Let 'Em In

Our flight home couldn’t have been worse, there was a 4 hour delay due to poor weather, then there was horrible turbulence; the plane didn’t touch the ground until midnight, so I didn’t get to my house until 1:45 AM. Waking up at 6:30 that morning was horrible; knowing that I had to go for a run was the only thing that got me moving. I didn’t bother with shaving or taking a shower, because I knew that I would be sweaty when I got back so I just pulled on my shorts, a Flyers sweatshirt and shoes, grabbing my phone and headphones off the table as I left. I always tried to be out the door at the same time for multiple reasons, one I’m a creature of habit (and hockey players are superstitious), two I was always hoping to increase my chances of seeing her while I was out. I had to see her, I had to know her. Wait, what the hell? I’ve never cared about knowing any of these girls, what the fuck am I doing? Subconsciously, I knew the answer but I was stubborn and in denial, I knew that she wasn’t like the puck sluts, and she definitely did not seem like the ‘hump and dump’ type either, at least not in my mind. I knew that she wasn’t like them, because none of them had captivated my mind as much as she had, which is dangerous because if she ever found out about her power over my head, she could ruin my career.
I was finally reaching a constant speed in my run and was listening to the locker room favorite: Mac Miller’s Knock Knock. When I turned a corner I ran into a much smaller body, knocking that person over, as I went to help them up I realized who it was: her. “S-sorry about that, are you okay? I really need to watch where I’m going.” I knew I was stuttering and rambling but I couldn’t seem to stop the words from leaving my mouth. I quickly took her hand and pulled her up to her feet, but as I grabbed her hand, I nearly dropped her. Smooth Claude, real smooth. I couldn’t believe what just happened, it was as if I had just been hit by lightning, just pure electricity or whatever shit girls talk about when they meet ‘the one.’ “No, it’s okay, I’m fine. I just got caught up in my music and just kept on my route not looking sorry.” It took me a minute to realize that she was talking to me, my mind was still in overdrive trying to process what just shot through my body or if she felt it, when I noticed that she was looking at me with an expectant look, when I figured out that I still hadn’t said anything. Taking my hands off of hers, my mind was screaming, Jesus Christ Giroux just say something! ANYTHING!! “I got caught in my music too, uh, I know this may sound weird but I think I’ve seen you before I just can’t place it. Can I make up knocking you over with a coffee, please? On me.” Nice save there, man you nearly blew that. I stuck my hand out to shake hers and properly introduce myself like I was raised, “Claude Giroux, and you are?” Finally, I’m gonna put a name to her beautiful face. “Riley Sanders, it’s nice to meet you Claude.”