The Pucking Girl Next Door (Power Play Off The Ice: Snowed in for the Hoildays)

18. Smith

Chapter 18

Smith

L acing up my skates for tonight's game, I still can't believe it's been two weeks since I've heard from Annabelle. I've tried calling her a few times hoping that I could convince her that we could make it work between us, that I would be willing to go as fast or as slow as she would like, but I guess she meant what she said.

A large hand slaps down on my shoulder, and I look up to see Steve. "Perk up man. It's the first game of the new year."

"I'm ready, man," I say standing up from the locker room bench. I don't comment on anything else because at this moment, I can't really muster up anymore energy.

We all start to shuffle out the locker room to hit the ice. "Everything will work out. Believe me." Steve says to me right before he takes off on the ice, warming up for the game. I follow him as I skate around.

Our warmup goes by fast while I keep my head down and work on my shots with our goalie John. When the buzzer goes off, I head to the team bench and have a seat as all the beginning game stuff happens, but I don't pay attention. Any time my mind isn't on hockey it automatically drifts to the life I could've had with Annabelle, torturing myself with visions of what it’d be like.

Just as quickly as warmups go by, the first period flies by too. Thankfully, when I'm on the ice, I'm able to focus on the game. It’s nice that my heartbreak hasn't seemed to take my other love away from me. The hype of the crowd is getting louder and louder, mostly because we seem to be winning.

It's the third period when I return to the ice. The tension between us, the Dallas Blades and the opposing team, the Seattle Revenges, is at an ultimate high. We're trying to keep our lead, with them struggling to make a few more goals. The adrenaline in my body is thrumming when Steve sends me the puck and I start to take it down the ice, getting ready to line up my shot when suddenly a brick wall hits me.

"Fuck!" I shout as I lose my balance from the hit and land on the ice. I'm on my back looking up, the defenseman who barreled into me is grinning as he looks down at me. My teammate Devin comes over and pushes the defenseman out of the way before putting his hand out to help me. When I get up off the ice, black dots start to pepper my vision, and I feel dizzy. Oh shit that's not good. I must've hit my head harder than I thought.

"Hey coach, we need a trainer over here," Devin calls out as he helps me over to the players bench. Before I can plop down on the bench, one of the trainers comes over to me. "How are you feeling? You took a big hit out there."

"I'm a little dizzy," I tell the trainer.

"Okay, lets get you back to the locker room and check you out."

I just nod. As the trainer helps me get back to the locker room, my body sways a little and I seem to need more help than usual. After a few minutes I'm sitting in the team medical room while the doctor comes in to check me. Using a flashlight to check my pupils and a few other tests he looks at me with a slight frown, "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Give it to me straight, doc."

"Well, the bad news is that you have a concussion. The good news is that it's a mild one, so you'll only be out of practice for a few days and won't miss a game."

"That's great," I say showing no emotion. Even though I love hockey, when I'm not on the ice, I just feel empty. The only time I felt complete was those two nights I spent with her .

The medical team leaves the room allowing me to rest. Before turning the lights out the doctor turns back to me. "I'll be back in a few to check on you again. You'll need someone to drive you home.”

Once everyone is totally gone, I lay back down on the bed. I begin to close my eyes when there's a knock on the door. Wow! That was quick, maybe I did close my eyes.

Another soft knock comes when I yell out, "Yeah."

No one answers but I hear the door open and soft feet padding closer to me. A soft hand grazes against my cheek and I pop my eyes open to come face to face with the aquamarine eyes I've missed seeing.

"Hey," she says softly smiling at me.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" I ask her, coming out a bit harsher than I meant it to.

"I've been here the whole time. I came down to let you know that I want to try being us," she says as she pushes the hair on my forehead out of the way.

Arching an eyebrow I ask her, "Are you sure? Because I can't go through the heartache I've been feeling the last few weeks again."

She leans over me and kisses me on the lips. When she pulls back slightly, she whispers against them, "I'm sure. You're my end game Smith."

I wrap my arms around her neck and pull her soft pink lips back to mine, she opens immediately for me and my tongue finds hers. We stay like this for a few minutes before there's another knock on the door. Annabelle pulls away from me when the doctor walks in but doesn't go far when I grab her hand keeping her close.

"How are you feeling, Smith?"

"A little better," I say turning toward Annabelle and giving her my signature smirk, the one I know the ladies can't resist. She giggles as if she knows what I'm thinking.

"Do you have someone who can drive you home?"

"I can," Annabelle chirps.

"Excellent. Call me if any other symptoms show up or if the dizziness persists," the doctor says and then heads out the door.

When we're alone I turn back to her. "What about your job?"

"I quit."

"I thought that was important to you."

"It was until I found something better."

"What's that?"

"You."

I wrap my arms around Annabelle once more and pull her into my chest. "Move to Dallas."

"I already did," she says.