Hockey With Benefits(46)

She got all serious. All blonde curls and rosy cheeks and tiny hands. She held out her palm, touching the barrier between us, and I took my glove off, touching it with mine on the other side.

Then her eyes opened wide, and the smile was going to break her face, it was so wide.

I looked her right in the eye and mouthed, “I love you, Titi.”

She was beaming so much. “LOVE YOU, CRUZZIE!”

I laughed, looking at my mom beside her, who was smiling and wiping away the tears.

I put my glove back on, and hit the plexiglass with my stick. “Love you, Mom.”

She couldn’t say anything back. She was crying and smiling too much, but she reached out, touching the glass with her hand before I took off.

I joined the team at our bench, and sensing the looks, I said, “The Make-a-Wish kid is my sister.”

My coach blinked a few times. He hadn’t known that part. “The one that was in the hospital?”

I nodded.

“What’s her name?”

“Titi.”

He gave a nod before addressing the team, “Win it for Titi.”

“FOR TITI!”

Labrowski skated over. “You want the face-off?”

I glanced at Coach, who shrugged. I said, “Oh, fuck yes.”





We went hard. Pushing, pushing, pushing.

The other team was good. They were aggressive but we matched ’em at every turn. I did and my team backed me up. Labrowski was our captain, but tonight, he was sharing it with me.

My mom was here. Titi.

This was for them.

We scored. They scored.

We scored. Them.

It went back and forth until the third period.

Enough.

Coach yelled for line change, and it was first line again. We dropped onto the ice.

I was on with Labrowski and Keys. We went back and forth until I saw an opening, and I went for it, zipping around my guy, the next guy. There was a hole. I pretended to shoot it in, but faked, used my skate to push it forward, just past the goalie on his right and I tapped it in.

Goal!

We were ahead, and now we had to hold them off.

Nah.

I was always taught the best defense was an aggressive offense, so when I hit the ice again, I took it right back to the goal. Their goalie hated me. He saw me swinging his way and I could see him get ready. Good. Fucking good. I wanted in this guy’s head.

I repeated this every time my line went out. I pushed, and I pushed hard, until the final horn went off, signaling the end of the game.

We won, 4-2 and I scored two of those goals. I assisted one other.

The team must’ve planned it because as we went through with the other team, my own team circled around and each one went past me. They hit my shoulder before going to Titi and rattling the glass in front of her. She was going crazy. Tiny arms in the air. Her cheeks were red. Dried tears on her face, but I knew they were from the game, from happiness. That’s how she was. She’d also head to bed as soon as the game was done, because this would exhaust her for the next two days.

I was the last one to go over. I pulled my helmet off as I stopped in front of them. My mom stood, pointing to the bench section and back to Titi. I frowned, not sure what she was asking, but nodded. I started back there, and once I saw my mom picking Titi up, her tiny legs dangling helplessly before she tucked them in. I knew what she wanted, what Titi wanted, and my sister’s eyes were wide and unblinking. She wasn’t looking away from me.

I tried smiling at her but had to turn away.

Jesus.

I was emotional.

My mom carried my sister to me, a blanket over her legs, and at the bench section, I stepped in and took my sister into my arms. I waited, my mom fixing the blankets over her legs until she was fully covered, and Titi tried to wrap her arms around my shoulders.

“Settle in. It’s easier to cradle you.”

She did, relaxing back, and I held her like she was a baby.

The guys had gone back to the locker room, but I saw Coach waiting. I gestured to the ice, and he gave me a nod.

I stepped out, my sister in my arms.

The people in the stands had started to disperse, but people took forever so there was a decent amount still standing by their seats. I felt their attention.

Titi was crying, and trying to gasp for breath, but she was smiling so hard while she was doing it.

I did a circle and Titi tipped her head back, beaming up at me. “Again.”

I went again.

“Again.”

I did a third.

By then, the team was back, and they were watching me.

Titi’s hands were in the air, her head fully back as I was holding her, and she wiggled. “Again, Cruz. Again!”

I went a fourth time. This time, the team stepped on the ice and skated with us.

She saw the guys and began trying to sit up. She wanted to see them now.

I jerked my chin up at Labrowski, “One second.”

I went back to our mom, and she saw what was going on. She came down and helped me adjust Titi so she was sitting more upright but I could still hold her securely. The blankets were wrapped around her legs again. Before I went back on the ice, she leaned forward and said to Titi, “One last time. That’s it.”

“But–”

“Your brother is tired.”

That quieted Titi, and she leaned back against my shoulder this time.