could develop more as a player.
My mind was wholly focused on being ready for that first puck drop during the three minutes we got to warm up before the game. I was shooting pucks at the net from the blue line about halfway through the time when Chuck skated over and tapped my shin pads with his stick. “Heads-up, dude.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. “What?”
He jerked his chin toward the penalty box. “There’s someone in the stands I’m willing to bet came just to watch you play.”
I glanced up, expecting to see one of the college recruiters, and I almost tripped over my own skates when I spotted Emmeline sitting in the row directly behind the box. That would’ve been embarrassing, but I was so happy to see her there that I didn't care. “Holy shit, I didn’t think she was going to show.”
“She did better than that. She brought you a little cheering section.” He tapped my shin guards again and grinned.
I had been so fixated on Emmeline that I hadn’t noticed her two friends sitting on either side of her. The three girls were all dressed in red Black Mountain Academy sweatshirts, and Emmeline had her dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail with a matching red hair band. One of her friends pointed in my direction, and Emmeline looked so fucking cute as she gave me a little wave.
“Judging by that shit-eating grin on your face, I guess I don’t need to wait and see anymore.”
I tore my gaze away from Emmeline to look at Chuck, confused by what he meant. “Huh?”
“That day in the cafeteria, you said I’d have to wait and see what happened.” He gestured to where Emmeline sat as the buzzer went off. “And there you go. She showed up to watch you when she’s never been to one of our games before. For a girl like Emmeline, that’s a pretty bold move. The next one is yours, man.”
“Damn straight,” I agreed as we skated toward the bench to listen to what Coach Carter had to say before we lined up for the puck drop. I’d waited almost a full month without acting on my attraction. All that time had used up my patience, and something had become clear—my interest in Emmeline wasn’t going anywhere. It had only grown stronger, and not doing anything about my growing feelings for her had to be just as distracting as trying for a relationship. I was going to take her showing up at my game as the green light to finally take action.
“You should score a goal in the first minute,” he suggested. “That would be a great way to impress her, and it would make a big statement to the Vikings.”
I’d faced our opponents several times before, so they were already familiar with my game play. Odds were good their defense would be all over me, so scoring right off the bat would fuck with their heads. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
“What does?” Dean asked.
Since Chuck wasn’t on the first line with me, he stepped into our bench area as he answered, “Corby is going to drill the puck into the back of their net in the first minute of the game.”
“That totally works for me,” Scott chimed in as he finished stretching and got up off the ice to stand next to me. “The more you have the puck down there, the less often the Vikings will be able to send it flying in my direction.”
“If you guys are done shooting the shit, I’d like to give you the actual game plan.” All the chatter stopped, and we gave Coach Carter our full attention. Then he grinned and pointed at me. “It’s going to sound awfully familiar since my strategy is similar to what you two apparently came up with during warmups. If you see an opening, take it. Their goalie won’t be prepared for the extra power you’ve developed behind your shot. I’d like to rattle him as early as possible.” He shifted his gaze toward Dean and Simon, the other two guys on the offensive line with me. “The second you see Corby gearing up to take a shot, crash the net. One of this guy’s biggest weaknesses is how long it takes him to cover the puck. Take advantage of his vulnerability and get those rebound shots.”
One of the linesmen blew the whistle, and Scott headed to our net. Dean, Simon, and I skated to