She knew it was crazy, and she really wasn’t thinking when she asked Phillip if it was okay. She mainly didn’t want to be alone. She missed him when he was gone and having Claire was second best to having him. Of course, Harper gave her a look and questioned her motives, but all Reese could say was that she didn’t want to be alone. She had no clue what that meant, but it was the truth. Thankfully, Phillip was okay with it, and Claire was all about it. It worked out for all of them, so why analyze it? Phillip sure wasn’t, neither was Claire, so she wouldn’t either.

Leaning back in her seat, she threw a handful of popcorn in her mouth as they watched the boys warm up. Phillip skated with ease, doing wide circles around the goal, his hair moving in the wind he was causing, and Reese was finding it hard to remember how to chew popcorn. He was just too damn sexy. Heart stopping even, all decked out in his Assassins’ gear. He looked bigger, stronger, all padded up and on his skates. Reese found herself only watching him. Man, he was a sight to watch.

“God, he is sexy,” Claire said before sucking in a breath.

“Yeah, he is,” Reese agreed but then stopped and looked over at her. “Whoa, who are you talking about?”

Claire shot her a grin. “Number 59, Patrick Franklin.”

Reese found him quickly and couldn’t help but agree with Claire’s assessment. The boy was pretty, but he was a boy. Young and fresh with dark features and even darker eyes. “Yeah, he is cute.”

“I know, I almost slept with him a while back, but Phillip walked in on us and ruined my whole night.”

Reese paused mid-chew and glanced over at him. “How old is he?”

“Nineteen. I lied and said I was nineteen too, not my finest move. I was hell bent on ruining Phillip’s life back then. I still find him sexy, but I wouldn’t mess with him anymore. Hell, I don’t even mess with Brian except maybe a kiss here and there. I guess I grew out of all that junk.”

Reese reached out and squeezed Claire’s hand. “I’m proud of who you are growing into, Claire. I don’t know if I’ve told you that lately.”

Claire smiled as she shrugged shyly. “No, but thanks. I’m proud of who I am too.”

“Good,” Reese said with a nod. When she looked up, the guys were gone. “Hey, where did they go?”

“They are done warming up. Now we wait for the game to start,” Claire said, sipping her coke.

“Well, let’s hope for a win.”

“Oh, they’ll win. Then they’ll go into the playoffs with a great record and they’ll bring the cup home to Nashville again. Auntie Elli said after everything she’s been through with this team since she took over, they better deliver.”

Reese laughed. “Sounds like something she’d say.”

Claire smiled as they both sat back and snacked on the junk food they had gotten. The crowd was loud, and Reese was surprised since the game hadn’t even started yet. The usual chant of, ‘Let’s go Assassins, clap, clap, clap clap clap,’ was being sung by the over eighteen thousand fans. The whole arena was purple except for the speckle of blue since they were playing the St. Louis Blues. With the way the fans were acting without the guys being out, Reese could only imagine what it was going to be like once they hit the ice again.

When Blue took the ice, the crowd booed and Claire was right along with them, screaming that they sucked and they needed to go back home. It was quite comical watching her scream and stab her foam Assassins’ sword in the air towards them while Reese sat quietly with her foam sword tucked under her arm. She’d pull it out at the right time, despite the fact that she wasn’t sure when that was. When “Born to Rise” by Redlight Kings started blasting through the arena, the crowd lost it.

Reese sat wide-eyed as she watched everyone go nuts, swinging swords, pom poms, purple towels, and screaming their hearts out. This was honestly the loudest crowd Reese had ever seen. People were pounding on the glass, the chant getting louder as the jumbotron went from a premade video of the guys’ greatest plays to video coverage of the guys standing in the hall that led to the ice. That caused the noise level to go up a notch. Since everyone else was standing, Reese decided she would, too. The guys started making their way out on the ice, skating under two large hockey sticks that two tall, ninja-looking guys held. When Phillip hit the ice, his name vibrating through the loud speaker, Reese smiled at the joyful look on his face. He was eating this up. He always said that the crowd fueled him, and it was exciting to see him so pumped up.

Reese was surprised that the crowd went silent during the National Anthem but as soon as it was over, they went right back to being loud and proud, chanting for their team. Coach Baxter had to scream just so the guys heard him and when Phillip skated to the middle, ready for the puck to drop, Reese scooted to the edge of her seat, excited for the game to start. She loved hockey. She loved the high pace of it, and how at any second the players could drop their gloves and duke it out. There was something about two huge guys beating the snot out of each other that made Reese all giggly inside. It was hot, but it also worried her that someone could mess up Phillip’s gorgeous face or his new teeth, so she decided that she hoped there would be no fights with him involved.

But with only six minutes into the game and with the way the two teams were playing, it was obvious someone was going to fight. Both teams were being choppy, the Assassins wanting to come up with the win, and the Blues wanted to make sure that they didn’t get their new record. Reese wanted to scream for them to all play nice and hell, let the Assassins win, but she knew it would do no good and also make her look a little crazy. She watched the players skate back and forth, both taking their fair share of shots at the goal, but both coming up with goose eggs in the first period. During the intermission, she and Claire walked around and got more food before making it back to their seats for the second period.