Page 263 of Cross Checked
Maybe some dark, possessive, reckless part of me wanted every person standing behind her to understand that I saw her too. Not the version she performed when she was scared. Not the girl who made jokes so nobody noticed the exits she kept tracking.
Her.
The girl behind the jersey.
The girl smiling at me like I had reached through the glass and handed her one clean second where nothing hurt.
Aura grabbed Bliss’s arm so hard she nearly shook her while Charm screamed loud enough I could hear her even through the helmet and crowd noise. Around them, Fury fans started catching on one by one, phones lifting instantly while the roar inside The Furnace shifted from hockey insanity into something sharper.
Anticipation.
Bliss laughed breathlessly behind the glass, cheeks flushed pink beneath the arena lights while she looked at me like she couldn’t believe I was doing this right now.
Honestly? Neither could I, but I didn’t care.
Not anymore.
I tapped the glass once more.
Her smile softened instantly after that, turning into something smaller and more vulnerable and so damn beautiful it almost knocked the air out of me. Then she stepped closer until she was right there in front of me, my name stretched across her chest while twenty thousand people watched us from every direction.
The arena got louder by the second.
Chanting now.
Merc-er… Merc-er… Merc-er.
My chest felt too tight for my ribs. Because this wasn’t subtle. This wasn’t private. This was me standing in front of an entire arena full of people and making it very clear exactly who I wanted looking at me after every goal.
Bliss’s eyes searched mine through the glass while my teammates screamed behind me and the scoreboard above center ice flashed huge and bright overhead.
5–1 FURY.
I lifted one hand slowly and pressed it flat against the glass between us.
Bliss stared at it for half a second before lifting hers too, smaller against mine on the opposite side.
The crowd absolutely lost it. I could hear Briggs screaming somewhere behind me while Easton slammed repeatedly against the boards laughing like a psychopath, but the noise all blurred together because Bliss was still looking at me like I’d become something dangerous to her heart.
And maybe I had.
I leaned forward slowly. The second she realized what I was doing, her breath visibly caught.
The arena got even louder, not cheering anymore.
Screaming and waiting.
Bliss hesitated for the smallest fraction of a second, nerves flashing across her face while twenty thousand people watched us from every angle. Then something softened in her expression all at once, and she leaned forward too.
Our lips pressed to opposite sides of the glass.
And The Furnace completely detonated.
The sound hit like a physical force. Fans screaming, pounding against the boards, music blasting overhead while the student section lost its collective mind behind Bliss. Neon pink Fury towels whipped through the air while cameras flashed from every direction, and somewhere behind me, my teammates were practically dying.
But I barely heard any of it.
Because Bliss was smiling against the glass.
