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Sienna: Well, I hope you’re enjoying yourself all alone there, shouting at the ref.

Garrett: He’s fucking blind. Have you seen the calls he’s missed?

Sienna: If I missed them, Calvin bellowing in my ear would have given me a clue.

I can’t help but laugh. Unfortunately, as I do so, everyone around me gasps, and when I look back up at the ice, a fight has broken out.

I have no idea what happened, but as more and more players flood toward center ice where the drama is happening, I search the jerseys, trying to find number forty-nine.

I can’t see him.

My stomach bottoms out. There’s no way he’ll have left the ice. And he’s not on the bench. The only other place he can be is in the middle of all of that.

I watch, unblinking, as players are dragged back from the fray, revealing what’s really happening in the middle.

My breath catches as Kodie and Cooper are the final Vipers’ players hauled away from two Denver players. Neither of them has a helmet on, and both have blood running down their faces.

Oh my god.

But despite all of that, when their eyes connect as they’re shoved toward the penalty box, it’s like they're seeing each other for the first time.

Holy shit.

I know they’re making strides toward rebuilding their friendship, but I’m pretty sure this arena just watched the final puzzle piece fall into place.

And as their asses hit the bench, the most unbelievable thing happens. They both burst out laughing like a couple of naughty kids who’ve been reprimanded by their parents.

My chest aches as I watch them, and despite the power play that’s taking place, I can’t focus on the game. My full attention is on Cooper as part of his life rights itself.

Thankfully, we manage to hold off Denver and keep the score tied, forcing us to go into extra time.

It’s one of the tensest matchups I’ve seen in person, and I’m totally here for it.

The guys are exhausted, their bodies battered and bruised after sixty minutes on the ice, but they’re not giving up.

Overtime continues with the puck constantly being moved from one end to the other. No one is able to grab an advantage until Cooper steals it away from one of Denver’s wingers’ sticks and shoots it down the ice. Fletch picks it up, shoots it straight to Kodie, and he hits the top shelf a second later.

“Fuck,” I gasp, my heart racing a mile a minute as I watch the guys celebrate before me.

My cell has been going crazy in my pocket, but I was too enthralled by what was happening in front of me to look. I know who it is, though.

Sienna: Holy shit.

Sienna: What the fuck happened?

Sienna: Oh my god, did Rivers and Nash just end a decades-long feud on TV?

Sienna: Aw, look at them laughing together.

Sienna: Yes, yes, yes, GO VIPERS!

Sienna: This might be the best game I’ve ever watched. AND YOU WENT WITHOUT ME!!!

I shake my head, a laugh tumbling from my lips.

Garrett: It was pretty fantastic.

I look up just in time to see the team make their way down the tunnel. I keep my eyes on Cooper, already impatient to see him later. But just before he disappears, he turns back.