Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 124494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
She laughs and tries to turn her head, but his other hand is in her hair. “I was kidding.” He kisses the end of her nose, then gives her a peck on the lips before he releases her.
“Where’s Ash?” Hemi asks.
“Heading down with Flip and the rest of the crew.”
The elevator doors open, and the four of them step out, along with Tally, Essie, Shilpa, and Nate, whose face is the color of a beet. Makes me wonder what kind of conversation the girls were having on the way down.
There are hugs and back pats before we make the short trip to the arena, where the girls and Nate split off, heading up to the box. Lexi’s already with the other coaches, and I’ll see her shortly in the locker room for the pre-game strategy talk.
We’re closing in on the end of the season, and tonight will be a tough game. The last time we played Boston, they handed us our ass. Every point counts when we’re this close to playoffs.
We suit up, and the mood in the locker room is tense but hopeful.
“I know this season hasn’t been an easy one,” Vander Zee begins. “We’ve seen a lot of change, and there’s more coming. But last year we took home the Cup. We’re still that team, and we can win against Boston. We did it last year, and we can do it again this year. The skill is there; the will is there. Dig deep and ignore the noise, because I know there’s been a lot of it this season. Focus on the goal, which is bringing Boston to their knees and securing the best possible spot in the playoffs again.”
“We’ll do you proud, Coach,” Madden says.
There’s a chorus of “yeahs” and “we got this” and a bunch of back pats before we leave the locker room and take the ice.
But the first period is rough. Grace ends up with a penalty in the first five minutes, and Boston scores a goal.
Madden makes up for it in the second half of the first period by tying the score, but we’re working hard to keep Boston away from the net, and the puck always seems to be floating around our net instead of theirs.
At the end of the first period, I’m feeling the pressure, just like everyone else. We head to the locker room and plan strategy for period two.
“We should front load the first line to give us the advantage.” Lexi crosses her arms. “And Grace, we need you to stay out of the penalty box. We can’t afford to give them another power play.”
Grace rubs the back of his neck.
“You’re in the same league as Bowman with your stick-handling skills. Forget about everything else and be that guy tonight.” Lexi points at Madden. “You’re not idiot teenagers anymore. You’re teammates. Put everything else aside like you have been and keep showing up for each other.”
Madden nods. “I hear you, Coach.”
“For the welfare of your team. For the legacy of the guys who are not coming back next year, play like nothing else matters but winning this game.”
Madden starts clapping. “Beautiful speech, Coach Forrester.”
Lexi rolls her eyes. “Fuck off, Madden.”
“I’m serious.”
Everyone starts clapping, and then they start whooping, and I’m halfway to a hard-on because that’s my fucking wife bolstering the team.
Vander Zee stands back, wearing a smile, all proud peacock. “Let’s get our asses out there and score some goals.”
Within the first two minutes of the second period, Madden scores with Grace as the assist, giving us a one-point lead. Boston comes back at us, trying to even it up again. But the shift is exactly what we need. Madden and Grace are playing like a unit, and it’s fucking magic.
Boston ties it up at the end of the second period, but Stiles scores another goal at the top of the third, and with the help of defense, we manage to keep the lead, win the game, and secure the position we want in the playoffs. It wasn’t easy, but we’re one step closer to where we want to be as a team—and not just for the playoffs. Hopefully the progress Madden and Grace made in recent months will follow them into next season.
Before I take off my gear, I check my messages. Callie had a shutout tonight, which is a huge deal. I wish Lexi or I could have been there to witness it, but I know that time isn’t far off. Lexi has already sent a huge congratulations, and I follow suit, with promises of dinner out tomorrow night to celebrate her win.
“We need to go out tonight,” Flip says as he strips out of his gear. “We fought too hard not to enjoy it.”
“Everyone up for the Watering Hole?” Hollis asks.
“Yeah. Not many more opportunities like this,” I agree.