We Found Love

Emily shivered as we walked towards the Canadian men's hockey house, and I pulled her into my side. I had at least been a little more prepared for the freezing tundra that was Russian, having grown up in Canada, but Emily grew up in New Jersey, where it wasn't ever this cold.

"You know people are going to ask questions if they see us like this," Emily said quietly as we walked past a group of Japanese men.

"Nobody can recognize us. We're bundled up like Arctic explorers, and the wind keeps kicking up the snow anyway," I said. Emily laughed and nodded, her eyes the only part of her face visible from between her hat and her scarf. Suddenly, somebody came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, but may I take a picture of you two? I'm working on a showcase that displays the love and peace that is possible between all nations and you two look absolutely perfect," a young man bundled up in a blue parka asked. I raised my eyebrows at Emily who shrugged and then nodded.

"Sure, go ahead!" she said, and we posed, my arm around her waist as the photographer took a shot.

"Are you two a couple?" he asked, lowering the camera.

"Yeah," I responded quickly.

"Would it be too much to ask you to kiss for a shot?" he asked, and I looked at Emily.

"Um...I'm not entirely sure if we want to be recognized," she said quickly.

"Well, how about if I show you the picture afterwards and you two decide if I can use it?" the photographer asked.

"Alright," Emily sighed, and she lowered her scarf. I kissed her quickly, pulling her into my body as she threw her arms around my neck. We broke apart a moment later, our eyes glimmering in the lamplight, and quickly covered our faces again. It was pretty damn cold. The photographer showed us the picture, and because of the scarves around everything except for our mouths, and Emily's arms around my neck, you couldn't tell who we were. Emily nodded in approval and we headed over to the house once more, leaving the British photographer bubbling over with excitement at his latest shot.

"Emily!" Marty screamed as we walked through the door. Emily laughed and hugged him tightly, excited as ever to see her favorite goal tender. At the age of 42, Marty had announced that this would be his last year at the Olympics as a player, so he was determined to make the most of it. Marc-Andre flipped out and hugged Emily as soon as Marty let go, and a lot of the other guys from the East looked just as excited to see her.

Emily's Point of View

I finally left Sidney once I got a text from the coach telling me I'd be benched tomorrow if I didn't get back to the house. Sidney let me walk back by myself, having been faced with similar threats from the Canadian coach. However, I crashed into my bed with a smile on my face and my heart absolutely bursting with happiness.

"Come on Vance, pick it up!" Coach roared, and I darted towards the goal, the puck bumping into my stick as I went. I dumped it over the pads of the Finnish goalie and pumped my fist once in celebration, letting the girls hug me tightly. The score was now 2-1 and there were only 3 minutes left in the third. We had to protect the lead I had just created, and so the coach sent out the more burly, defensive girls to finish up the game. We won the game, and I felt my heart stutter. This meant we were going to compete for Olympic gold. I grabbed my phone as soon as I got to the locker room and saw that I had 43 text messages. There was one from every guy on the team congratulating me on my goal, a bunch from my family, and a few from friends and old teammates from back in Jersey. However, the one that Sidney left me made my knees feel a little weak.

You are absolutely amazing Emily, and you have no clue how loud I cheered when you scored that goal. I am so proud to be dating you, and I can't wait to see you. The Canadians won too, so that means you'll be playing them for the gold. I have no doubt in my mind that you and your team can take it home, although the Canadian pride in me is a little conflicted at the moment. We're playing the Americans the night after you play, so I'll be there tomorrow. I love you.

I felt the phone slip from my hands as a few tears formed in my eyes.

"What?" Katrina asked, but Latoya simply picked up the phone and chuckled.

"I knew you two were more than just friends after last night," she smiled before handing the phone back to me. Katrina took it and read the text, awwing loudly before handing it back.

"Your secret is safe with us," she winked before pulling on her sweater.

"So, the Canadians huh?" Latoya said.

"Yep, the Canadians," I squeaked, suddenly realizing that we'd be playing the most notorious women's hockey team in the world the next day.