Page 107 of Uniquely in Love

Because she does.She fit in so well, and how could she not? She was the brightest ray of fucking sunshine, this beautiful girl who was always smiling bright as a daisy, and every bit as beautiful.

Getting up this morning had been torture, and not just because Ellie had been up at six, getting ready for work. But she was still here. She hadn’t left. And the sigh of relief when she showed up at the apartment right before I had to leave for the game almost rode every fear of mine that she’d leave again.You did that to her, too,I reminded myself. This summer, I’d left her with a goodbye note and snuck away without a word. Was it just as painful for her? Probably.

I’d let her go, but she’d…followed me to Seattle. My knees almost buckled at the thought. I’d stayed away, but she had come after me. She hadn’t said the words to me, but when I’d asked her why she’d moved to Seattle before, she’d hesitated.

Becauseshe’d moved here for me. Fuck. How had I not been on my knees for her this entire time?

“He’s smitten,” Maverick said, smirking at me as swungmy gaze back to the guys. “That’s how you know he’s a goner.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled.

Rhodes crossed his arms over his chest. “This is why I’ve sworn off love. Makes you all gooey-eyed and sloppy.”

I shook my head. “Love? Who said anything about love?” The words felt sour in my mouth, though, and I knew it was a lie the moment it left my lips.

“Can you picture yourself without her? Her with some other man, someone else’s ring on her finger?” My Captain asked, quirking his eyebrow.

“No.” The word was almost a growl.

“You do, then.” Stefan nodded. “You love her.”

Of course, I loved her. I always had. I pulled my helmet off to drag my hand over my face and up through my hair. “Yeah, I… I don’t think I ever stopped.” I closed my eyes. “I just can’t fuck this up, you guys. I can’t lose her again. The last time I did…”

“We know.” Brooks patted my shoulder. “Sodon’t.”

“You make it sound so simple.” I frowned. It didn’t feel simple. It felt like this huge, monumental thing. The last time we were together, we’d been kids. We’d given each other our virginities and then she’d left the next morning like I meant nothing to her.

But now…

“Course it is, Harps.” Stefan sounded so sure. Of the five of us, he was the one with a wife and baby on the way. “You just have to tell her how you feel.”

“But what if I do, and she leaves again?” I was that same broken nineteen-year-old on my dorm bed again, crying on the phone with my mom. Fear pierced my heart. “Fuck, you guys. I’m a mess. I should tell Coach to take me off the line-up for the night. I can’t…”

“Owen.” Brooks grabbed me by the shoulders. “He’s not wrong, Harps. And you have to decide if she’s worth it.”

“Of course she is.” That had never been a doubt in my mind.

Stefan slapped his hand against my helmet. “Then get your damn head in the game and let’s go play some fucking hockey.”

“Aye, aye, Capt.”

Everyone laughed, but it was the reminder I needed. After years of playing, I knew how to get into the zone. How to get out of my head. For so many years, I’d built a wall of ice around my heart. The only thing that mattered to me was Ellie. But she’d been melting it with her warmth and her beaming smile. Every time I saw her, it chipped away a little further.

But that place was as familiar to me as breathing. It was why I was such a good d-man on the ice. I knew how to block. Wasn’t afraid of a few body-checks to protect my team, either.

And tonight, I had to give it my all. Because she was watching, and I wanted her to see that everything we’d given up was worth it.

That those five years apart had given me this, and I wasn’t wasting that opportunity. I missed her like fucking hell all that time, but I’d become exactly what I wanted to be. A professional hockey player. At the top of my game.

By the time we came back onto the ice for puck drop, I felt sharp.Focused. The first shift went by in the blink of an eye, and then we were on the bench, watching a new play we’d been working on. Our second line, Campbell, Meyer, and Evans, battled for puck possession when the opposing team got it, knocking it down the ice and getting an icing call. After a few more stops in play, followed by Reid catching the puck in his glove and getting a whistle, we got the signal to swap back in.

“Hendy, Harps, you’re up!” Coach called out, and we hopped over the boards, joining the forwards on the ice. Another defenseman pair, Sorensen and Tremblay, settledonto the bench we’d just vacated, finishing both of their first shifts.

Since Reid had stopped the puck, we settled in our zone for the face-off. Our primary goal was to get it away from the net and not let them take another shot on goal. This early in the period, they hadn’t started out-shooting us yet, but I wasn’t about to let them, either. We were back on the ice with Rhodes, Maverick, and Stefan, anddamndid I love playing with this line.

Rhodes won the face-off, and quickly passed it to Maverick, who was on a breakaway towards the other side of the ice. He was legendary for his speed and being able to get it in deep, which was probably why he was one of our highest scoring players on the team every season. He slapped it in towards the net, but it was knocked away by their goalie, and Rhodes tried to get it on the rebound, but it didn’t go in. It felt like the entire arena groaned alongside us, but then we were in motion again, chasing the puck back and forth down the ice.

By the time we were halfway through the first period, we were all desperate for that first goal. Something about tonight had us all craving it, and we wanted to take an early lead over Ottawa.

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