Page 69 of The Pucking Kiss

I could not miss this. It was the most important shot I was ever going to take.

As I wound up, the slap of the puck against the ice echoed through the arena, and then I took a steady shot.

The puck soared through the air. The goalie outstretched his glove to block it, but he missed, and the puck landed in the back of the net.

The crowd went wild, and we were up 1-0 now. Victory felt like it was within reach now, and my teammates tackled me in celebration.

“That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Keep it up, Captain.”

As the final period of the game commenced, tension was high. The Shadow Riders were not going to go down without a proper fight, and they were making that abundantly clear to all of us as they continued their aggressive assault. Thankfully, our team was able to defend itself each time they tried to strike.

I looked up at the game counter, and it was the final few minutes of the game. The pressure was on. If we managed to defend properly, then the game was ours.

I skated my way across to the attacking zone once again, and one of my teammates passed over the puck to me. I seized it, and with one last effort, I sent the puck flying into the net, scoring yet another goal for our team with just five seconds left on the clock.

The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game, and a wave of euphoria crashed over me.

We were the champions.

The crowd cheered so loud that it was almost deafening, and all my teammates ran over towards me, pilling on their congratulations one after the other.

“We did it!” Jake shouted out in pure joy. Our coach joined us, giving us all hugs and pats on the back.

“Great job, boys! This victory is one for the books,” he grinned, mirroring the exhilaration that all of us felt.

We all gathered at center ice, and everyone was in the highest spirits. They handed over the championship trophy to us, and as we lifted it up, the camera flashes went off.

“Congratulations to the champions!” the commentators said over the speakers.

Amid the celebrations, the Shadow Riders approached us.

“We are gutted that we lost, but fair play to you,” the Captain told me, giving me a pat on the back.

Even though we had just defeated them, there were no feelings of bitterness. That was the beauty of sport, as the love of the game came before any personal grievances.

After celebrating with my team, I spotted Romai weaving through the crowd to get to me. She had the brightest smile on her face as she approached me and wrapped me in her embrace.

“We did it, Romai,” I said, wrapping my arms tightly around her waist. “We are finally the champions.”

“This was destiny,” she smiled back, “I always knew that you could do this.”

This was more than just a game for me. Hockey was my entire life, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my high school journey than winning the biggest trophy in our league.

“It’s only up from here, baby,” Romai grinned.

In the heat of the moment, I couldn’t help but steal a passionate kiss in front of everyone. The crowd cheered and whistled as the two of us locked lips, but I couldn’t care less about anyone else right now.

At that moment, it was just me and the girl that I loved the most in the world. Everything else faded away into the background.

The night progressed into even more celebrations. The entire school was celebrating, and it was a huge party.

I made sure to keep Romai by my side every step of the way. She was my biggest supporter, and I wanted to experience the best moments of my life with her by my side.

The championship trophy sat proudly at the center of the table, and everyone on the team took photos with it. The music was blaring loudly from the speakers.

“So now that you’ve accomplished what you have wanted the most,” Romai said to me as we found a quiet moment together on the balcony. “What’s next?”