PUBLICLY HUMILIATED

GWENDOLY POV

I wished I'd never gone to the game arena.

Have you ever watched the man you love give another woman the one thing you've secretly wished he'd give you?

I was about to find out.

The city's hockey arena was filled to the brim with thousands of people, most of them there because of the man wearing number seventeen, who was playing as if his life depended on it.

And the reason half of the ladies in Kansas City suddenly became hockey fans. 

Bryn Walker. 

The Ice Wolves' star center

And my best friend of eight years. 

And, unfortunately for my sanity, the man I'd been secretly in love with for eight years.

Eight solid years.

I'd spent eight years convincing myself that loving Bryn from the sidelines was enough.

Eight years of patching up his split lips, taping his bruised ribs, arguing with him about resting injuries, and pretending I didn't notice the way my heart did stupid little flip or how my pulse went crazy whenever he smiled at me.

But that's what unrequited love did to you.

You learned to love your best friend, and eventually, you learned to keep your mouth shut.

The Bastro Stars regained possession.

One of their players charged toward the Ice Wolves' goal.

The crowd went silent as he drew closer.

I pushed my glasses up and then, I leaned forward.

"Come on..."

Bryn intercepted the puck.

He spun. Dodged one defender. Then another. Then he dribbled backward with such skill that the crowd erupted.

“LET'S GO, ICE WOLVES!”

Geez.

I wasn't leaving this arena with a bleeding ear tonight.

"Go, Bryn! I love you!"

A girl beside me screamed so loudly that I flinched.

I rolled my eyes, pushed my glasses farther up my nose, and turned back toward the rink just in time to see the puck being passed to Bryn.

He immediately headed for the goal.

The scoreboard flashed above the rink.

ICE WOLVES 5 — BASTRO STARS 4

Only a minute remained to decide which team would walk away with the preseason victory.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, gripping the edge as I watched Bryn move left, then cut sharply to the right.

He swung his stick.

WHACK!

The puck slammed into the back of the net.

The entire Kansas City arena exploded.

I shot to my feet with everyone around me, screaming.

Blue-and-white jerseys filled the stands.

Towels whipped through the air, and the deafening roar of thousands of fans shook the walls of the arena.

I didn't care about bleeding my ears out anymore.

“YES!”

My voice disappeared beneath thousands of others, but I didn't care.

Bryn lifted his stick toward the crowd, and somehow, the screaming got even louder.

"BRYN! BRYN! BRYN!"

They were chanting his name.

He'd scored twice tonight and assisted on two more goals. He'd practically dragged the Ice Wolves to victory against the Bastro Stars.

Which meant more sponsorship deals.

More media coverage and certainly more attention.

Exactly what a star player needed going into the regular season.

The final buzzer sounded, and the arena erupted again.

Players slammed into one another. Gloves flew into the air, and the Ice Wolves crowd went wild.

And the man responsible for the final goal skated toward center ice with a grin that could make half the women in the arena forget how to breathe.

I smiled.

That shithead was going to brag about this for months until my ears bled.

I grabbed my purse and stood, already preparing to make my way downstairs to congratulate him.

I was halfway down the stairs when I saw him skate toward the stands with that familiar crooked smile.

Oh, no. Was he coming for me?

My heart stumbled.

I tried not to wipe my sweaty palm against my faded jeans.

But then he skated past me and stopped in front of a blonde-haired girl wearing a familiar jacket.

She stood.

Of course It was that bitch.

Eve Rodgers.

His girlfriend of four years.

God! It was exhausting pretending I didn't hate her.

She'd strung him along for fucking four years.

The giant screen above the rink suddenly changed, and Bryn's face appeared.

I stared at the screen along with everyone else.

Then he dropped his stick, and dropped to one knee.

My stomach dropped.

He reached behind himself and pulled out a small black box.

Wait. What is he doing?

"Oh, my God. He's proposing.”

The woman beside me screamed as the giant screen zoomed in on them.

Phones shot into the air, camera flashes went off rapidly.

Bryn opened the ring box.

My heart raced.

I watched his mouth move.

I couldn't hear anything even with the thousands of people screaming around me.

But I didn't need to hear him.

I knew exactly what he was asking.

Will you marry me?

The crowd erupted

"Say yes!"

"Say yes!"

The giant screen showed Eve's stunned face.

She looked like she'd rather disappear right there.

She stared at Bryn. Then at the ring.

Her expression changed, then she shook her head.

The screaming died instantly.

It was as if someone had ripped the sound out of the entire arena.

Bryn's smile disappeared.

He said something to her.

Maybe he was trying to persuade her.

Eve took another step back.

Then she shook her head again. And turned to leave.

Bryn stood up and he reached for her.

Eve spun around and her hand moved.

Smack!

The sound echoed through the arena.

Bryn's head snapped to the side.

He slowly brought a hand to his cheek.

The entire arena stared.

Eve turned and ran through the tunnel.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Nobody said a word. Then the whispers began.

"Oh, my God."

"She just rejected Bryn Walker!"

"I can't believe she rejected the golden boy."

"Did she seriously just slap him?"

The giant screen was still showing everything.

Every second. Every humiliating detail.

Bryn stood there for another moment, his jaw clenched.

Then he ripped off his gloves, and he slammed his hockey gear onto the ice.

CRACK!

The sound made several people jump.

He stormed off the rink and disappeared into the tunnel.

His teammates and coach stood frozen behind the boards, unsure of what to do.

The team's victory had turned sour in less than a minute.

Slowly, people began filing out of the arena, everyone talking about what had just happened.

I hurriedly pushed past the bodies as I made my way toward the team's locker room

I needed to see Bryn before he did something stupid.

And judging from tonight's proposal stunt...

This wasn't over yet.