Ice Cold Love

Part 14

Shoutout to @LanaAve! Her book 'Before, After and Inbetween' is a hidden gem, give it a read everyone! 

Also, shoutout to @Rupe01 you're my favourite <3  Add 'The Tourist Trap'  to your reading lists if you haven't already!

Warning: Language

Ronan's POV

Much to my dismay, Amelia had yet again been right. A few days after our opening season party, a guy came looking for his keys. At least, he said they were his. It turned out, the original owner had sent the NSU freshman to retrieve his keys for him. After a few questions and threats were thrown at the freshman, Mason, Hunter and I managed to track down the actual culprit.

I didn't wait to hear his side of the story or an explanation. I didn't hear him as he pleaded for me to stop, and I didn't back away when Hunter and Mason tried to pull me off him. Hell, I didn't even ask for his name. I simply made sure he saw that his actions had consequences.

When I was done with him, I knew he wouldn't forget.

I looked down at my bruised and scabbed-over knuckles as I sat in the locker room. Moving my hands was torturous, but I slowly slid my gloves over the wounds and into place. It was the first game of the season; I was going to have to suck it up.

Someone smacked my helmet twice from behind me just as I had put it on, and Mason came into my line of sight. "Come on Ron, hurry the hell up," he urged, his voice muffled from his own helmet. I obliged and grabbed all my things before shuffling behind him in my skates.

I could hear the crowd as we got closer to the rink. The sound of their cheering and roaring sent a rush of adrenaline through me, and I couldn't help but sweep a look around the rink as I stepped onto the ice. It was packed. There was a blur of blue and white, red and black. People were screaming and music was booming through the arena. God, I loved this, I'd missed this.

"Quit day dreaming and start you laps, Harding!" Coach Daniels barked from the side lines, his tone stern and his gaze brutal.

He was on edge. All my teammates were. This was the first game of the season, and it was against our rivals, NSU. Without Kavinski, we were evenly matched, so the game could go either way.

I started making my rounds around the rink, occasionally stretching to loosen up my tight muscles. When the NSU team arrived in their black and red glory, I kept an eye on them as I continued my warm ups.

Hunter and Mason made their way to me when they noticed our opponents. "Lemmings isn't playing," Mason began analysing the team, his eyes flickering from one huge player to another as they skated out onto the ice.

"I don't know who'll replace his as goalie," Mason continued, "but aim high, a newbie won't be used to it." I felt something in me shift as mason spoke, as if I was flipping a switch in my mind.

Maybe it was the adrenaline of our first game. Maybe it was just the addictive buzz I got from playing hockey kicking in, or maybe it was actually a switch being flipped.

I was never able to explain what happened the moment I truly put my head into the game I was playing; the best way to describe it was thinking of it like a blanket of being thrown over you that immediately made you feel relaxed and calm, it made everything look brighter and dulled out the noise from the boisterous crowd.

Hunter and I listened carefully to Mason as he continued giving us his instructions and analysis. "Ron? You see that guy?" Hunter subtly pointed to a towering NSU player. I'd never seen him before, but he was a strong, bulky looking man.

"He's new, yeah? So he's your target for today. Him and whoever Daniels tells you to pick on," Hunter told me, and Mason nodded in agreement. Picking on people on the ice was something I excelled at. I grinned at both of them, excited.