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more shots.
         She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then skated up to the fourth puck and took off. No more straight shots, they were too easy for Alec. Instead she skated back and forth, cutting side to side, hoping she could at least catch him off guard enough to...
         One last deep breath and she lunged forward with her stick, hitting the puck with all the strength she could muster to send it flying. She lost her balance at the last minute and fell with a jaw-snapping thud, sliding toward the net on her back at break-neck speed.
         For as fast as she was going, everything else moved in slow motion. AJ's eyes followed the puck as it flew through the air, straight toward the back of the net. Alec's catching hand reached out for it, barely tipping the edge of the puck as it sped past him, his eyes focused more on her. She kept sliding toward him, unable to stop and not really caring as the puck hit the back of the net with a soft whoosh.
         AJ would have jumped for joy if she hadn't still been sliding. The puck made it past Alec! She won!
         Her enjoyment only lasted a brief second before she careened into Alec's legs, sending him tumbling across her lower body as they both crashed into the net. A flash of pain throbbed through AJ's back and shoulder as she slammed against the outside post but she ignored it.
         "Yes! Yes!" Her voice was muffled but she didn't care—she wasn't yelling for anyone else but herself.
         "Holy shit, are you okay? AJ? Are you hurt?" Alec clambered from on top of her, sliding toward her head on his knees. His helmet and gloves were gone and his brown eyes were wide with concern. AJ waved off his worry, still flat on her back, and lifted her stick in a little victory shake.
         "I did it! I actually did it!"
         "Never mind that, are you hurt?"
         More voices surrounded her, the words jumbled so she could only make out a few here and there. AJ started to push herself up then winced slightly at the pain in her left arm and fell back to the ice. Instantly Alec was beside her again, his strong arms coming around her as he helped her stand, then steadying her as she wobbled slightly on the skates.
         Her breath caught in her throat at the look in his eyes and she quickly stepped backward, almost sending them both back down to the ice. His hold tightened around her and for that quick moment, it was just the two of them on the ice by themselves.
         AJ swallowed then allowed herself a quick smile, not knowing exactly what the look on Alec's face meant. There was a very real possibility that he wouldn't be pleased with the fact that she had actually managed to score. And she knew he couldn't be pleased with the prospect of having to give her an interview.
         Alec's hand reached toward her, and she braced herself for some scathing or sarcastic remark. Instead, he just continued looking at her with those dark eyes as he gently removed the helmet from her head. AJ ignored the throbbing at the base of her skull and held her breath as Alec brushed her sweat-soaked hair off her forehead. The air around her grew suddenly warmer and she was almost afraid to move, let alone say anything. But the silence worried her, and she decided it would be better to just get everything over with now while she could still stand.
         "So does this mean I won?"
         A few long seconds went by before Alec finally gave her a brief smile.
         "Yeah, you won."
         "Cool, because I think I'm going to collapse now."
     
    **
     
         AJ pulled the towel off her head and shook out her wet hair, only half-heartedly finger-combing it before turning her attention to the bruise that spread up the back of her arm to her shoulder. An ugly combination of dark blue and purple, it ran along the back and side of her arm from her shoulder to just above her elbow. It was almost the exact shape of the goal post and hurt like