Satin on the Slopes

Chapter 27

"Dane, don't!" I shouted before the goalie even moved. 

I had known Dane for years. Because he was the goalie he didn't always have the opportunity to fight, but damn, he loved it. And The Wall could so easily fill up a net with his six foot six inch, two hundred fifty pound body. Having all that mass and all that rage coming towards a person must've been terrifying. 

In comparison to Hudson, the toned snowboarder, he was a mountain of muscle.

Dane didn't care, never did. He would fight anyone who wanted it. And Hudson was already knee deep in a war he hadn't started, but now he had fired his first bullet. 

The goalie was almost delighted to return the favor, delivering a hard blow to Hudson's cheek. It was so fast that Hudson didn't even have a chance to block it or dodge it. The snowboarder stumbled back, only able to catch himself on the bar stool that he had been sitting on before just seconds before. If only he had remained sitting. 

"Dane, stop!" I shouted as people in the bar began to turn and stare. But no one cared enough to intervene. It was just like this was a brawl on the ice. They were here for entertainment. 

But I wasn't going to let that happen to Hudson. He had no idea what Dane was like, but I did.  I didn't feel like the dainty damsel who couldn't meet his eye anymore. I wasn't screaming for help, or begging them to stop. I leapt off the stool, ready to physically break up the fight.

But neither man cared about what I was saying or the action I was taking to stop them. Hudson recovered from the punch to his face and swung back at Dane. I can't imagine Hudson had much practice with fights. It didn't seem like something that would be a common occurrence on the slopes, but that didn't stop his enthusiasm. 

Dane was well versed in this though. He grabbed a hold of Hudson's wrist before it landed on him. And then he slammed his closed fist into Hudson's gut. It was typical of a hockey player. Hit where there was no padding. Once the helmet was off the face became a target, but the stomach was just as unprotected. Hudson crumpled when Dane let go of his wrist.

"Stop!" I screamed, thrusting my body in between the two of them before either of them could make another move. 

I could hear Hudson groaning and wheezing from behind me, probably clinging to the bar stool as he tried to catch his breath and bearings. Dane was in front of me, his arm drawn back, ready to hit him again. Those furious eyes met mine. I wondered what would happen if he hit me, if these useless onlookers would interject then.

"Get out of the way, Penny," Dane ordered through clenched teeth, his eyes still locked on this opponent. The only people who broke up dane's fights were refs. There were none here, leaving only me to protect Hudson.

"Why?" I demanded, taking a step towards him. He didn't move back like I had wanted him to, but his fist lowered slowly. I narrowed my eyes up at him, hoping that- though I was tiny comparison- I was a little intimidating. "Your problem isn't with him. It's with me. I'm the one who left Connor. I'm the one who decided that I had more worth than letting someone cheat on me. I'm the one you should be fighting."

"Penny-" he began, suddenly no longer able to hold my eyes. 

I didn't want to hear it. "Come on, call me a slut again. Tell me about how awful I am because I wanted something more. Tell me that i'm a whore because I decided that I need to care about myself too." Tears were in my eyes now, but I refused to look anywhere but his face. I wanted him to see how much this had destroyed me. "I've spent weeks hiding. I had to move out of my apartment and avoid all the restaurants I used to love because I knew you guys were all like this. But it didn't matter, because you found me anyway. So are you happy, Dane? Do you feel like you've done a wonderful job protecting the man who cheated on me with multiple women?"