Mia
I've never seen so many people in my life.
I swear to God. My mom took us to concerts when we were little, but this? This is fucking insane. There are people everywhere.
The Isobel Cup brought twenty thousand people at the Roger Arena as we wait for the final game of the season. Luna's team is playing against Seattle Devils? Something like that.
My parents, Theo, Aurora, Summer, Luna's dad and his friends, and even Julian are here with me, waiting for the game. So many fucking paparazzis everywhere taking pictures from every angle but I couldn't care less, I'm used to it by now.
Summer, Aurora and I are wearing Luna's jersey, her last name on our backs. My girlfriend insisted on the girls wearing also a cap and heart-shaped sunglasses to keep them more hidden in the future pictures. Of course, I said yes because we need to protect Summer more than anything now that we're trying to adopt her.
It's been more than a month since Luna talked with Madison about the process to adopt Summer, she was more than happy to hear that and told us it was possible but we have a long way ahead of us and we told her we were all in. We've been into the pre service training for six weeks and we still have six more to go. It's a long fucking process but Madison trusts us enough to let us spend time with Summer– a lot of it, actually.
So, when we asked her if we could take her to Luna's game she said yes but we should be careful with the pictures. So here my girl is, with pink heart-shaped sunglasses, a red and white jersey, a cap the same color, pink jeans that she wanted it so I bought for her, sitting in my lap. First row seats, my whole family around us, all of them chatting, eating and drinking, having the time of their lives as we wait for the game to start.
I can feel all the phones on us, all the people talking about us but Luna taught me to ignore them and I'm pretty good at it.
Aurora, on the other hand, not so much.
She actually talks back to the paparazzis and I think she learned that from Luna, I should care that she's talking like that to strangers but I don't. They're taking our pictures without permission, why should my daughter be nice to them?
"Indy!" Aurora screams with a sweet voice, Summer turns around and they both smile when they see their friend.
Aurora stands up and goes to her wrapping her arms around her like they haven't seen each other in years– it's been two hours.
Cameras go off capturing their hug and the screen above us show the girls, too.
"Rory's on the screen." Summer whispers fixing her glasses.
I leave a kiss in her cheek, making her smile. "Are you hungry, Sunny?" I ask, she had pizza just a few minutes ago but she didn't eat much.
We're also getting close to her bedtime but she's full of energy and I'm sure she's not going to fall asleep yet.
"No, I'm good." she says looking at the ice rink. "When are we seeing Luna?"
I look at the time. 6:45pm. The game starts at 7. "Soon." I say and I look for the earplugs on my purse. "Rory, baby! Come here." I call her, she turns around and gets closer to me after saying saying goodbye to Indy. She's actually sitting next to her but they're dramatic like that.
"Earplugs time?" she wrinkles her nose and I nod with a smile.
I put them in her ears and once she's good, I let her go with her friends again. It's a good thing we have the first few rows just for families and friends, Aurora is safe here.
"Okay, Sunny. Your turn." I say taking the new pair of earplugs.
"What's that?" she frowns and pulls back when I try to get the earplug closer to her.
I lift it and show it to her. "This is going to protect your little ears, baby. It's going to get really loud here, can I put them in?"
She looks at me and then at Aurora, probably to see if she's acting normal and nothing changed. She is. Summer's brown eyes find mine and she nods. "Okay."
Just as predicted, the stadium roars as the music starts and the announcer comes over the speakers and starts introducing every player as they step inside the ice. My family cheers for every one, not having a fucking clue about what's happening and I hear Aurora saying "No! don't clap for them!" when they cheer for the rivals team.
Summer is also having the time of her life in my lap, raising her head and looking everywhere as she searches for Luna.
I spot her almost immediately when they start introducing her team, starting with Lucy Scott.
Her green eyes find mine across the fucking stadium and I feel my heart racing. This is the fucking final, she's here to take a trophy home, she was so nervous before coming here, I had to give her a pep talk at least five times today.
"I love you." I mouth to her, doubting she can read my lips but she knows. I know she does.
"And finally, ladies and gentlemen our greatest legacy, best female player in the country! Number thirteen.... Luuuunaa Benneeett!!"
I don't know who stands up first, maybe we all do at the same time but we do. I jump in my seat with Summer in my arms, Aurora at my side and our screams mix with other twenty thousand people as we see Luna stepping into the ice, raising her stick in the air and looking straight to us. Her family.
She points at us with her stick and Aurora goes crazy. "Mama! Mama!" she jumps, her fists connecting with the glass separating us. "Mama! We love you! Good luck!"
"We love you!" Summer says, also smacking her hands against it and I see Luna skating over to us, stopping when she's on the other side.
She takes off her helmet and the people go crazy.
It's me. I'm the people.
"I love you." I say loud enough for her to hear. "Go take your win."
She smiles at us, her eyes dancing between the three of us. "I already won, honey." she puts her glove on the ice and as always, Aurora puts her hand on the other side. "I love you."
"Sunny, put your hand next to mine." Aurora says and Summer does as she's told.
I hear the clicking of the cameras and I'm ready to pay millions of dollars for that picture but Theo's also taking it, thank God because I don't have millions of dollars. "We love you, score a goal for us?"
"I will." she promises and she looks next to me to say hello to my family. "Enjoy the game." she smiles at my mom.
"We love you, mama!" Aurora screams as she sees Luna skating away from us, getting ready for the most important game of her life.
The referee's whistle echoes around the stadium ten minutes later and Luna is already with her mind on the game. Ready to win, ready to give everything in her, for her and her teammates.
Being a hockey girlfriend is so exciting. I can't stop smiling and screaming and jumping, I feel like my heart is trying to leave my chest as I see her skating so fucking fast I lose sight of her every two seconds.
I'm so focused on the game that Aurora's giggles forces me to look at her. She's sitting on Julian's lap who's right next to me and Julian's frowning like he's hurt. "She's faster than you." she shrugs. "It's just a fact."
"You can't know that, little devil." he tickles her neck. "You haven't been in any of my games yet."
"Uncle Theo said so." she shrugs again and I hear Julian gasping so fucking hard it makes me laugh.
His eyes widen as he looks at my brother. "What?!"
Theo laughs nervously. "Oh, you know. Kids and their stories." he leaves a kiss in his cheek. "I would never say that."
"He totally would." my dad says, if looks could kill....
Theo sighs. "Well! It was actually before I went to your games, obviously you're faster than her." he rolls his eyes.
Julian fake cries. "It's too late, you don't even love me anymore."
Aurora panics. "He loves you! I was kidding! I promise! He didn't say that but I did 'cause it's true truth–
"You're not helping, baby."
She ignores me. "And the truth sometimes hurts. But you're fine, you've won like thirty trophies."
"Exactly!" he says, clapping his hand together. "I'm not fine. I'm great. Suck it, Theo."
My brother opens his mouth ready to answer but– "Don't you dare." I stop him and he pouts. "There are little ears around us."
"And don't forget your parents, please." mom says making us laugh.
Suddenly there's an echo of groans around us and we all turn our heads to the ice. The other team just scored. Fuck.
My eyes immediately find Luna who's skating with her head up, with confidence but I know her better than anyone, she's starting to worry and when she does, she's going to play even harder than before and it's not going to be pretty to watch. She skates to the middle of the ice ready for faceoff, facing the other's team captain.
"It's okay, she's got this." I murmur to one in particular but I see Julian nodding from the corner of my eye.
•••
They don't have this.
We're in the middle of the fifteen minute break between the second and third period and Seattle Devils are winning 2 to nothing, one of them being from a penalty which the girls were furious about. Lucy Scott smashed another player right into the board giving them a penalty and putting the game 2 - 0.
I can't hear what they're saying but I can see Luna speaking to her teammates, which are all nodding as they listen carefully. They don't have smiles on their faces anymore, they're so fucking serious it's intimidating.
Summer is falling asleep in my arms, the earplugs helping reduce the sounds around her and I'm glad for that, everything is so loud. The fans seem to cheer louder when their team is losing. Theo is already having his second beer, Julian's only drinking water because he's driving, mom and dad are cheering for Luna like she was their daughter and Aurora... Aurora is just one of the fans behind us. She's insane, screaming at the players, the referee, the fucking universe. My family and Luna's dad are having the time of their lives with my little girl.
Five minutes before the game starts, a woman comes up to us. "Mrs. Bennett?" I choke as everyone laughs at me, and cheer for what she just said to me, she doesn't seem to notice. "Luna would like to see you before the third period, would you follow me, please?"
I look around at my family and then at her. "Me?" she nods and I look down at Summer who's falling asleep.
"I can take her." Theo says ready for me to pass him my girl.
Summer immediately tenses and shakes her head, looking up to me saying she doesn't want to leave me. "No, it's okay. I'll take her with me." she relaxes. "Rory, can you wait here? I'll be right back."
"Yes." my daughter says. "Tell mama I love her."
I nod as I follow the woman with strawberry blonde hair, I hear fans screaming around me probably recognizing me but I keep my head down while protecting Summer from all the noises and people.
She makes us walk through the tunnel and I can see all of the people here. Both team players, their coaches, reporters, every-fucking-one is here and all the eyes are on us.
Summer hides her face in my neck and I quickly spot Luna in one of the corners, I can feel the cold from the ice, hear the crowd close to us but I can only focus on her.
I say hi to all her teammates, their faces not so friendly and I can just imagine what they're going through. "Hey." I say stopping in front of my girlfriend, who's so much taller than me in her skates, I have to look up to find her eyes. "Are you okay?"
Luna is sweating, her hair is a mess, her eyes are red, she sits on a bench and leaves a soft kiss in Summer's hair. "I just needed to see you." she says.
I grab her hand and sit next to her, feeling the warm of her gear. "Luna, look at me." her green eyes find mine, Summer rests her head in my arms like a newborn. "I know you care about this game and you want to win this for you, for your teammates and maybe even for Lauren, but– don't put too much pressure on you, okay? You're giving them your best and no matter what happens out there we're all so proud of you." I rest my free hand in her warm cheek and her eyes soften. "I'm so proud of you and we love you so much, you've got this, Lu. You're Luna fucking Bennett, best hockey player in the country, you can do this. No one is going to be disappointed in you if your team losses, we love you, we're here for you, not a trophy."
Luna nods and leans in to kiss me. "I love you."
I smile at her. "I love you, too. I'm proud of you."
"Even if I lose?"
I grin. "You've already won, remember?"
She looks at the little girl who can't sleep in my arms and smiles. "Yeah, I did."
Summer opens her brown eyes, looking right at us, my littlest girl feeling safe in my arms, warming up my heart. "I love you, Luna." she whispers. "Huwry up 'cause I'm sleepy."
Luna lets out a small chuckle. "I love you, too, sunshine."
We hear her coach calling her and she leaves a soft kiss on my lips, kisses Summer on her forehead and puts her helmet on before saying goodbye to us. "I love you!" I scream as I watch her leave the tunnel and go right into the ice.
Blonde woman comes up to me after everyone is gone and takes me to my seat again.
Luna is warming up in the ice and talking to her teammates again.
"What'd she want?" Julian whispers as I sit next to him again. I can see Aurora talking with my parents.
"She said she wanted to see me." I shrug. "I gave her a pep talk."
Julian hums. "Cup games are the worst, it's so much pressure and even more if you have your whole family here. I know what she's feeling, but I'm sure they're turning it around. They can do it."
And he's right.
They have twenty minutes to turn around the game but they do it in fifteen.
My heart is racing in my chest and I couldn't hold Summer any longer so now she's asleep in her white stroller in front of me, without a care about what's happening around her.
Luna's teammate– Anna Baker, as the announcer said, scored a goal in the first five minutes, I swear to God, I felt the stadium vibrate.
And eight minutes later, Luna Bennett tied the game. I'm going to explode from happiness in any moment, they need just one more goal and the cup is theirs. Just one more.
The other team looks pissed and they slam the girls into the boards with so hard it hurts to watch.
"Oh, my God. She's gonna do it." I hear her dad saying.
"C'mon, Luna. C'mon." Theo.
The entire crowd suck in a breath as they all fucking stand on their feet.
My heart's in my throat as I watch Luna slip by one player, then twirl around another one. I'm gripping Theo's hand so hard I think he might pass out. Luna looks around her so fucking fast if you're not paying attention you'd probably miss it, she's looking for an opening but she has three women in front of her trying to take the puck from her. She doesn't let them.
She twirls around them like she's on fucking ballet and gets closer to the goalie.
Nobody makes a sound. Nobody breathes.
15 seconds and the game is over.
Luna skates even faster, all her teammates screaming for her to keep going.
She can do this.
She can.
The sound of her stick hitting the puck is echoing the stadium.
10 seconds.
She turns around, suddenly skating backwards after she notices a rival ready to smash her into the boards. Again, she doesn't let them.
She lifts the puck off the ice with her stick, turns right, left and makes the puck fly around right over the goalie's glove.
1 second.
They won.
The arena erupts in screams. All of us are crying as I see all of Luna's teammates throwing themselves on top of her celebrating their win. Everyone is crying, hugging, cheering, laughing as we celebrate. Aurora is also crying and she asks me to lift her up so I do, she's laughing as I jump with her in my arms.
Summer doesn't even move from the stroller it's actually impressive, my ears ring from all the screams.
"I love you, Luna!" I can't help but scream. "I love you so fucking much!" she's now crying, too. Her teammates helping her stand on her feet.
The other team are sitting on the ice, with their heads low as I see them roll the carpet. Both teams line up and shake hands. My heart is trying really hard to leave my body.
The Isobel Cup is carried out by men and placed down on a table in the middle of the rink. I see Luna's face lighting up and then she looks at me. She looks so happy.
They present a few trophies for both teams and twenty minutes later, Luna's team is left alone on the ice ready to receive that shiny silver cup they played so hard for.
The cup is the captain's to hold first and they call Luna but she shakes her head and calls Lauren who's three months pregnant now, Lauren is wearing her jersey, her husband and Lucas standing next to her on the ice.
Lauren also shakes her head and laughter fills the stadium. My girlfriend's friend murmurs something in her ear and then their eyes find mine across the ice.
Luna gestures for me and I feel myself blushing. The screen splitting in two focusing on Luna and us. She wants us on the ice with her for this moment, oh my God.
I force myself to lift Summer who opens her sleepy eyes but doesn't complain, quickly realizing what's happening and we walk to the tunnel again, Luna is waiting for us at the end of it.
"Congratulations, my love." I whisper once we're front of her. Aurora holding my hands and our littlest one in my arms.
My daughter quickly jumps into Luna's arms. "You've won!" she giggles.
Luna wrinkles her nose and puts her fingertips on my cheek, cleaning away my tears. "Come with me."
And we do. We step into the ice with her, so cold but so hot at the same time and suddenly we're standing in the middle of an ice rink, with twenty thousand eyes on us.
Lauren stands next to Luna with her boy in her arms. Luna with her girl in hers, and they both lift that cup above their heads screaming and the crowd echoes them with the same happiness.
Luna's not looking at the cup anymore. Her eyes are on me and she mouths. "Thank you."
I give her my best smile, feeling so happy for her, so complete as our little family stands right here with her, her dreams coming true and she's not alone. She's with us. "I love you." I say just for her.
"I'm so proud of you, mama!" our girl screams, touching that silver cup with her little hands. "My mommy won a trophy!!" she yells at everyone, the camera catching it on screen.
Luna and Lauren put the cup down for her teammates and she kisses me. Right there. With both our girls in our arms, with twenty thousand people screaming back at us.
"Thank you." she repeats.
And the four of us fall into a family hug while her teammates celebrate their win.