Blue is a freaking goddess.

I don't know what happened between dropping her off at her dorm and now, how she went from point A to point B, but my girl is in the stands looking so unbelievably smoking hot.

Dark blonde mane shiny, falling softly around her shoulders, blue eyes gleaming with her makeup done to do a natural perfection, skin glowing, deep red lipstick beautifully smoothed over her crooked lips. She's draped in my jersey and wearing tight leggings. But best of all...

The determination set in her eyes and smile gracing her face, causing her cheeks to puff out adorably.

The ice hisses as I skate over to her before the game starts and I tap on the plexiglass. Knowing exactly what I want to see, she turns around and shows me my name stamped across her back.

I don't care if it's primal or barbaric.

I love claiming her.

She's mine.

All mine.

Luckily, this home game is one of those rare ones where my parents and sis couldn't make it. It's just my girl with Heather by her side.

I'm winning this game.

Tonight is going to be a tough one because The Kings are the number one team right now. I'm amped up from all the adrenaline spiking in my veins, adrenaline mixed with anger and excitement for what's to come. The perfect combination for a hockey game.

My first shift comes up and I hop over, laser-focused on the puck and showing off for my girl. She's been quizzing herself and studying up on hockey. Blue wants to learn about the sport I love and that's sexier than a woman who knows everything about the game.

It takes us fifteen minutes to get our groove, tension high, but once we do... we're a force. Rasheed, Beau, and I are a powerhouse and the defense's worst nightmare. We missed some scoring opportunities but all it takes is one shot sinking in the net and the tides turn. The tension in the stands dissipates and is replaced by that fierce hockey fan energy.

Our team is fire on ice. Winston is blocking goals like a pro and our defense, particularly Adam has been annihilating our opponents. The burning ice on my skates matches the blooding pumping in my veins.

I love this sport.

The puck is loose and I skate hard over to it, smashing against the boards as Drake Peterson, the ace player, does the same. Our sticks battle for the puck. An elbow is harshly jabbed in my ribs and the guy begins getting cheap with his shots. I manage to snag the puck and fly it toward Beau, who takes it behind the net and passes to Rasheed. I pivot when Rasheed's slapshot is blocked by Erickson, the goalie. The puck flies across the ice and Peterson snatches it, breaking away and our defense zips across the ice to catch up to him.

The Kings have always been a tough team on the ice. Peterson is a good player and captain, but also a grade-A douchebag who relies on cheap shots. He fakes out Winston and shoots.

This time I hate the sound of the buzzer.

Rasheed skates over to me. "We've got this but it's time to crush them. Your head is in the game, right?"

My eyes sneak a glance over at Blue cheering. "Yeah, we're winning this."

*

The second half is just as tight. These are the kinds of games a player remembers though. The ones that stick with them. The neck and neck, smashing opponents against the boards, the puck almost making it into the net.

Beau gets knocked to the ground by Peterson, head smacking the ice. The game is halted and Beau manages to get up but all of us are raging now because no penalty was called.

The score is 1-1. A high-stakes game with low scoring. My jaw is sore from clenching my teeth and my shift is up. Hopping over I push hard, Peterson my main target as he sails with the puck, oblivious to me. Before he can pass, I smash into him, knocking him off the ice and he goes airborne into the boards and slams to the cool ground while I dash away with the puck.

The crowd roars.

I snap the puck to Rasheed who takes a beautiful backhand shot but it's blocked again by Erickson, bouncing off his pads and then he clears it away from the goal. I curse and smack my stick on the ice.

We all race down as Winston blocks another shot but then is bulldozed over. This time the referees do their job and call the penalty and now we have a power play that can turn this game around in our favor.

Not wasting it, I get a hold of the puck and bounce it off the boards to Rasheed. He rebounds it and heads toward the net like a beast. Anderson cuts in front of him and Rasheed flicks the puck up into a wide-open space and I gun it, sending it to the right. Beau gets it and draws the defense's attention as I go to the net that's about to be wide open. He passes it and all I have to do is place my stick down and tilt it, the puck bounces off it right in the net.

The buzzer goes off and I go over to the boards jumping into it, glass rattling as I celebrate. Beau and Rasheed hit my helmet, shouting along with me, hugging and smacking me around.

I break away and skate along the side until I see Blue and as I pass by her I shout, "Yeah!"

The play had been beautifully executed.

*

By the third, we're still only up by one.

Peterson snaps the shot and Winston redirects it. We clear the puck and continue to run down the clock. The Kings are starting to get desperate and sloppy with their shots. I get a hold of the puck and take it to the corner, pinning it. Everyone starts slamming, bashing into me, trying to get the puck away but I hold my ground letting the clock run.

One of the players manages to get it out and Adam clears it, sending the puck way off towards the open net. The clock is down to ten seconds and Peterson, in a vain attempt, takes a hard shot from the opposite end. The puck is stopped by Rasheed who smacks it out and we all watch as it sails across the ice and straight into the goal, scoring in the final second of the game.

Rasheed goes ballistic along with the crowd and I laugh, shaking my head in disbelief. The idiot is going to be talking about that shot until the day he dies.

All of us on and off the ice rip off their helmets, abandoning our sticks, and gather together in a huddle of manly hugs and celebration. We earned back our spot as the number one team since my injury...

And god does it feel good.

ACDC blows from the speakers and I skate around, my eyes on a bouncing, cheering Blue, clapping her hands so viciously they may bruise.

I'm winded, exhausted to the bone...

But I have one last thing to do.

Everyone is still savoring the win and it's as if the whole school is there. I knew this was a big game but I had no idea it was going to be that intense. My stomach hurts a little from all the tension and I'm breathless, throat raw from cheering. I had never been more excited to wear Tariq's jersey. I didn't care what anyone said or about their cruel comments. I'm his and he's mine.

I had been a mess after the dining commons incident, but after wallowing for a half-hour, I lifted my chin, and with Heather by my side, I stomped right back in and ate my lunch.

I'm sick of letting others dictate me, my feelings, and my life. I love Tariq Araneo and he loves me too. So what if everyone knows I'm pregnant and have their opinions. It doesn't mean they're true and I don't have to let it take me down.

I'm stronger than that.

Daddy raised me to be strong.

So, yeah, I dolled myself up, put on the red lipstick Tariq loves, and wore his jersey with pride. If I want to be with him, I have to be stronger. Girls adore him and try everything to get his attention, well guess what you sluts?! All I had to do was get smacked in the face with a football.

Ha!

And it was worth it.

The ACDC song that had been playing is abruptly cut off and everyone stops cheering, looking around as some of the guys who were just celebrating get off the ice. I lean into Heather asking, "What's going on?"

She lifts her shoulder, honestly as perplexed as I am. "I have no idea. Maybe Rasheed is about to do something dumb for scoring the goal?"

It's possible.

"Elodie Mitchel." Tariq's heavy, breathless voice booms all over the stadium. His sweaty hair sticks to his head, his chest and mouth heave out big gulps of air, but his body is relaxed as if skating is easier than walking. He's the most beautiful man... even with his unkempt beard that needs a desperate trim.

He skates to the middle of the rink, a microphone in hand and every single person in the stadium hushes. His breathing is rough, causing the microphone to give off that static puff and he's clearly exhausted from the game. "You own me and I'm so excited to have this baby with you. I've been trying to think of a way to show you and this whole dumb ass campus how much I love you and there's only one way I could think of."

My heart is beating in my throat as Tariq skates around, effortlessly, hypnotizing me. "Get ready for one of your greatest cinematic moments, Blue. Cause I'm about to destroy my reputation for you."

Piano echoes in the stadium and Tariq's god-awful singing voice cracks to life. My hand covers my mouth as he tries singing along with my girl Celine Dion. And his song choice is top-notch and my favorite... I Surrender.

"Oh my god!" I cry out with tears and laughter.

It's such cringy perfection that I shake in uncontrollable happiness. As Tariq finishes the verse out, in a burst Rasheed, Winston, Beau, and a couple other of the guys on the team skate out, arms spread wide and they're no longer a hockey team

They're really crappy synchronized ice skaters.

Tariq starts getting into it, his laughter breaking as Celine's vocal prowess bursts in the stadium. He skates around coming to an abrupt stop, ice flying in the air as his arm stretches towards me along with the other guys and he sings out. "I reach to you. I know you can feel it too."

The audience is hollering louder than they did for the game. Rasheed soaks it up and spins as if he's an Olympic ice skater, posing like a diva, making me laugh so hard I can't breathe. Tariq pushes him out of the way, skating around the rink backward and all the guys join him as his voice clashes terribly with Celine's...

But I love every echo of it.

I'm crying and laughing as I run to the plexiglass, singing along like a crazy lunatic. "I'll hold you in my arms and never let go!"

He's so winded that when he gets to the part in the bridge where Celine sings out a couple of long notes he has to stop, muttering in the microphone. "This woman is insane. How the heck does she do it."

He catches his breath and brings the microphone up like he's performing the concert of his life. Vein's pop out in his neck and his face is red as he practically screeches out her long-winded note.

I love him.

I'm so foolishly, helplessly in love with this guy it's... insane.

As he sings out the bridge he skates over to me, his hand on the glass and my little one touches the hard plastic as we both sing as if we're in a high school musical movie.

We suck though and can't measure to Celine.

He pushes off the glass, skating back singing, "I surrender all."

All the guys join him as the outro starts, "Right here."

All stomp to the right.

"Right now."

They all stomp to the left.

This part they must've practiced because all their movements are synchronized to the song.

"I give my life to live again."

All of them get down on one knee skating forward to me, making the whole crowd roar in laughter.

"I break free."

They all stand and throw their arms out, spinning in sloppy circles.

"Take me."

This time they fall to both knees sliding forward.

"My everything, I surrender all to you."

At this point, their terrible choreography ends and they all start performing their own moves. Rasheed tries doing a jump but instead of sticking the landing, he falls but strikes a pose on the ice as if he's Mariah Carrey, blowing kisses to the crowd.

I need to get to Tariq.

At this point, I'm drowning in tears and running to the benches, pushing people out of the way. By the time I reach it, Tariq is already there, his smile so big and boyish it unravels me. I throw myself into him, my lips crash onto his.

He groans and drops the microphone and the audience shrieks at the loud sound it generates, but neither of us cares. Tariq smiles into the kiss, asking, "So Patrick Verona?"

My head falls back as I laugh, open-mouthed and when I look back at him I stretch to my tiptoes, whispering on his mouth, his beard tickling my skin, "He's got nothing on you, Tariq Araneo."

Okay, I may be the only one who finds this hilarious but I had sooooo much fun writing this chapter and kept adding more and more to it. Also, I thought for sure everyone knew what he was going to do seeing as how I started off the last chapter, but you all thought he was proposing hahahahahaha!!!!

It may or may not be coming though, who knows? Oh, wait... I do hehehehehe

Well, buckle up everyone because some drama is about to unfold in these next couple of chapters.

Thank you so much for all the love for this story, I so appreciate it. Six more chapters left everyone!!!

Much Love,

LivingRed

CELINE IS QUEEN!!!!