Courageous

"Hey, Mickie?" Michael greeted me as I flopped down beside him after climbing in the bus.

"Hey, Mikey." I mocked him, half-heartedly and rested my chin on the palm of my hand as I turned to face him. He glanced, slyly at me as I watched him and as he continued to watch me, I began to get the feeling that he was up to something, "What do you want?"

"Nothing." He drew out as he tried to deny that he wanted to something from me. I knew he was lying though. Michael only uses that tone when he wants something and right now he wants something.

"Tell me." I commanded, not in the mood to play games with him.

"Nah, it's no big deal." He waved me off as if it was going to convince me that he didn't want something.

"Just tell me damn it." I insisted, firmly.

"Fine... Can you paint my face for practice tonight?" He requested. Sighing, I nodded my head because it wouldn't hurt anything,

"Ok, yeah, I can do that. But you gotta tell me if you're gonna be serious about Amanda."

Michael shrugged and moved to cradle his head in his hands. That definitely wasn't the reaction I had expected to see. It must've not gone as well as I had hoped it would. They both needed somebody, but apparently they weren't going to be that for each other. "She kicked you out." It wasn't a question. I knew that was what she usually did when she had her fill of a guy.

"Yeah, she was totally like you need to leave now. She didn't even let me hold her afterwards. She decided that she was done."

Sighing, I rested my hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. Michael didn't deserve to be treated that way, especially after she had acted like she was so into him early this morning. I knew that he had taken an interest in her earlier this season and when he had finally gotten his chance, she pushed him away. The sick thing about it was that Amanda knew that Michael liked her and she used him to get laid last night. It was one thing to bring Marc home on Halloween, but to bring Michael home so that she wouldn't spend New Year's alone was another matter entirely. Michael was my line mate and I considered him to be one of my closest friends on the team. He was such a happy go lucky kid and to have her cut him down didn't sit well with me.

"She does that... I don't know why, but she’s never been one to keep a guy around for long. She's a man eater."

"That would've been nice to know before hand." Michael scoffed, slamming his head back against the headrest behind him.

"Fuck, DZ, I totally warned you that she'd love you then leave you. You decided to go with her anyway." Marc scolded him, having over heard our conversation.

"Yeah, but I thought it was just because you were a ginger." Michael rolled his eyes at our fellow defenseman. I couldn't help but chuckle because it was partially true. Amanda had gone on for days about how much of a fire crotch Mar was.

"Don't hate! Most girls love red hair." Marc preened as he stuck out his chest, proudly. Michael and I shared an unconvinced look as we shook our heads at him. Usually, it was the other way around. Most of the time it was the guys who loved redheaded girls.

"Oh shut up, Staalsy. Your wife just tells you that to stroke your pitiful ego." Brandon chirped from the other side of the bus. The icy blue-eyed forward had decided to take Avery's place when it came to ribbing the rest of us. When Coach announced that Sean had been placed on waivers, I had to resist dancing around the locker room in celebration. I was so happy to hear that the prick was gone! Even if Sean was a close friend to Hank as well as his business partner, I still hated being around the weasel. He was such a jerk.

Rollin my eyes, I decided to pull out the eye black that I had tucked in my purse. Waving it around, I showed Michael that I had it with me,

"Wanna do it now?"

"Fuck yes!" Michael cheered, "Lay it on me, sista!"

"Fine, hold still." I chuckled as I grasped his face in my hand. Jokingly, I streaked down his nose first. Letting out a laugh as the black spilt his face, maybe I shouldn't be doing this... Oh well, that probably means that I should, "Hmm... What should I draw next?"

"Please, don't draw a dick. Please, don't draw a dick." MDZ pleaded

"Do it, Mickie! Do it!" Prusty encouraged, pulling out his phone to record me marking up Michael's face with triangles under his eyes before moving on to draw a mustache on his upper lip.

"Hammer, if you draw a dick on Del Zotto's face you get to wash it off. HBO's gonna be filming practice so you need to be on your best behavior." Torts warned from the front of the bus.

"Don't worry, Coach. We're keepin' it PG up in here." I assured him, as I shaded in the circles above his eyebrows. After that I leaned back so that I could study my work, the two circles above his brows and the line down his nose did kinda look like a penis, but not really. Over all, I was pleased with what I had done and knew that Michael would like it. Pulling out my own phone I flipped on the camera so that he could see himself.

"That's tight! I'm gonna be so boss!" Michael joked as he studied himself in my camera. I think he really happy that I didn't draw a dick of his face. He looked really happy, until he got a mischievous look on his face.

"No." I refused, "I don't trust you!"

"Not fair, Mickie! I trusted you." Michael reasoned with as he relinquished my hold on the grease pencil and took my face into his hands, "Now, hold still little girl."

For some reason, it seemed like every single pair of eyes and ears were now tuned into what Michael was doing to my face. Thank god, he didn't draw a line down the middle of my face like I did to him. I couldn't quite tell what he was doing but for some reason they guys were laughing up a storm. The smile on Michael's face was what confirmed that it was well worth it though, he needed some cheering up after Amanda and this was my way of doing it.

"Oh, Hank, your girl is getting treated over here. This is priceless." Prusty informed everyone as he snapped a picture and said, "This is so twitter material."

When Michael was done, he let me see myself and I almost choked with laughter. He had given me two serious black eyes as well as random squiggles and dots all over my face. Leaning closer, I decided to take my own picture with Michael to post on my twitter feed:

@MKHammer12: @MichaelDelZotto and I just got our #gamefaces on (twitpic)

@BrandonPrust8: Losers '@MKHammer12: @MichaelDelZotto and I just got our #gamefaces on (twitpic)'

@MKHammer12: @BrandonPrust8 is just jealous that I didn't paint his face #greenwithenvy

The rest of the short bus ride to Citizen's Bank Park, I bantered back and forth with my teammates about the next day's festivities because everyone knew that we would be in for another high paced practice before there would a traditional family skate afterwards. After getting my gear on I sat out in the dugout next to Boyler, who was getting into baseball mode as we waited to take the ice for practice, "No batter, no batter, sawinggg batta."

Rolling my eyes at the American, I decided to join in on the fun with a little baseball play-by-play, "The young right-hander kicks and deals. Fast ball right down Broad Way. Swing and a miss strike one for Philly. And the game is underway, folks. Chapman with the wind up and the batter takes the breaking ball for a foul."

Eventually, Prusty joined us, stating that the Rangers were going to put Carl in to pinch a run for second. But it wasn't until after Brandon had brought the young swede into the conversation that he actually spoke up.

"Hey, that's the Cincinnati Reds!" Carl Hagelin pointed out as he sat down on the bench next to me.

"Yep, I love the Reds!" My confession must've shocked the two men on either side of me because they were speechless. Raising an eyebrow at them, I frowned, "What? You can't expect me to like all Boston teams that much can you? I mean go Pats and go Celtics but I hate the Bruins and the Red Soxs."

"Wait, you grew up loving the Canucks, right?" Brian teased, knowing just how to strike a nerve with me without me blowing up.

"Shut up! I'm still extremely bitter about that!" I hissed at him before mumbling to myself, "FuckinrefsandtheirfuckinbiascallBurrowssodidnotbiteBergeron!HefuckinshovedhisfingerinAlex'smouth.StupidfuckinTimThomasandhiscrazyasssavespissedmeoff!!Grrrrr!!!!!!!"

"Um, is she okay?" The young left-winger asked the giant known as Brian Boyle as I continued to rant about last year's Stanley Cup Finals. Brian looked at me then back at Carl and shrugged as he moved to take the ice.

"She's got personal issues." Brandon snickered as he dodged the blade of my stick as I attempted to spear him before running out to the ice.

"Silence! I kill you!" I screeched as I tackled Prust at center ice. Frowning after the words came out of my mouth, I sighed as I began to feel slightly, oh what was it called... melancholy? Yeah, I was melancholy... Because tackling Prusty wasn't the same as beating the shit out of Avery. It definitely wasn't as satisfying and because of that I got off of Brandon before flopping on my but on the other side of center ice and began to stretch out for practice. One more practice was all that separated me from playing on the biggest stage I had ever gotten to play on in my career as a hockey player thus far. I could feel the butterflies erupt in my stomach just thinking about the Winter Classic tomorrow and knowing that my family would be there to support me made it twice as special. Yeah, my parents had come down after they had picked up my younger brother and sister from the airport. After practice, they would be joining me on the ice for family skate.

Seeing my younger siblings again was definitely a reunion I was looking forward to. We had been so close growing up that it had been hard for me to leave them to further my career. But now they were all grown up and blazing their own paths towards their respective dreams. I was so proud of them and everything they had done and I hoped that they were just as proud of me. I wanted to make them proud.

After our last practice, families were allowed to come out onto the ice with their respective players. For once, I didn't feel quite so left out when some of the guys began to skate around the ice with their wives and kids because my family was here. At the first sight of my parents and siblings, I dashed over to meet them and flung my arms around my brother and sister in a bear hug,

"Oh my god, I'm so happy you guys could make it!"

"Psh, I wouldn't miss this bitch for the world!" My younger brother assured me with a cocky smirk. Rolling my eyes at him, I gave him a shove as my mother scolded him,

"Ryder Gabriel Hammer! How many times must I warn you that swearing is in appropriate around small children."

Luckily, my dad was there to calm my mother's ire.

"Helen, he's not a little boy anymore. If he wants to swear in front of hockey player's children, he can be punished by their fathers."

"Haha, great joke dad." Ryder snorted as I linked arms between him and my sister before dragging them away from my parents.

"Well, Ry, you might wanna be careful. Some of these guys could probably snap you in two if you're not careful." My sister joked with him as she watched my teammates pass by us.

"Mackenzie! These guys are like giant teddy bears right, Rupper?" I insisted as we passed Michael Rupp packing around his young son, grinning like a he'd won the lottery.

"Yeah, sure, Mickie." He replied, unconsciously never looking away from his kid.

"I believe I proved my point." I smirked as we skated past Stephan and Stephanie before I decided to change the subject, "So what have you guys been up to?"

"Well, I'm gonna get to start this year!" Ryder boasted of his advancement on Duke's Lacrosse team, which was a pretty big deal considering he was just a walk on. He had been fortunate enough to get to experience being with that Duke team as a freshman when they won their national title back in 2010 and I hoped that experience would help him to lead them back to another. Of course, being the sappy big sister that I am I had to praise him for his achievement,

"Ry, I'm so proud of you! That's totally awesome!"

When Ry looked away from me, I knew I had embarrassed him because I had been gushing over him. It was hard for me like my mother to remember that he wasn't the insecure little boy who needed reassuring and guidance all the time. He was a freakin' 21-year-old and had become a damn good lacrosse player. Shaking my head at him, I turned my attention back to Mackenzie, who had been rather uncharacteristically quite throughout Ryder's and my brief conversation.

"What about you, Kenzie? How's Palo Alto treated you so far this year?"

Mackenzie couldn't fight the blush that was creeping on her face as she reminisced over the first semester of her sophomore year at Stanford, "Fine, I guess."

"Does this 'fine' have a name?" I inquired, knowing that she had to have have met some boy back in California this year. Yeah, my sister is an extremely smart cookie to have gotten an academic scholarship to study architorture at Standford. On top of that, she was gorgeous with long, flowing, honey blonde hair and possessed an outgoing personally that just drew boys in like flies to honey.

As if he had a sixth sense for boy talk, Ryder detached himself from me and skated over to Michael. Of course, he would go to MDZ, they had a lot in common. They would definitely be bros before the night was over. Shaking my head at them, I focused my full attention on my little sister, "You know you can tell me anything."

"I know." She exhaled with a sigh before she grew silent again as she tried to figure out if she should tell me or not. Biting her lip as she did so she whispered, "Fine's real name is Andrew."

"Andrew, huh?" I decided to play along with her little game, "And how did you meet this 'Andrew' person?"

"In a class, we were assigned to work on a project together." She informed me with a dreamy sigh, which worried me because if I knew my sister like I hoped I did, I knew that she'd never get all doe-eyed over a geek. So whoever her mystery man was, he was quite the catch.

"An architorture project?" I, teasingly, prompted her and all Kenize did was nod and blush even more. Boy, did she have it bad for the kid. He better not screw with her or he'd have to deal with Mickayla fucking Hammer and it wouldn't be pretty if it came down to that, "What's he like?"

"Big, strong, tall... He's a derp, sometimes and when he talks he sounds like he's got a cold but he's focused on what he wants in life. He's got curly brown hair and sometimes forgets to shave so he gets a neck beard."

"Neck beard?" I snorted a laugh at her choice of words as I tried to picture, who from Stanford would fit her description. The harder I thought the more I kept coming back to one person and there was no way my sister would be dating him... "Oh God, no, are you serious? You're dating Luck?"

"We prefer to call it, 'casually seeing each other'." Kenzie was quick to insist, "Besides, he's not the self-consumed asshole you thought he was... He's just really shy and doesn't like a lot of attention. Andrew's a such a sweet guy."

"Is my 'but' sense tingling? I know there's a but coming. Care to share?" I prodded as we lapped Stephan once again. Kenzie sighed and shook her head,

"But I'm afraid I'm gonna lose him after he gets drafted. I don't know what I'm gonna do without him, Kay Kay. He's-"

"Your rock?" I offered as I cut her off, knowing all too well how my little sister was feeling. She gapped at me for a moment or two unable to find anything to say, so I spoke for her, "You're probably wondering how I get how you feel, right?" Kenzie nodded. "Well, I'm kinda in the same boat as you only I'm involved with one of my teammates."

"Really? That's not like you at all!" She scoffed and rolled her eyes at me, "First, there was Lucic in Vancouver. Then there was, Ben Smith and Muse in Boston. Now, you have a beau in the big apple. Let me guess, it's that kid you play defense with."

"Michael?" I snorted, in practical disgust, "Never, he's a brother to me! I'd never-"

"You said the same thing about Ben and that obviously wasn't the case." Kenzie shook her head at me again.

"Yeah, but he was the only multiple time hookup. I hooked up with Milan for celebratory purposes only after we won the Memorial Cup and Musey never happened. But anyway, if Luck really wants to be with you, he'll be there when you need him. If he's not, drop him and move on. It'll save you the heartbreak later on."

"Well, I was thinking about transferring to a school close to where he gets drafted... if we last that long. He will most likely go to the Colts and luckily for me, Ball State University is right in that neighborhood." She winked at me. Of course, she would have everything figured out. She was a planner and would stick with that plan until all hell broke loose. A characteristic I wished I possessed. It'd come in handy for this summer when I'd have to balance training, anything else required of me, and my free time.

"Right.... Isn't he playing in the Fiesta Bowl tomorrow?" I inquired when I remembered that it was still college bowl season. She nodded and gasped, "Oh my god, I totally forgot! I gotta go tell him I can't be there!" and she then dashed toward the dugout to call the lucky man. No pun intended.

Ah, yes, my sister's one major flaw. She forgets to see the major details sometimes like dates and times and it causes her to have to cancel plans because she booked herself twice at the exact same time. But, hey, we all have our flaws, don't we?

"Melt down?" A cool voice questioned from beside me as I watched my sister gesturing franticly as she exchanged words with her boyfriend.

"Nah, that's normal. My sister double booked herself for tomorrow." I chuckled as I glanced back at Hank, "Now, she's having to explain to her boyfriend why she can't be at his game tomorrow."

"Who else has a game tomorrow?" Hank half joked with me as we skated around the rink side by side still in our practice gear, so it was slightly difficult for me to slow down for him to be able to keep up with me.

"Well, the Fiesta Bowl's tomorrow and Mackenzie’s boyfriend is Stanford's quarterback... So, she told she'd be there having forgot about the Winter Classic, then came here and forgot to tell Andrew she couldn't come." I explained, nonchalantly as I attempted to maintain a comfortable distance away from Hank as to not spark any stories about us being together because of all the cameras around one miscalculated move could end up all over the Internet. Hank didn't need those kind of rumors floating about when he hadn't even publicly announced his divorce yet. I didn't want to look like a home wrecker either, even if that was essentially what I had done.

Consumed with my thoughts, I didn't even feel Hank pull me to a stop until he cleared his throat to get my attention. In response, my head snapped up so quickly in response that I almost got whiplash and I glared over at the Swede for causing some mild pain in my neck. I didn't even notice the older couple in front of us until a soft chuckle had me looking in their direction. At first glance for some reason I could tell that they looked familiar but I couldn't put my finger on where I had seen them before. Taking a closer look, I knew why they look so familiar and it was because they kinda of looked like Hank... Wait, oh my god, these people are Hank's parents... They must hate me.

"Mom, Dad, this is the girl I have been telling you about over the past few weeks." Hank introduced me with a small smile as he placed his hand on the small of my back. I smiled, warmly at the pair, but narrowed my eyes at their sneaky son, whom had decided that touching me in public was a good idea. Yeah, let's commit public suicide now!

However, this was no joking matter and on the inside, I was freaking out. I mean his parents had probably been blindsided by the news of their newly married son deciding to file for divorce. They had probably been expecting a new grandchild, not the deterioration of a brand new marriage. They probably adore her, like Brad did and thought that some stupid, little Canadian girl wasn't worth their son's time or love. Looking into their eyes, I saw no coldness or hate only a warm acceptance that put me at ease and relaxed the tension that had tightened my muscles. After a moment or two, Hank's mother embraced me,

"It's a pleasure to you, Mickayla. Henrik has told us many wonderful things about you."

At first her actions and words left me petrified, I had expected such a warm reception from her. I, certainly, didn't deserve it and yet, she had welcomed me with open arms. Cautiously, I hugged the golden haired woman back,

"The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Lundqvist. I hope Hank's only told you good things."

"Please, call me Eva." She insisted as we stepped apart as her husband stepped forward and pulled me into an awkward side hug. Looking at the older man, it was almost like looking at Hank in the future and it almost startled me a little when he spoke because he sounded so much like Hank....

"Hello, Mickayla, please call me Peter."

Nodding, I smiled back at him and almost robotically repeated the same thing I had told his wife. After that an awkward silence settled between our little group as we waited for the inevitable. For some reason, I felt like the situation should be more difficult for me, but then I realized that they were more stiff in their interactions with Hank. He was clearly being held accountable for his wrongs by his parents. My heart went out to him, but I knew that it was probably better him than me in this case. There was no way I wanted to deal with a pissed off momma.

Relief came in the form of an icy, cold slushy being shoved down the back of my practice jersey. Wide eyed, I spun around to comfort the culprit but he has already made his get away. Turning back to the three Swedes and in theirs eyes I could see the curiosity and amusement swirling as they waited from me to react.

"Excusez-moi." I blurted out, quickly before I dashed off in pursuit of my brother, who was weaving through my teammate's families in an attempt to escape my wrath. If we had been on dry land, he might've succeeded but this was my domain and therefore he had no chance.

Stalking after him, I hunted him down like he was my elusive prey before cornering him behind the net on the far end of the rink. Locking eyes with him, I saw that he wasn't going to go down without a fight so with ease I pushed the cage over and checked him, softly into the boards before wrapping my arms around his neck in a head lock. After that, I skated back over to Hank's side to introduce them with a triumphant grin,

"My apologies, I knew I had forgotten something after I let him go. But at least, he decided to remind me. Anyways, Hank, this is my younger brother, Ryder and Ryder, this is my-" Hmm... What were we now?

"It's a pleasure to meet my girlfriend's younger brother." Hank stepped in with a gracious smile and offered my brother his hand as he sent a playful glare in my direction, "Although, you never mentioned that you had a younger brother or sister."

My heart skipped a best as I registered his words. I think my heart just stopped, I might die or spontaneously combust now. Glancing up at him, I found it very difficult to restrain myself from kissing him senseless, but I managed to keep my composure in place. With an apologetic smile, I shrugged as I ruffled my brother's hair, "I guess it never came up... Oh, I almost forgot. Ry, this is Hank's father, Peter and his mother, Eva. Why don't you say hello before you go bring me mom and da?"

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Lundqvist. I'm sorry you had to meet me in such an unbecoming situation. My sister can be such a- Ufff! Gah! Well, I must be off to fetch my parental units." He gasped after I drilled him in the gut with my elbow before he limped away to get our parents. Scratching the back of my head, I sighed,

"Sorry about that, my brother can be a hand full at times." To my surprise, Eva waved my apology off with a smile, "Try raising twins. How old is he?"

"Twenty or twenty-one? I don't remember when his birthday was." I pondered, aloud with a shrug, "He plays Lacrosse for Duke and hopefully will decide to go pro after he graduates this year."

"That's impressive. Henrik mentioned you have a younger sister as well?" Eva inquired her eyes darting over my shoulder as my family came up from behind me. I nodded with a smiled and introduced the Hammer clan to the Lundqvist family...

"Hello, Eva, it's good to see you again." My mother greeted Hank's with a hug and laughed at the confused look on my face, "We talked a little bit during the practice, dear. Of course, neither of us knew who it was we were talking to."

"Oh," Was all I could muster because I should've known that my mother would end up talking to Eva before they were even properly introduced. It was just the way she was wired; she could make friends with just about anybody and their brother and not even bat an eye. As you can probably tell I was the one who inherited that lovely characteristic of hers.

The rest of the evening flowed extremely well, which was a major relief for me because it meant that tomorrow would be a great day. On top of it all, I felt like I got a glimpse of the future as I watched my family interact with Hank's parents and from the looks of things everybody seemed to mesh well together. Hopefully, there would be more time to get to know them better in the future when we weren't quite so pressed for time. Maybe this summer, I'd fly them out to Vancouver for a few weeks. I'd plan a cook out and maybe go boating. But summer was six months away and there was still a possibility that Hank and I might not last that long, so there wasn't any need to plan that far ahead when there were still too many unknowns. Don't get me wrong I could see myself marrying him, but maybe that was the newness of our relationship talking. Of course, there was no need to be thinking like that now. I needed to keep myself focused on enjoying the present and kicking ass in tomorrow's big game.

Eventually, family skate ebbed to an end as most of the guys had taken their families back to the locker room to warm up. I did the same with mine before parting ways with them to change out of my nasty gear.

"Hey, Carl?" I called out to the young Swedish forward as I sat down in the stall next to him and began to strip off my practice jersey and pads.

"What, Mickey?" Carl inquired with an eye roll as he pulled off his pads. Grabbing a Gatorade bottle, I sat down in the cubby next to him. Putting on my reporter face, I asked him,

"One quick question how does the vibe around the locker room feel compared to the 'Big Chill at the Big House'?"

The blonde scratched his head in thought before he answered me, "Well, it's a little more relaxed, maybe a little more low key. It certainly isn't as cold as-"

"Woah there, buddy!" I interrupted him when he began to compare the weather, "Don't tell me it was cold in. When I had to play outside in a blizzard in January in Fenway Park."

"Man, that's not fair! You guys got all the hardware and perks!" Brian pouted at my reference to the Frozen Fenway game that I got to compete in back in 2010.

"Oh quit, you're whinin'. It couldn't have been worse than the 2008 Winter Classic in Buffalo. The snow was sticking to the ice." The grizzled veteran better known as Rupper scoffed from his seat.

"Oh, believe me, it did. We could hardly see the lines half way through the first period! I mean, I got windburn from how cold it was. I looked like Rudolph the red nose reindeer for about two weeks." I rebutted with a pout, "I had to wear one of those stocking things to my head during the game and apparently the announcers kept calling me a boy!"

"That's because you are a boy, Mickie." Prusty snorted in response to my complaints as he untied his laces and pulled off his skates. A chorus of 'Ohs' echoed around the locker room as Prust tried to pick a fight with me. I rolled my eyes at him with a snort and chose not to respond to his idiocy, but he kept talking,

"What the matter, Mickie? Afraid of the truth?"

"Well, you're the one who's misinformed because if you believe that I'm a boy then you're accusing Hank of being gay." I mocked him, which earned an appalled look from Hank in return, "See what I mean?"

"Oh yeah, sorry about that Hank. I forgot that the only one who could be a queer in here is Richie." Brandon, quickly, apologized before turning his attention over the our alternate captain. Unfortunately, no one came to his rescue like I had for Hank, in fact most of the guys joined in on the harassment.

"Yeah, only a queer would tell a girl that she shouldn't play hockey!" Dubi spoke up above the group just before coach walked in. Luckily, the HBO cameras hadn't been recording the exchange or that could've been a mess.

The frown on Torts face told us that no wasn't the time or place to be talking about such things and immediately everyone shut up to hear what the man in charge had to say, but that didn't stop the cheers that erupted when he announced that Marc Staal would be playing in the Winter Classic as his first game back. With Staalsy back in the line up we'd certainly have an advantage over the Flyers tomorrow, the ginger was probably the best defenseman on the team and it would great to have him back! A shutter of anticipation ran down my spine as I thought of what the next day might bring, hopefully another win for us Blue Shirts to add to more points to our lead in the Atlantic Division.

After our media sessions, we were sent back to our hotel to relax and rest up for the big game tomorrow. For the first time, I would be "sharing" a room with Hank despite not really wanting to because it was a change in my routine. After being so used to rooming alone, I wasn't sure if I wanted another person sleeping in my room before a game. Not that I didn't want to spend the night with Hank, I just felt like it might be a distraction for us. Sighing, I allow myself to sink a little bit further into the whirlpool bathtub in the hotel room's bathroom. I had been surprised that Hank had allowed me to get ready first. I figured he had some sort of routine for each night but he chose to let me go through mine first. It was really sweet of him to have sacrificed his time for me.

Quickly, I went through my bedtime routine and was out and ready for bed. As I walked out into the actual room in nothing but a towel, I couldn't help but feel self-conscious being naked in front of Hank. Yeah, sure, we had been intimate twice now, but that doesn't change the fact we hadn't shared a bed together. Would he be comfortable with this? Would difficult for him to share a room with another woman so soon after his divorce? I dared not to look in fear that I might find disapproval in his crystal blue eyes. I should've brought my pajamas into the bathroom with me when I went into get ready. I had just been so scatter brained before that I hadn't been paying attention and failed to make sure that I had everything I needed.

"Mickayla?"

My body stiffened at the sound of my name upon his lips and I dared not turn to face him because I was afraid that my towel would fall out of place. Regaining some self-control, I continued on digging through my suitcase for my bedclothes as I answered him,

"Yes, Hank? Is there something you need?"

"Well, no... Actually, I was admiring the tattoo on your shoulder." He admitted, as I heard him slip off the bed and make his way over toward me. His hand upon my waist sent a shudder down my spine in reaction to his touch and his hot breath tickled against my ear as he inspected more of my body art, "I didn't realize you had another one other than your Boston College eagle on your bicep. The Canadian flag inside the maple leaf was certainly creative of you."

Smirking, I stepped away from his body before I turned around to face him as I still clutched my towel around myself. Frowning when I couldn’t think of anything to say back to him. It was like my brain had shut down or that was only until I recalled that he had a tattoo in the center of his back.

“Hank, I would’ve thought you’d have seen that after New Years. In fact, I’m kind of disappointed in that. I saw yours.” I informed him with a pout, dropping my towel as I did so.
Sudden confidence blossomed in my chest as I watched Hank’s cheeks redden in embarrassment from my statement or maybe it was the fact that I was now standing before him in my birthday suite. Maybe not, I mean, it’s not like it isn’t anything that he hasn’t already seen before. After digging through my luggage in a search for a pair on underwear to wear for bed. I glanced back to see Hank swallow, his eyes never leaving my body as I seductively pulled on the panties. It was hard to believe that I had such power over a man like him. I mean, look at him… He’s Henrik freakin’ Lundqvist one of the most attractive men in the NHL and he’s mine… Yeah, that’s right, he’s mine.

“Hank, did you mean it?” I turn around to ask him as I remember something he had said early that had caught me off guard.

“Mean what?” He inquires back from his position on the bed with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you remember back at family skate when you called me ‘your girlfriend’ after I introduced you to my brother.” I chose to remind him further, “You know, after he decided it would be funny to shove ice down the back of my shirt, I had to chase after him, and then drag him back with me to prevent any other issues.”

It took awhile for Hank to respond after I recited the setting for which it caused the Swede to call me his girlfriend… Not that it wasn’t welcome but I was curious as why Hank chose to say it at that point in time. I wasn’t sure if I should face back to him or not, but I couldn’t help myself I had to see him at face value when he answered. His answer would change the nature of our relationship.

“Yes, of course, I meant it. Why wouldn’t I?” He asked back, unsure of where I was going with this but then didn’t let me respond, “Is this because Therese was back in town?”

“No, it’s not,” I promised him as I pulled my bed shirt over my head and then wrapped my arms around myself, “ I was just curious because we’d never talked about the actually status of our relationship beyond being together.”

Hank burst out with laughter at my words, leaving me confused as to what I had said that was so funny. I mean, don’t I have the right to be curious? I am involved in this relationship also and I’d like to know what his plans for us are.

“I’m sorry, Mickayla. I just think it’s funny that you want to label our relationship like we are teenagers.” Hank informed me as he motioned me over to the bed. I gave him a pointed look, allowed him to wrap his arms around me and pull me down next to him; so that we were both lying side by side on the queen-sized bed.

“I know it’s stupid, but I mean… I don’t know, Hank. You’re right. It doesn’t matter right now. “ I eventually decide and toss a wink in his direction.

“What do mean right now?” Hank inquired with a curious smirk as he pulled me closer so that our chests were touching.

“Oh, well, what do you think it means?” I blush, because I couldn’t help but think of a future with Hank and maybe being married. But I didn’t want him to know about that just yet. That would be a little creepy.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready to take on that kind of commitment, Mickayla.” Hank informed me, sternly. Pushing myself away from him to create some space between us, I rolled my eyes at him,

“Oh yeah, that’s for sure. You couldn’t stop yourself from cheating when you knew well not to.”

I clasped my hands over my mouth as soon as the words had fell from my tongue. I knew it was still somewhat of fresh wound and had only rubbed salt on it with what I had just said.

“Hank, I’m-“ He held a hand up to halt my apology before he assured me,

“No, you’re right. I knew that I shouldn’t but I did. I think that I am going to be much happier down the road with you than with anyone else.”

“Aw, Hank, I love you… I shouldn’t bring stuff like that up.” I admitted before pressing my lips to his and laying my head on his chest.

“I love you, too, Mickayla and don’t let anyone tell you different. Especially after the divorce is finalized.” He informed me as his hand ran up and down my arm.

“What do you mean ‘after the divorce is finalized’? What happens then?” I ask, dumbly, unaware of what he is referring to.

“When we announce our relationship to the general public, of course.” He stated as if was common knowledge.

“But do you think that it is anyone else’s business whether or not we are in a relationship or not. I mean besides our families and friends.” I inquired because to be completely honest I liked keeping my private life what it is, private. That means not letting any outside parties get involved. It’s just not good for any relationship.

“I understand where you are coming from. You don’t want to be apart of the rumor mill, but keeping things quite will only make the rumors worse. Besides I want to show you off and why shouldn’t I? You are the most beautiful and sensational woman I have ever met.” Hank declared with a dark look on his face.

A look I knew all too well because it was very similar to the look he gave me a few times the night before when we consummated our relationship. But he didn’t act upon his feelings as he merely threw the comforter over us and cocooned me in his warmth. Making it almost impossible for me to begin to lull into a sleep from the very moment he turned off the lamp on the nightstand beside us. By then it was all but too late for me to even wish Hank ‘a good night’ because I was already in sleep peaceful embrace. Good Lord, tomorrow was going to be a good day!