying to fight, but I'm not letting him go after you either.” I hold my hands up like I'm innocent.

“I appreciate that.” Steve chuckles. “You know I have to give you two minutes for roughing, right? I don’t really feel like fighting with their coach and he’ll keep his mouth shut if you get some time in the box.”

“Yeah, I’ll take it. How much extra time does he get for attempting to go after you?”

“Another ten minutes. He’s going to be a beast to deal with the rest of the game. You better watch your back.”

“Yeah, I'm not worried about my back, I'm worried about Jax’s.” I stare at my brother, making sure he knows I did all of that for him. I want him to know I always have his back no matter what.

I skate over to the penalty box and take my seat. After taking off my gloves and helmet, I drop my head and run my fingers through my sweaty hair.

“Robinson! What the heck was that?” Coach takes a seat next to me, a scowl etched into his brows.

“Barry was going after Jax. You’ve seen how he works. He tries to take guys out for the entire game, if not season. I'm not letting him take hockey away from Jax.”

“So, you’d rather he goes after you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Why would you put his career above your own?”

“He’s my brother.” I lift my shoulder in a shrug. “He loves the game more than I do.”

“Does this mean you’ll be in this box the entire game?” He sighs.

“Nah, but I got Barry off the ice for almost the entire period.” I smirk

He grins, but shakes his head. He knows I'm right. Having Barry benched for most of the period will help us win the game. Instead of saying anything, he walks away, turning his full attention back to the game.

I glance up to see who’s sitting next to the penalty box and come face to face with Sloan. How did I not realize she was sitting so close? I would’ve gotten into a fight earlier if I had noticed.

‘Are you ok?’ She mouths to me.

I nod my head. She’d never be able to hear me over the roar of the crowd. I’d give anything to talk to her though.

I watch her intently. I don’t miss how the guy next to her has his arm draped over her shoulders or how he presses soft kisses to the top of her head. She doesn’t seem interested in him at all. It makes me wonder if she’s not really interested in him, or maybe they’re not dating, but he wants to be.

‘Hi.” She mouths again as a slow smile takes over her lips.