Always Only You by Chloe Liese (z-lib.org).epub

and not asked for a damn thing except a beautiful game to play and my peaceful
home to rest in when I’m not.
But most of all I’ve waited. And waited. And waited for Frankie. And now
I’ve had to survive living with her, seeing shower water dripping down her
chest, watching her eat my omelets with sleepy eyes and gorgeous bedhead,
sharing sunsets on the beach with her and her fluffy dog that I miss already. And
I still can’t have her. I can’t tell Frankie what she means to me or touch her how
I’m dying to.
I feel like Mom’s pressure cooker the time she forgot about her rice and the
lid exploded, showering the room. A mess of suppressed, unmet need, blowing
its top.
As 27 knocks my skates again, I spin, slam a shoulder into him and barrel on
with the puck toward the goal. My entire focus narrows on the net. I fly up the
ice, deking, weaving, knowing my footwork’s faster than the defender can keep
up with, knowing this goal is mine.
I dump it off to Tyler, speeding past the Wild’s last man back and pick up
the puck when Tyler fakes and flicks it to me. As I bear down on the goalie, the
puck glued to my stick, then pull back to shoot, my foot gives from under me
thanks to Number 27’s stick, which hooks my skate and trips me.
I’m falling, heading straight for a face plant, but somehow, I still manage to
get my shot off. My gaze follows the puck waffling through the air, dipping low.
Just as I crash to the ice, it sneaks past the goalie’s pads and lands with a thwack,
safe inside the net.
Goooooaaaaallll!
“You lucky bastard!” Tyler yells, hoisting me up. “Three minutes left, and
you pulled that off!”
Rob’s lit up with pride, smacking my helmet and bumping my chest like
always. “That was amazing.”
When I skate by, 27 shoves me. I freeze, hold his eyes, then begin to skate
past, but he puts up his arm again and shoves me once more.
“That’s it,” Tyler snaps, yanking off a glove. “He’s so fucking overdue—”
Rob stills Tyler’s hand. “Ren can fight his own battles. And if he doesn’t
want to, they’re not yours.”
Number 27 spits out his mouth guard, and grins nastily, revealing four
missing teeth. “He’s too pussy to fight his own battles. Is he your bitch,
Johnson? Gotta protect your—”
Tyler launches at him, but I manage to get in between them. “He’s not worth
it,” I tell Tyler, shoving his glove into his stomach and spinning him away. “Get
out of here. Cool off.”