Chapter 4
1531 Words
Chapter 4
Noah’s POV
The arena had never felt this loud before, maybe because tonight was different.
NHL scouts filled the front rows behind the glass, there were sharp-eyed men in dark jackets holding clipboards and tablets while Coach practically vibrated with stress near the bench. Cameras flashed every few seconds while the student section screamed loud enough to shake the rafters.
This one game was all it was going to take to lose everything. For Eli, it was his scholarship but for me, it was the draft and somehow that made the tension between us worse instead of better.
I sat at the end of the bench tightening my gloves while Eli stood a few feet away near the boards. He looked calm from a distance, but I knew him better now. I noticed the way his jaw locked too hard whenever he got nervous. The slight bounce in his knee and the way he kept flexing his injured ankle inside his skate.
I could tell he was scared of losing the only future he had.
Coach Vance blew his whistle sharply. “Eyes up, everyone. Scouts don’t care about your stats if you play selfish hockey. You play for the team tonight or you sit.”
Then his stare landed directly on Eli and me.
“Understood?”
“Yeah,” Eli muttered.
I smirked. “Depends.”
“Kane!”
“Relax, Coach.”
Eli rolled his eyes so hard I almost laughed.
The announcer called our names a few minutes later and the crowd erupted as we skated onto the ice.
Cold air hit my face instantly, this was the only place I ever felt fully alive.
Then Eli skated past me during warmups and our shoulders slammed together hard enough to nearly throw him off balance.
He glared immediately.
“There’s the asshole,” he snapped.
“There’s my favorite charity case.”
His eyes flashed dangerously at me. Good for me, I played better when he hated me.
The puck dropped and everything exploded.
The first period turned brutal almost immediately. Everyone was desperate to impress the scouts watching from the stands, especially Eli.
He played like someone trying to outrun drowning. He was fast, aggressive, and Reckless in a beautiful kind of way.
I should’ve focused on my own game, instead I kept watching him.
Midway through the first period, Eli stole the puck near center ice and got trapped between two defensemen before he could break away. Without thinking, I slammed into one of them hard enough to clear the lane.
“Go!” I shouted at Eli. He didn’t hesitate. He flew down the ice and buried the puck top shelf.
Then the arena exploded. Eli turned instinctively toward me after the goal, breathing hard with his eyes bright with adrenaline.
Then realization crossed his face, because I’d set him up again. He looked annoyed by it, which only made me grin harder.
“Nice shot, Transfer.”
“Shut up!”
Second period came and it got worse or better, depends who you asked.
We hit each other harder than anyone else on the ice, but somehow we also moved together perfectly. Every pass we made connected and every play felt instinctive like our bodies had already memorized each other.
At one point Eli checked a guy into the boards so viciously the crowd screamed.
“Are you trying to impress me?” I asked while skating past him.
“I’m trying to kill you actually.”
“That’s basically foreplay at this point.”
His ears turned red instantly. God, I loved that.
The game tied near the end of the third. Only three minutes left and everyone was exhausted.
The scouts were watching silently and waiting, one mistake could ruin everything.
Coach shouted for a line change and Eli hopped over the boards beside me, breathing hard.
“You good?” I asked quietly.
He blinked at me like the question surprised him, “Yeah.”
He was lying. His ankle was bothering him again. I could see it in the way he favored one side slightly during turns.
Before I could say anything else, the puck dropped again. Then everything went wrong, one of the opposing defensemen came flying toward Eli near the boards, his elbow already raised too high. That was a dirty hit, it was illegal and Eli didn’t see him coming.
I moved before thinking, letting the hit c***k against me instead.
Pain exploded across my jaw as I slammed into the glass hard enough to rattle it. The crowd gasped loudly.
Then world blurred as I blinked, then I tasted blood against my tongue.
Someone from the crowd shouted, gloves began to scrape the ice.
Eli was suddenly there, grabbing my jersey. “Noah!” His voice sounded furious and terrified too. That was interesting.
I spat blood onto the ice and laughed weakly. “Relax.”
“You i***t,” he snapped. “That hit was for me.”
“Obviously.”
The medic skated over while Eli still held onto me like he forgot the entire arena was watching.
My lip burned, it was probably split open, definitely worth it.
Eli’s eyes searched my face frantically. “Why would you do that?”
I looked directly at him, “You’re not allowed to get hurt before I do.”
His expression changed instantly then Coach yelled at us to focus before the refs restarted play.
The final minute became chaos. Bodies were crashing into one another, sticks were slamming and everyone was screaming.
Then Eli stole the puck again. He cut down the left side quickly as his defense collapsed toward him immediately.
Without looking, he passed directly to me. That was pure instinct and because he trusted me.
I fired the puck straight back across the ice before the goalie could react.
The Eli scored, the game was over. The arena erupted so loudly my ears rang.
Teammates flooded the ice, shouting and crashing into each other while the scouts scribbled furiously into notebooks.
Eli looked stunned for half a second before the team swarmed him, I should’ve joined them, instead I just watched him from where I was, because he was smiling.
And somehow that felt more dangerous than losing ever could.
*********
After the celebration, the rink began to get emptying slowly.
The Reporters left first before the teammates started disappearing toward the locker rooms while the coaches argued with officials near the benches.
Eventually it was just Eli and me near center ice with the overhead lights buzzing softly.
He was standing with his gloves hanging from one hand. His hair was damp with sweat, his lower lip caught between his teeth while he stared down at the ice.
“You okay?” I asked.
He laughed softly without humor. “You took a hit to the face for me.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“You’re insane.”
“I know.”
An awkward silence fell between us, the knot in my stomach grew tighter. I swallowed, carefully, I crossed the distance and grabbed the front of his jersey, pulling him towards me.
I heard his breath as our lips almost met.
“Stop running from me.” i breathed the words out on his face.
“Noah...” he tried to say.
“I know you want this.” I said to him, my heart beating fast.
His eyes dropped briefly to my mouth. That was all it took for my control to topple over. I crashed my lips into his, kissing him hard before he could say anything else.
Eli shoved me backward into the glass but kissed me back immediately with an intensity that was furious and desperate all at once as our teeth clashed. It was days of tension crashing together so violently it barely felt real.
He tasted like adrenaline and anger, I was completely addicted already.
My hand slid into his hair and Eli made this rough sound against my mouth that nearly ruined me.
Then suddenly....Click!!!
We froze instantly. Another click followed, that sounded like a camera.
Eli jerked away from me so fast his face went white.
A girl stood near the rink entrance in her cheer uniform, raising her phone at us with shaking hands. That girl was Amber Collins.
"Shit." I cursed out loud, instinctively wiping my lips with the back of my palm.
Her eyes locked on me first, then moved to Eli, then back to me again.
The look of disbelief on her face twisted slowly into something uglier.
“So this is the reason you’ve been avoiding me,” she said quietly. I felt Eli go rigid beside me.
Amber laughed let out the most cruel laughter. “Wow.”
“Amber...” I started.
“No,” she snapped. “You don’t get to explain.” she let out, her phone tightening in
her grip.
Then she looked directly at me with a smile that made my stomach drop, “You’re gay.”
She lifted her phone slightly again, “And now,” she whispered, “I’m going to ruin you.”
- Writer
