He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. After all this time, there she was, just sitting there watching him. Her eyes were wide, clearly surprised that he actually saw her. Then she smiled. A flood of memories washed over him.
“Ovi!” Nick called to him, clearly frustrated. Alex recovered the misplayed puck and shot it back to his teammate. He joined the back of the warm-up line. Nick skated over to him.
“What was that?”
“She here.”
“What? Who?” asked Nick, bewildered by his captain’s loss of focus.
“Zoey.” Alex stared at the stands. Nick turned to look at the section that held Alex’s attention and spotted a brunette at the glass that resembled the picture he discovered in his friend’s kitchen.
“Okay, she’s here. But we still have a game to play. Look at me,” Nick ordered.
Alex’s gaze turned from the stands to his line-mate. Nick watched him smile and then his focus returned. At that point, Nick knew they would win the game, that Alex would take the opportunity to show off and they would all reap the rewards of his excitement.
He positioned himself on the outside of the faceoff circle. The sounds of the arena were muted until there was nothing but the sound of his own heart beating. There were ten of them all frozen and poised as the puck was released from the referee’s grasp. A shared breath was inhaled, muscles contracted, eyes focused. The puck hit the ice, stick hit the puck and the players exploded in a flurry of motion. Hockey was a very fast game. It was all about anticipation. He had to expect to see the puck on his stick before it was actually there. If he didn’t, he’d be two steps behind the whole time. Alex was never surprised to see it and this time was no different. He was off like a rocket almost before it was there. He beat his defenseman by a fraction of a second, more than enough time to exploit the situation. Once he was a step ahead, there were very few who could overtake him. There was no better feeling than being on a breakaway, leaving the rest behind. It was a duel between him and the goalie. A quick move to the left and Alex caught the goalie committing to his position. He hesitated slightly and crossed in front of the net and caught the defeated look on the goalie’s face as the puck flew just over his left shoulder.
Verizon Center erupted with a roar of cheers. It was alive, with its own pulse, its own collective breath. Everyone was on their feet as his teammates tackled Alex in a triumphant embrace. The goal music played. Fans danced in the stands. It was electric and contagious. Zoey had never experienced anything like it. She was on her feet with all the rest. She was searching the pile of red sweaters on the ice until he emerged and skated to the bench bumping fists with all his teammates in congratulations. The smile on his face was like nothing she’d seen before. It was pure joy and triumph. His eyes drifted to her and she was overwhelmed with desire to jump into his arms. She placed her hand on the glass in front of her and watched until they were set up in the face-off circle again before joining the rest of the fans back in their seats.
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