Since I was a kid, making it into the World Hockey League was the ultimate goal. No relationship could match my first love, and after my rough childhood, I wasn't putting my heart on the line.
When Bellerive makes a successful bid to move the Califo...
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The final road game for the Bellerive Bullets before they return to the island for another stint of home games goes much better than any of the ones that came before it. Something shifted in Logan this game, and I've been rewinding key parts trying to figure out what changed in him. But his "I don't give a fuck" attitude, which did not seem to be working on the road, has flipped from causing mayhem on the ice to scoring goals and making plays. Bellerive won their first away game of the season by a massive margin against a team that, on paper, they shouldn't have beaten.
A bright, shining beacon of what the team could be. Hope. Possibilities. Logan must be thrilled, but he hasn't texted me since I sent a message congratulating him.
My emotions cannot handle how much I love watching him play the game. At first, I used to view each hockey game through the trainer lens. What new moves or training aspects could we add to make him better?
But I don't need to do that anymore because I know the game so well, and I've watched him play in games and practices and during idle times when he's on the ice for no other reason than that he loves it so much. Watching him isn't even a conscious choice anymore.
For the first time in my life, I understand how people's emotions can skyrocket to heaven and then fall into hell with the fortunes of their team. Though, for me, I think it might be Logan's fortunes that determine my mood.
He played better tonight. The text from King Alexander arrives just before my father's text.
Finally got his head out of his ass. Much less eloquent, and not really accurate.
Was getting worried Dalton and his naysayers might be right. Alex texts again.
Dalton hated the idea of the team coming here in the first place. He considered the arena a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars, and he hadn't truly been wrong. Bellerive didn't need a professional sports team, and the tropical island definitely didn't need a team that played in freezing temperatures. For so many reasons, it had been ludicrous. Everyone knew that Alex pushed the idea so hard to get a rink for his beloved wife, so it was a small miracle he got enough people on his side to make it work.
Of course, Alex can be persuasive when he's motivated to win, which is a lot like another guy I know.
My phone buzzes in my hand with a text from a familiar number. Though, it's not the text I was expecting to receive.
Invite me over.
My skin heats as I stare at the words, and my heart jumps to life. For the last month, we've danced around each other during training sessions, after home games, and to see Logan's text sitting on my screen is a jolt to my senses.
I was sure Logan wouldn't change his mind, even though I've been sorely tempted to change mine. If I hadn't made a deal with myself to stop caving to the needs and desires of men at my own expense, I would have told him I didn't care about the timeline anymore. Some sessions I was one more brush of his hand, skimmed contact of our bodies, from throwing away my resolve.
