This feels surreal.
I know Poppy wants to take it slow and I am more than happy to do that with her. All I want is a chance to see where this goes between us. I know she has her reservations but I need to show her that I meant every word I said, that I am worthy of her love and her time. She’s afraid of what will come in the future, but we can’t worry about that now. We have all the time in the world to get to where I want us to be.
Poppy has had a heavy week of classes and studying, but I’ve managed to get her to go to lunch with me every day so far. This week we’ve been swamped with practice in the evenings, on top of studying, so in a way it was better for our week to be spent in fleeting times together.
Soft kisses and light touching. Nothing too heavy or enough to make this go faster than she wants. The ball is in Poppy’s court and I’m following her lead when it comes to what she wants. The guys have been on my case about not spending time with the team like they’d like.
When it comes to those guys, we’re like family, like a brotherhood. So much of our time has been spent together, but there comes a time where I have to make time for other things in life, not just them. I tried explaining to Poppy that I can’t keep her hidden for long, especially when they know we’ve made things official.
They all want to meet the mother of the child the team is no doubt going to adopt as their own. Our little one is going to have plenty of uncles to go around and the thought alone makes my heart swell.
It’s the weekend, game time, and I feel jacked and ready to go. When I asked Poppy to come, she looked like she was going to burst at the seams with happiness. And it made my heart sing. I don’t like asking so much of her because I know it’s a big commitment on top of everything else going on in her life, but knowing that she’ll be in the stands watching is like another shot of adrenaline to my system.
Isla offered to drive her, since the game isn’t at our arena tonight, and I was thankful for that. The last thing I wanted was for Poppy to drive two hours to see me play, and it was a chance for her to spend time with my sister. She was more than happy to oblige, and Isla expressed how much she likes Poppy and wants to get to know her better.
Plus, according to Isla, Poppy is going to let her plan the gender reveal party.
The entire team got a hotel for the night, so none of us have to drive back, and Poppy agreed to stay with me. With it being a late game and long drive, it made the most sense. We’re heading home after we check-out of our room to have dinner at Poppy’s house with our parents. They wanted to come to the game tonight, but I didn’t want them to have to make the drive out here, since it was five hours away from their house.
They weren’t exactly happy about it, but understood where I was coming from. They agreed to stay home this weekend and would make sure to put in their travel plans to come to the first regional tournament game instead. We still have another month until those games start, but we’re starting to get more into a playoff mode with the way we’ve been playing.
I know I have their support, even if they’re watching our games from home. That’s enough for me. They’re two people who have been more supportive than a kid could ever want their parents to be and I’ll forever be grateful and in their debt for it. They’re already driving to Poppy’s parents’ tomorrow for dinner and that’s enough of a drive for them.
I can’t focus on that right now. I met Poppy’s mother in passing, but I want her to know that my intentions with her daughter are clear. And to finally meet her stepfather, who is more present in her life than her biological father. Poppy and Isla figured it would be best to have our parents come too, because that way both families can meet—and I need my parents to meet Poppy.
She’s too important to me for them to not know her.
I glance up at the stands once more, my eyes finding Poppy before I get into my stance for the face-off. My eyes meet my opponent’s and he cuts them at me for a moment before I drop my gaze back down to the ice, waiting for the puck to drop.
The ref drops it down between both of our sticks and it’s a fight to win the face-off. He slaps his stick against mine, trying to take the puck away from me, but I manage to work it away from him, slapping it back toward our defense. I lift my head, skating toward center ice as I look back and see Logan with the puck.
He skates with it for a few moments before sending it flying across the ice to Cam. He’s already anticipating Logan’s pass and stops the puck with the blade of his stick effortlessly. I skate forward as he stickhandles it, keeping it with him as he flies past the other team’s defense as they begin to come toward us on a mission.
This isn’t a playoff game, necessarily, but every game matters right now in the season. We’re already sitting in the first seat for the regional championship with the most points in the league, but that doesn’t mean every team isn’t trying to get their spot in the bracket too.
The team we’re playing has been one of our biggest contenders this year and they just so happen to be the team Logan has gotten into the most fights with. If we can keep him out of the penalty box tonight, that alone will be a win. It’s always beneficial to have an enforcer who likes to get shit done, but sometimes he takes things a little too far.
He’s the protector of our team and if any one of the opposing players does one of ours dirty, Logan is going to be coming for them and he’s not going to stop until he’s the last one standing on the ice.
Hayden skates toward the net and Cam lifts his head, looking for someone to pass the puck to. The other team’s defense is on me, knowing I play center so I would be the most likely candidate to pass to in an attempt to score a goal. Hayden’s open and Cam passes it to him before the other team gets the chance to interfere.
Their defense falls back, skating to defend the goal as their goalie gets into position. Hayden takes a shot, but it’s deflected by their goaltender, bouncing off his shin pads before it goes sliding back toward center ice. Spinning around, I start heading back down the ice and see Logan as he gets it when it comes into his zone.
He passes it over to Sterling just as someone calls shift change from the bench. My legs are already burning, my chest rising and falling in rapid succession. Cam and I skate toward the bench, hopping over the boards as Simon and Liam take our places, skating out into their positions.
Sitting on the bench, I squirt some water into my mouth, watching as the other team steals the puck and takes it down toward our net. Asher, our goalie, is already in place, his eyes following the puck like his life depends on it. They attempt to make a clear shot, but Logan blocks it before it gets to Asher. He slaps it back toward center ice, where Hayden is already skating toward, and he presses harder, taking the puck down the ice with him.
One of our other defenders calls shift change and Logan and Sterling come skating over to the bench as two more guys head out and take their places. Hayden should be coming back, but he’s practically open right now, skating like a fucking madman toward the net. He stickhandles the puck, faking out the goalie who drops down to the ice just as Hayden sends it flying into the top shelf.
We all jump to our feet as the horn blares throughout the arena and we’re all yelling, slapping our sticks on the boards. Hayden skates around, everyone tapping his helmet with their gloves or fist bumping him with the bulky covering on their hands. He skates over to the bench as one of our freshman players, Vaughn, hops the boards and skates out.
“Shit, I missed playing with you guys,” Hayden tells Logan and I as he squirts some water in his mouth. “You have no idea how good it feels to be back with you two.”
Logan laughs, bumping his shoulder against Hayden’s and I smile at him, nodding. It’s almost like old times and I didn’t realize how much I missed having him around. He’s definitely been an addition to our team that won’t do us wrong and I think our coach can see that, especially with this being his debut game on our team.
The game continues on and we all go through our various shift changes, effectively scoring one more goal before the period ends. The other team managed to sneak one past Asher and it was a bit of a dirty play that had Logan on edge.
We’re all sitting, catching our breaths as we wait for them to clean the ice before we go back out for the second period, and I see Logan staring at the floor in the locker room, his mind somewhere else. Things have been good with him and Isla and looking back now, I can make the connection that the problems between them is what really fueled his anger.
“Dude, you need to chill out,” I tell Logan as I make my way over to him. “It was a dirty play, but it wasn’t a dirty hit. Go out there with a clear head instead of trying to start shit.”
Hayden walks over on his skates, sitting on the bench across from us. “Logan still likes to fight, huh?”
Logan lifts his head, glancing between the two of us. “You know how I don’t like that shit. Seriously. Don’t fuck with our players or you’re going to get fucked with back.”
“Knight,” Cam interjects as he leans against the locker and pulls his helmet over his head. “We don’t need you in the penalty box again, okay? If it’s a dirty hit, I fully support you going after them. Let this one go, though, all right? We’re too close to the end of the season for this shit now.”
Logan sighs, rolling his eyes dramatically at all of us. “Fine, but if I agree to this, you’re all buying my beers tonight.”
“Deal,” Cam says, extending his hand to Logan, and they shake on it.
Our coach pops his head in, calling for all of us to head back out to the ice, and we all strap on our helmets and head back down the tunnel toward the ice. We’re all in a single file line and Hayden walks behind me, tapping on my shoulder as we get closer to the rink.
“I’d be willing to bet that Logan ends up fighting someone anyways.”
A sigh slips from my lips and I look back at him through the visor of my helmet. “Hopefully he doesn’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he does, anyways. He gets a little too protective sometimes and lets his anger get the best of him.”
Hayden shrugs as we all skate across the ice toward the bench. “He’s our brother, Whitley. You know how we all feel about family.”
I look at him as we hop the boards, a smile touching my lips. “You go to war for them…”
