Meant For You

fifty.

The first goal of the period came fast, only a minute and a half in by the Ducks. Miles was livid, of course. He hit his stick against the ice so hard that it broke. "Oh shit," Kaitlyn says next to me. "Is he okay?" I ask her. Tate hands Miles his stick to use since he's currently on the bench. "I hope so," she says. The game resumes and it's a battle between the teams. It's back and forth for a good five minutes before the Kings gain the puck back.

JT skates quickly to the opposing side's goal and passes the puck off to a teammate when he struggles with a guy from the other team. The Kings keep it in their possession and it's finally passed to Miles. He takes the opportunity, skating quickly toward the goal. He shoots it in a couple of feet before he reaches the net and it goes straight past the goalie's legs. The crowd erupts in cheer and so do we. "That's how it's done," I say to myself as I clap.

The team celebrates shortly before the game begins again. Anaheim scores again a couple of minutes later, making the game 4-3. It's a close game and anyones game with only six minutes left. Everyone in the stadium is on their feet now, including us. We wait for something to happen. Both teams are attempting to score as much as possible but the puck keeps missing the net. The Kings are doing amazing with their defense and as long as they keep it up, they'll win.

With about two minutes left in the game, the Kings steal the puck and move it to the opposing side. The Ducks took out their goalie to add another player in and the team took advantage of this. Two players play defense on Miles but seem to forget about JT who skates over to the goalpost as quickly as possible. Tate gets the puck and swings it in his direction. It doesn't get any easier than JT thrusting the puck into the net for a clean goal that gets the crowd loud.

"Yes, babe! That's my guy!" Em shouts. She wraps her arm around mine and we cheer excitedly for Jay. "Okay, game! No more goals, please! Not from the Ducks at least," Kaitlyn says making me laugh. Luck is on our side because the Ducks can't catch up the last two minutes and the Kings win their final regular season game. Many of the Ducks fans have been exiting the stadium the last couple of minutes of the game.

Kings fans stick behind and cheer on the team until they're off the ice. After ten minutes of the team leaving the ice, the girls and I make our way over to where the guys said they'd meet us. JT and Tate come out together and aim straight for their girlfriends. "Miles will be out in a bit he's just talking to a couple of the guys," Tate tells me after he pulls away from Kait's hug. I nod, waiting for Miles to save me from being a fifth wheel.

He does.
Ten whole minutes later.

He emerges from the double doors, his face in a straight line and his jaw set tight. When his gray eyes find mine, a small smile pulls at his lips. I return it. "You played amazing tonight," I say as he approaches me. He gives me a quick side hug, rubbing my shoulder. Chills run up my back at his warm touch. "Thanks, Scott. Did you see my little temper tantrum?" he asks.

I laugh. "I saw. Need a new stick?" I tease. "I'm getting a new one, yeah. Also, what are you doing wearing black and silver? I thought you were a Ducks fan?" he quips. I can't help but smile. The ongoing joke that I'm a Ducks fan. He reminds me I told him I was a fan of there's every time he plays them. "Hey, we're gonna go to Caribbean Street, y'all coming?" JT asks. "Down," Tate replies first and Kait nods.

I look up at Miles who has an indecisive look on his face. "Think I'm gonna pass," he says then. I grab his arm forcing him to look at me. "You're gonna leave me as a fifth wheel!?" I tell him, teeth clenched. He furrows his brows and shakes his head. "You're coming with me so we can talk," he assures. "Oh," I turn to our friends, "I'll pass too. Thanks for the invite though."

Miles and I say our goodbyes and I let Em take my car for her and JT. I put the hoodie on my puffer up and throw on random sunglasses I find in my purse. We don't draw much attention when we leave and we're able to make it out of the stadium without any fan catching up to us. Miles says it happens more than you think. The drive home to his place is quieter than usual.