Gonna Steal Your Heart Away

I thought I had my life figured out, ya know? Being a professional hockey player, there isn’t really much to figure out in the first place. I lace up my skates and step on the ice every day, playing a game for a living. There isn’t really much time for anything else. Then she came along and sent my everything into a whirlwind.

My teammates do the whole girl thing, but I didn’t find it necessary. I was too new to the league to worry about anything except being on my game 100 percent of the time. Going into my sophomore year in the NHL, I was still considered a pup and needed to prove that I deserved to be there. Who does she think she is coming into my life and turning everything I thought I knew into mere questions?

One season – one measly, little season – was all it took for this girl to turn my world upside down.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hype for the new season, ay, Schenner?” a voice questioned in a mocking tone while walking in front of him and sitting down next to him in the locker room. Brayden Schenn tore his attention away the skates he was lacing tightly onto his feet to turn his head to his right and glare at his teammate, and good friend, James van Riemsdyk. At the sight of a smile dancing on James’s face, Brayden’s glare quickly turned into a smirk followed by a roll of his eyes before returning his attention back to his skates.

“How’d you tell?” Brayden’s roommate, Claude Giroux, asked jokingly from the spot to the left Brayden. “Is it ‘cause he’s almost dressed and half the team isn’t even here yet?” When the comment didn’t get a response out of the boy, Claude and James shared a laugh at his expense before beginning to put on their gear as well.

The first practice of the season was always easy-going. It was early September so not everyone was completely focused yet; and after a little more than three months off, it takes some time to get back into the swing of things. After a few laps around the ice to get warmed up, Coach Peter Laviolette had the team do a couple of sets of suicides to start getting their leg strength back to where it was at the end of last season.

Brayden was making his way to the far goal line for the final sprint in the set. Then she caught his eye. His mind froze. His legs were still propelling him forwards but his mind was not set on the task in front of him; distracted by eyes unlike any he had ever seen before – instead of the common light blue, they were a darker shade of blue that fogged up his thoughts.

As if in autopilot, Brayden made the motions to stop at the goal line and jet back down to the other end of the ice, but with his lack of focus, the blade of his skate did not cut into the ice enabling him to changed directions. Instead, his feet simply skid out from under him, he fell to the ice, and his body slid into the boards legs first.

An eruption of laughter came from his teammates around him as he stayed on the ice, laying there in defeat and embarrassment.

“You alright, Bray?” Danny Briere, being the only player to stop skating and check on the boy laying lifeless on the ice, questioned in a concerned tone. Being in his thirties and having three sons of his own, Danny always kept a protective eye on the younger guys on the team.

“Uh, yeah…I’m fine,” Brayden replied as he finally pushed himself back to his feet.

“You hurt?” Laviolette called out from his spot at the bench at the sight of Danny and Brayden skating back down to goal line where the drill started at a slower pace than before.

“Just his pride!” Claude responded loud enough for everyone on the ice to hear and they started laughing again. Brayden just rolled his eyes without commenting and waited for Coach to give them the next drill to do.

*~*~*~*~*

“Don’t think I don’t know why you fell at the beginning of practice,” James commented when the boys were seated at their stalls in the locker room, getting undressed after practice. This is the first time it was brought up since it had happened. Brayden had hoped his friends would just forget about it because it was not a shining moment, but no such luck prevailed.

“Enlighten me, Reemer. I don’t even know myself, so please, inform me on what happened,” Brayden answered in a tired out tone. He still had a smirk on his face to let his teammate know that he was not taking the subject seriously.

“You noticed a girl.”

“Don’t make me laugh, Reemer!” Claude chuckled, knowing that Brayden never let a girl affect him on the ice, as he joined in the conversation. Brayden’s face began to redden as he thought back to seeing the girl on the other side of the glass and how the mere sight of her made him completely lose his train of though. “Are you kidding me, Schenner?” he questioned with more disbelief than humor in his voice.

Unfortunately, the blush that covered Brayden’s cheeks had not gone unnoticed. Trying to get away from the uncomfortable situation he was sure to be mocked for, he got up from his stall and started me make his was to the locker room showers. Just as he was about to push through the door that led to the bathroom, only moments away from being out of the peering eyes of James and Claude, Coach Laviolette stopped him and asked if he was up for driving around and signing autographs for the fans on his way out.

“Sure, no problem,” he answered nonchalantly with a smile and a nod of his head, and then moved into the bathroom to shower.