It was game one in the second round between the Iceland Vikings and USA Ducks.
And already the crowd was into it. This time Julie was on the ice with her team, roughing up her crease with her skates while the rest of the starting line skated around. The week leading up to this game had been hellish yet beautiful. Julie's relationship with Gunnar went from rocky to experiencing a new depth of closeness that left no doubt to either of them of their love.
She really didn't think anyone or anything could get in their way, she had felt so confident that she even told her parents about him. Of course they had ranted and screamed at her and poor Coach Bombay had to hear from them too. After assuring them that he was a respectful boy they seemed to calm down a little. Some of the things they said were a little embarrassing but she put it down to them actually caring about her.
Averman was skating on his ankle and should be ready in a few days to come back to the team. Goldberg had been doing better in their practices but he was a goalie not a defensemen. So the news about Les went over well in the locker room.
Julie let out a deep breath to steady her nerves and bring her concentration to a single point. Adam led the Ducks to the face-off circle where he came face to face with Gunnar. This was it, the start of the second round and the winner of the series would have a chance to win the tournament.
The puck dropped and it was Stahl that won the draw and quickly snapped a pass over to Sanderson. The dangerous duo entered the Ducks zone and Julie eyed them with every caution. Olaf fired the first shot but hit the outside netting, Charlie recovered and sent the puck up to Guy who led the rush with Adam pass the Viking's blue line.
Back and forth went the game with both teams getting great chances. If the first period was anything to go by, this was turning out to be a goaltender's duel. Or at least, that was before Robertson displayed his skilled puck-handling maneuvers and roofed a shot in the top corner of Iceland's net bringing the Ducks up 1-0.
In the second period the Vikings came out with gun's blazing. Julie always did prefer it when she had more action in front of her net than just standing by and waiting for something to happen. The constant movement kept her focus sharp and attention on all the subtle movements of rival players to indicate their next move. Both Olaf and Gunnar had teased her a few times while waiting for a face-off. The Cat simply smiled and readied her position. Gunnar was definitely the most dangerous player but she and the Ducks defense were managing to keep his attempts from hitting the back of the net a success.
What they couldn't keep from happening was Gunnar's constant body checks; he threw his everything when it came to lining up Portman. The hits were legal of course, but it was the fact that Gunnar seemed to dodge every one of the bash brother's attempts to return the favor that really was getting under the Duck enforcer's skin. It was a little amusing. Dean would go in for the hit and Gunnar would maneuver himself out of the way at the last second or turn things around so that Portman felt the majority of the check.
In the middle of the third period Connie managed to sneak a quick back-hand for a goal and brought the Ducks up 2-0. Once Iceland was down by two goals the whole game shifted with the Vikings taking complete control of every aspect on the ice. Except when it came to getting the puck pass Julie The Cat. She was in top form and feeling great, she loved the adrenaline that seemed to make her move faster than usual.
With the clock winding down, Gunnar snapped a deadly accurate slap shot from the point but Julie made the save with her blocker. The rebound slid to Sanderson who circled the net and faked a shot. Julie barely recognized that he was making the pass to Stahl and had to dive to the ice in a last ditch effort. Gunnar basically had a wide open net and didn't hesitate to lift the puck up high over her stick for the goal. So imagine his surprise when Julie caught the puck with the very tip of her glove and covered it to stop the play.
Olaf blinked as he and everyone else in the arena knew that should have been their goal. Gunnar shook his head in disbelief before sending her a charming smile and prepared to take the last face-off. Amssalik fired off a shot from the blue-line which hit Goldberg as the buzzer went off to end game one of the series.
The Ducks rushed to their star goaltender and surrounded her during their celebration. No one could believe they managed to actually shut-out Iceland, Julie was definitely the star of the game. A few of the Vikings remained behind and skated with the Ducks off the ice to congratulate their friends for a good game.
Gunnar placed his hand on his girl's shoulder while still on the ice and removed his helmet, "They should send in a man to do a woman's job."
She grinned up at him and hit his stomach lightly with her blocker, "And I didn't even break a nail, imagine that."
He laughed with her and shook his head again as they stepped off the ice. Gunnar then stopped her with his stick and leaned in to kiss her, "You robbed me of a goal, you owe me."
Julie raised a brow, "Is that right?"
Gunnar nodded slowly, "Yah and I have a few ideas for you to pay up," his lips stole over hers again, "this is a good start."
She giggled as he kissed her again and again. A flash went off that caught both of their attention as quite a few reporters were closing in on them. They turned to stare at each other with wide eyes before he blocked her from view and warded off the multiple questions being thrown their way. Some of them were very personal that Gunnar refused to answer. Coach Stanssen and Bombay made quick work to make their way through to their star players and warded off the questions and eventually forced the reporters to leave. Both coaches turned disappointed gazes onto their players.
Stanssen crossed his arms but addressed the outstanding goaltender first, "Good work tonight lady Duck," she nodded nervously as Wolf eyed his team's captain, "Gunnar we have practice now, go join your team."
Gunnar nodded half expecting an impromptu practice after being shut-out. He turned and almost kissed her on the cheek but decided against it, so he sent her a smirk instead and left for the Vikings locker room. Stanssen followed suit after sending a brief nod towards the two Ducks.
Bombay sighed as he led Julie to their own locker room where everyone started yelling out happily at the sight of their Cat. Gordon couldn't deny how well she played and it was clear that Gunnar and his team did all they could, they just couldn't figure Julie out.
Connie and Julie were watching movies in their room and talking about the game and all that happened. The topic moved onto boys and Cat listened while her friend admitted that she let Guy kiss her the day before. Connie went on to say that while she did have some feelings for him still, it wasn't the same after the way things ended before.
It was pretty late when a knock came to their door and Connie let Gunnar and Olaf in the room, "Hi guys, are you just getting back from practice?"
Olaf sighed, "Yah, but we brought gifts for you."
Connie smiled and closed the door behind them. Gunnar placed two bowls on top of a nightstand and immediately fell backwards onto Julie's bed, bringing her down with him to cuddle up for a moment.
Sanderson stared over at them then shrugged and took a seat beside Connie on her own bed, "Ice cream," he muttered tiredly and handed her a bowl of the frozen treat, "here you go."
"Yum, thanks Olaf," she frowned when he simply nodded, it was pretty clear both boys were downright exhausted, "practice must have been brutal, especially right after a game."
"I don't want to think about how many sprints we did," Olaf yawned and stretched out his shoulders, "its worse for Larson, coach worked him hard for letting those two goals in."
"Why?" Julie asked then sat up and reached for her frozen treat and gave Gunnar the other. Her boyfriend managed to sit up but was leaning against her shoulder tiredly. Julie bit her bottom lip as she eyed him before continuing, "You guys played really well."
Gunnar eyed her and sent his lovely girlfriend a slow smirk, "The why is because of you."
Connie laughed as Julie began to flush prettily, "You were a rock star tonight Cat."
"That's why we brought you ladies a treat," Olaf spoke to both girls, "for playing well and hope you remember our kindness in our next game."
The girls giggled at their antics. Julie turned on the television and they all decided to watch the rest of a local baseball game that was running into extra innings. It was fairly quiet in the room as they finished off their ice cream and watched the game.
Julie stood and collected their bowls and threw them out. She went back to Gunnar and made him lay on his stomach facing the tv so she could rub his back. A moan of approval immediately left his throat when her hands moved under his shirt and began to work on his aching muscles. She paused for a moment when he lifted up on his elbows and simply pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it somewhere on the floor. She shook her head and started on his shoulders and worked her way down.
Connie noticed Olaf occasionally glancing towards his team captain receiving a relaxing massage from his girlfriend. It was maybe a little awkward at first but the two were pretty used to their friends open display of affection, besides it was just a back rub, they'd seen much worse than this. She watched the tall handsome Icelandic power forward look towards their friends again and made a quick decision.
Turning to face him she quietly asked, "Want me to rub your shoulders?"
Olaf stared at her flushed cheeks and held back a smile, "You don't have to."
"Come here," she crossed her legs and ushered him to sit in front of her. She could feel just how incredibly tense his muscles were with her hands, something raced through her veins when she felt him begin to relax under her palms.
"Connie," the Viking whispered out her name.
She smiled and continued to work on him, "Maybe you should take off your shirt."
Olaf paused for a moment at her words but eventually pulled the cloth over his head. This certainly wasn't the first time she seen him topless but this felt so different. Her eyes could take the time and admire the finely tuned muscles that came to life beneath her finger tips. She noticed he lowered his head and barely caught the sound of a slight groan at her work.
Julie and Connie silently worked on the exhausted players from Iceland for over an hour at least. Gunnar had fallen asleep a while ago when Julie had her hands in his hair and rubbing at his scalp. It was apparent that Olaf was close to losing the battle to keep awake as Connie realized he was leaning further and further back against her.
Connie began to panic as this was a little more than she had bargained for. Her eyes glanced towards her roommate and saw Julie had lay down beside Gunnar but was still awake as her hand was rubbing circles along the small of his back. Quietly Connie moved a little and nudged Olaf to the side, which he did, but was already asleep as soon as his head hit one of the pillows on her bed.
She didn't know what to do and Julie's hand had stopped all movement. Apparently Gunnar had shifted and pulled her into his arms in his sleep. While they were really adorable together, Connie wasn't sure if she should let this happen. Her eyes looked down at the sleeping giant beside her. Olaf looked so peaceful with his eyes closed and his breathing smooth and even. She liked him, she knew that much, but letting him sleep in her bed was a bit much. She groaned because she really didn't want to wake them up. Gunnar and Julie were so cute and surely nothing would happen if she kept Olaf in her bed…right?