Because It's You (Carolina Rebels 2)

“Donny, I could kiss you right now!” I shout.

He laughs. “Keep your mouth to yourself, Marco.”

I tap my stick on his leg and pat his helmet instead. Our group begins to separate to skate down by the bench for fist bumps of congratulations from our teammates. Coach Mike has no expression on his face. It’s too early for that. I want to see that man grinning tonight, so let’s make it happen!

Everyone seems to have the same frame of mind as I do. Rams is, well, ramming into those who get in the way while Bruiser and Z help keep those who seem to want to cross the line from doing so. Captain Hook does hook someone at one point, but no one sees it, so it doesn’t get called. There’s only that one instance, which is good. Hells is on the ice with Thing One and Two and those kids are killing it.

Ha, I call them kids, but they are three or four years younger than I am.

The point is they’re fast. They weave around those Eagles like they’re frozen and standing still on the ice. Collin makes a pass to Cal, but he quickly gets rid of it. The puck lands with a heavy thunk on Kellan’s stick. Kellan is wide open as the D-men were in the twins’ space, expecting one of them to attempt to score. It’s like he taps it in.

Those of us on the bench hold our breath. He didn’t go top shelf. The goalie slides over as the puck glides through the air. Somehow, that piece of rubber slides under the goalie’s leg and into the net, the lamp lights up, and Hells’ arms go up. The score is two-zero, and it’s still the first period.

The Eagles aren’t going to let Savage have another shutout, though. When the second period comes around, they have possession and they crash the net. We’re all in front of Savage, scrambling for the puck since he doesn’t have it covered. My stick is in the mix, trying to pull it out and away from the goal line, but I’m shoved. I lose my footing a little. Two seconds later, I see the puck trickle over as Savage tries to reach over to keep it out, but it’s too late.

The horn sounds, their goal song blares, and their fans go crazy.

Two-one.

That’s their lone goal. Not for a serious lack of trying, though. The Eagles swoop in with energ

y and physicality, and we’re up and down the ice more and more, not spending too much time in any particular zone for the most part. Currently, it’s the third period and I’m in the penalty box for roughing. I glance up at the jumbotron. Fifteen seconds left until the door opens. I return to watch the play on the ice, itching to be back out there.

The door finally opens and I bolt onto the ice. The puck is sliding by, all alone. Bad moment to try to dump and chase. I reach for it with my stick and take off, causing everyone to switch directions. I rear my stick back, send the puck flying forward, and grin when the goalie misses his could’ve-been glove save.

Three-one.

Five grueling minutes later, the game ends and so does our losing streak. Thank god. Coach Mike does indeed have a grin on his face. Now, if only I can get home to Elizabeth.

The lights shine through the closed blinds at Elizabeth’s house, and I smile. She did stay up and wait for me. It’s three in the morning. Good thing our day off for the week is tomorrow. When I walk inside I see that she did not stay awake. She’s leaning over on the armrest of the couch, sound asleep. Wanting something to drink before I carry her to bed, I go to the kitchen.

There’s a cake on the table. Glancing into the living room, like I might get caught, I carefully lift the top of the cake box to check it out.

Holy shit.

The design is phenomenal, but the message is distracting me. There’s a house identical to Elizabeth’s, and on one side, there’s a girl peeking around the side, calling, “Marco?” On the back corner, you can see the shoulders and head of a boy as he shouts, “Polo!” But to the right, she scribbled, Move in with me?

I pull out a chair and sit down. She keeps shocking the hell out of me. I mean, I thought she loved me from her half-asleep admission, but her saying it like she did surprised me. And now, she’s the one posing the question that I should move in? Maybe she’s more ready for things than I thought. Damn it, where is an engagement ring when you need one?

The search for the perfect ring for her will officially start tomorrow and if she isn’t sick of me by June, if I can wait that long, that woman is so mine! There might just be two weddings this summer. That’s my new goal. My cheeks start to hurt and I realize I’ve been smiling this entire time. I put the lid back on the cake, stand, push the chair under the table, and finally get something to drink. A few quick sips, and then I turn off the light.

In the living room, I look down at Elizabeth. The bruises on her neck stand out through the strands of her hair. My jaw locks and I take a deep breath. They’ll fade soon. I crouch to pick her up, but then, considering the incident with my dad, I don’t want to scare her.

“Elizabeth, rise and shine, sweetheart.”

Her eyes flutter open. I grin as she begins to smile.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I reply, finally picking her up.

“I tried to stay awake. I really did,” she mumbles, leaning her head on my shoulder.

“A-plus for effort.”

“I feel so old for not being able to do it. I used to be able to stay up all night. How are you awake? You must be superhuman.”

“Damn straight.”