Makes My Heart Go Haywire

Michael looked down at the naked, sleeping woman in his arms. This had become a pretty consistent habit for him over the past few years. Starting out his career with the New York Rangers, Michael had become a household name around New York by the time he was in his early twenties. Whenever he would go out, he couldn't get very far without being recognized by at least someone, and most of the time it seemed to be young women near his age.

Michael couldn't deny that he loved the attention from the ladies. Though, he never wanted a serious relationship with any of them. On any given night, you could find Michael taking a random girl back to his apartment, only to leave her by the morning, hoping she'd get the hint that he only wanted things to be a one-night stand.

He was notorious around the locker room for being a ladies man. Whenever going out, his teammates always expected him to leave for the night with someone on his arm, though some of them tried to talk him out of it, saying he was eventually going to regret it when he found that perfect woman and she asked him just how many people he had slept with. But, every time, Michael would tell them the same thing: he was never going to find a woman he wanted to settle down with, so essentially, he had nothing to worry about.

One December night, after a Rangers win, Michael and some of his teammates decided to go out celebrating. Michael had been looking around for his girl of the night when the door to the bar opened and three women walked in, all chatting away. One of the girls looked over at the table that currently held five Rangers players, but Michael was paying more attention to her blonde friend, who hadn't even glanced in his direction yet.

The woman who had noticed their table said something to her two friends, and they both looked over at the hockey players. Michael's girl said something to her friends, causing all of them to start laughing. Michael couldn't help but notice her smile, something that he couldn't look away from.

She pulled her two friends to a table on the other side of the room, and Michael spun completely around in his chair, making it obvious to anyone in the place that he was staring at them. "Which one?" Brandon Dubinsky asked him, following Michael's gaze.

"Huh?" Michael asked, pulling his eyes away from the woman and back towards his teammates.

"Which one's going to be your conquest tonight?" Brandon asked.

"None of them," Michael replied, earning curious looks from his teammates.

"What are you talking about?" Henrik Lundqvist asked.

Michael didn't reply, just shaking his head, as he scooted his chair back from the table and making his way over to the women. He flashed a smile at them, pulling a chair from a nearby table over to theirs and sitting down.

"Hello," the girl that had first noticed him smiled at him. "I'm Kari."

"Michael," he replied, holding his hand out to shake hers, while keeping his eyes on the blonde woman.

"I'm Mia," the next girl spoke.

"And, you are?" Michael asked the woman that was sitting across from him, whom he still hadn't taken his eyes off of.

"Taken," the woman responded without missing a beat. Michael finally looked at the other two women for some help.

"That'd be Kelly," Kari supplied for him. "Ignore her. She's not always like this. She's just having a bad day."

"I'm not having a bad day!" Kelly exclaimed, looking from her friend back to Michael. "I just don't want to be another notch on your bedpost, which looks exactly like what you were hoping," she said. "Isn't that right?" she added, raising an eyebrow at him. Michael stared at her for a moment, not knowing how to respond. He'd never had a woman talk back to him like this, and he was a little taken aback. "Now, you can go ahead back to your table over there," she told him, motioning towards his table, where all of the guys were staring at them.

Not knowing what else to do, Michael made his way back to his original table, and his teammates stared at him, waiting for an explanation. "She shoot you down?" Brandon asked, but Michael didn't reply. "Guess you'll just have to find another girl for the night."

"She's going to be my wife," Michael spoke, still staring at Kelly.

"What?" Henrik asked with a slight laugh. "She just shot you down, and you're now saying you're going to marry her?"

"I don’t know what it is about her, but one day, she is going to be my wife," he repeated confidently.

"Whatever," Brandon rolled his eyes, obviously not believing his friend.

Over the next month, Michael continued to go back to that bar, hoping to see Kelly there once again, but he didn't seem to have much luck. After all this time, he still couldn't get her off of his mind. He had no idea what it was about her, but all he knew was that he wanted to be with her. No one had ever made him feel this way before, and he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about it now.

After one particularly rough game, where the Flyers came out on top nine against one, Michael went to the bar, just to blow off some steam. He was looking for any girl that night, anyone to get his mind off of the terrible game he had just been a part of. But, of course, fate stepped in, and that was the night Kelly had decided to return.

He noticed her instantly, seeing her chatting with some random guy at the bar, flipping her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. Michael had had more than enough to drink at this point, and he knew he really should just catch a cab home. But, he couldn't leave without saying something to her.

So, against his better judgment, he made his way over to her. "Kelly," Michael smiled.

"Wow, I'm surprised you remember my name with all the alcohol you've had tonight," she told him, watching him nearly fall over, just barely managing to catch himself on the bar. "I think you might want to go home," she told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Not yet," Michael shook his head.

"Michael," she began, and Michael couldn't help but love the way his name sounded coming form her mouth. "Really, go home right now," she told him.

"One time," he said, and she looked at him curiously. "Go out with me one time."

"I've already told you that I'm not going to be a notch on your bedpost," she repeated what she had told him a month ago.

"You won't," Michael assured her.

"Fine," she said. "But, only if you can remember this on your own when you're sober," she smiled at him. "Now, go home," she told him, quickly jotting down her number on a napkin and putting it in his pocket. "If you can recall this conversation in the morning, give me a call, and I'll go out with you," she said, guiding him out the door.

Fortunately for Michael, he did remember their conversation the following day, and he called her, setting up a date that weekend. She still didn't seem convinced that he wanted anything more than a quick lay from her, but Kelly agreed to go out with him anyways.

Much to her surprise, she actually found herself enjoying the time she was spending with Michael. By the time the end of their date drew near, Kelly had found herself not wanting to leave just yet. "Maybe we could do this again?" she asked him, and Michael quickly agreed.

Over the next few weeks, Kelly and Michael had gotten to know each other much better, going out whenever their schedules allowed. Michael's teammates couldn't believe how much he was changing before their eyes. "What has this girl done to you?" Erik Christensen asked one day in the locker room. "You're now ditching the guys to go out with her. What happened to the Michael who'd go out to the bar and pick up a girl for the night?" he joked.

"I don't know what it is, but there's just something about Kelly," Michael shrugged.

"You did say you were going to marry her," Brandon recalled. "You still think you will?"

"If I have anything to do with it, I will," Michael nodded his head.

"I bet you're going to get bored with her real quick and go back to your old ways," Sean Avery entered the conversation.

"Nahh," Michael shook his head, grabbing his coat before leaving the locker room to go meet Kelly for dinner.

The next year for the two of them went by quickly. Sure, they had their share fair of fights, but all in all, they had a good relationship. Michael continually surprised his teammates with his change in attitude. And, he was about to surprise them even more by proposing to Kelly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Brandon asked him as Michael nervously paced back and forth in the locker room. They had a game tonight, and he was planning on asking Kelly afterwards.

"Yes," Michael said simply.

"I mean are you really sure? I mean, it's only been about a year. Before that, you were kind of a one-and-done kind of guy. Are you sure she's the one?" he asked. Brandon wasn't trying to talk him out of proposing, he just wanted to make sure that this was really what Michael wanted to do.

"Yes, I'm sure," Michael said, beginning to get agitated at the constant questions.

"Okay, good luck, man," Brandon said. "But, first, you've got to focus on the game," he added. Michael realized how bad of an idea it was to plan on proposing after a game, as the entire game, he couldn't keep his mind off of the impending question. He couldn’t even tell you the score after the game, all he knew was they had won.

Sitting in Michael's apartment after the game, Kelly watched Michael fidget, and she wondered what exactly was going on in his mind. He finally reached into his pocket, pulling the ring out and placing it in front of Kelly. "Kelly, I don't know what it is about you, but whatever it is, it makes my heart go haywire. I love you with all of my heart, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" he asked, and Kelly nodded her head as Michael put the ring on her finger and kissed her deeply.

Eleven months later, Michael looked down at the naked woman, sleeping in his arms. His eyes roamed her body, eventually trailing down her right arm to her ring finger which now adorned the brand new diamond wedding ring. He kissed the top of her head before finally drifting back asleep.