When I wake up in the morning, Stella is snoring softly, her head nestled in the pillow she fell asleep on. I’m still naked when I climb out of bed and I’m instantly missing her warmth as I stare down at her sleeping form. She looks so peaceful and I just want to slide inside her mind and see what she’s dreaming of.
It’s early in the morning and she doesn’t have any solid plans for the day. The last thing I want to do is disturb her before I leave. She deserves to sleep, especially considering the fact that we didn’t do much of it while we were in bed together. We gave each other quite the workout and I feel exhausted.
Thinking about going for a full day of hockey camp already has my body screaming in protest. I slip into some fresh clothes, not bothering to shower before I go. There’s no sense, since I’m just going to get sweaty all over again. Plus, I can still smell the faint scent of her perfume on my skin and I want to fucking savor that smell for as long as I can.
I’m practically in a daze as I drive to the arena. After stopping to get a coffee and a pastry, it does nothing to help wake me up. I’m beginning to wonder if they gave me decaf by accident when I’m pulling into the parking lot. I find a spot and kill the engine before climbing out.
All of my stuff is already in the trunk, so I pull out my bag of equipment and grab my stick before closing the door. I made sure to slide a few Gatorades into my bag before we left Vermont. Probably not the best choice since they’ve been baking in my car from the hot summer sun, but oh well. When you’re skating your ass off and needing a drink, it doesn’t fucking matter.
They had already said that they would have food here and were going to feed us lunch and shit. So, I didn’t really need to worry about it, but I brought them just in case. You never know what you’re walking into until you’re actually there. And I’m not usually one for being overly prepared, but something made me feel compelled to do so before my first day.
I’m greeted by some of the other guys as I reach the locker room. I recognize a few players who are also from the States. We played them on whatever teams they played for through their college. I don’t have any problems with anyone I’ve ever played against, so it seems like everyone’s going to get along fairly well.
The program director enters the room and tells us all that we need to meet on the ice in fifteen minutes. So time is limited to get our stretches in after putting on all our gear, but that’s what we’re here for. The on-ice and off-ice practice will both come in handy. Not to mention the various skills we will learn and work on perfecting.
It’s all a part of the game and I’m in this for the long haul.
By the end of the day, I’m completely exhausted. Actually, that word doesn’t even come close to how I’m feeling right now. I feel like I could collapse, pass out, and sleep for a week. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a day like the one I just had. I knew these camps were intense—because I’ve attended them before—but holy shit.
This was only the first day. I can’t even begin to imagine how I’m going to feel after five consecutive days of this shit. Not to mention having an entire month of it, except for the weekends.
When I get back to the apartment, I unlock the door and slide inside, but I find it completely empty. I got a text from Stella while I was in the middle of skating that said she was going out to explore, but that was from around noon. I texted her back when I was leaving to tell her I was on my way home, but she never said anything.
And now the panic is consuming me again. I walk over to the bed, half expecting her to be napping again, but defeat floods me as I pull back the covers and see she isn’t there. Pulling out my phone, I quickly unlock it before tapping on her name to make a call. It begins to ring in my ear, and I hear it as it begins to vibrate from somewhere inside of the apartment.
What the hell?
She left and didn’t take her phone with her. She went to go walk around in an unfamiliar city with no goddamn plans. And now she isn’t here. How the hell am I going to find her? I don’t even know where to begin to look.
I run a hand through my dirty hair. I had the opportunity to shower at the rink, but wanted to get back to her. Even though I smell like that lovely hockey scent, I couldn’t get her off my mind and just wanted to see her. And I had every intention of showering as soon as I got home. But there’s no way in hell that even matters now. Not with Stella missing.
Spinning on my heel, I begin to move toward the front door of our apartment, when I see movement outside of the sliding glass doors—the ones that lead to our own private patio. There shouldn’t be anyone out there.
It doesn’t help with my anxiety and I’m suddenly on high alert. The panic is even worse than it was when I realized that Stella isn’t here. Now the thoughts of something absolutely horrible happening floods my mind and I’m suddenly marching directly to the door to find out just who the fuck is here.
My grip is tight on the handle as I slide open the door in a rush. It slams against the doorjamb and bounces back slightly as I step outside. Stella is facing away from me and she jumps, a gasp escaping her as she spins around to face me.
“Oh my god,” she breathes, her eyes wide. “You scared the shit out of me.”
Relief fills me, but it mixes with a little bit of irritation. “You’re the one who scared me. I didn’t think you were even here and was about to start a citywide search for you.”
She shrugs, batting her eyelashes at me with an innocent look on her face. “I’m sorry to worry you. I forgot my phone inside and wanted to come out here to relax until you were home.” She pauses for a moment, her nose scrunching up in disgust. “Oh my god, Simon. You stink.”
“You’re so sweet, you know that?” I tell her, winking as I brush off her comment. She isn’t wrong.
“And you’re foul,” she quips, laughing lightly. “Go get a shower and let’s get food somewhere. I’m starving.”
“Shit, we still need to go to the grocery store too.”
Stella smiles at me sweetly. “Already done. Although, I just guessed what you might eat, so I’m sorry in advance.”
I stare back at her and I can’t even begin to describe the emotions that flood me all at once. “You didn’t have to do that,” I tell her, my voice soft. “I was planning on going.”
She shrugs dismissively again, as if it’s nothing. “You were busy and I was out walking around. It seemed like a good time to do it.”
“How was your walk, anyways?” I question her.
Stella shakes her head at me and waves me away. “Nope. I’ll tell you all about it after you wash that stink away.”
“Come get in with me.”
Stella laughs. “Nice try, Simon. If you want to take a shower with me later, then consider it a deal. But right now, you need to wash that damn body before it comes anywhere close to me.”
I love her attitude and the way she doesn’t take my shit. I leave her out on the patio where she finds a seat at the table out there as I head back into the apartment. She made it clear she wasn’t getting into the shower with me now, but she did say she would later… and I’m fully looking forward to that.
But first, I’m taking her out and treating her like the damn queen she is.
