There she is.
Tessa.
Section 104, row two.My jersey hugs her body, the number “19” and my last name on her back like a brand.But that isn't what makes me almost stumble on the ice.Because she isn't alone.My whole damn family surrounds her, Eli, Kenzie, Mom, and Dad, all jammed together, faces lit with the kind of pride that hits you square in the ribs.
I didn’t know they were coming.
Tessa must’ve convinced them.
I love her so fucking much.It's like she can make the impossible possible.
Kenzie waves something glittery and so her, a homemade sign that says,“Captain of My Heart.”I catch Tessa laughing at it, shaking her head, cheeks pink.
I don't think; my body moves like it knows where it belongs.Before I know it, I am up against the glass, a gloved hand banging on it, with a grin taking over my whole face.This close, I can see that my family is in my jerseys and team gear too.The seats in front of Tessa are still empty, so she climbs over them ungracefully, eliciting a snort from Kenzie, and places her hand where my glove is.
Her smile makes my chest swell; it makes everything else disappear.
"You going to score a goal for me, Captain?"
"For you?Anything!"And I mean it.
A flash to my left brings me back to reality.So, I wave to my family and get back to warming up.By the time the anthem ends, my gloves are already damp.I skate to center ice, Reeves to my right and Anders to my left.I lock eyes with the player across from me, showing him exactly what he is in for.This ismyarena.
The puck drops, and it’s all muscle memory and a team that knows how to play together.My heart is hammering with adrenaline.The crowd feels alive.Every check, every shift, every push feels sharper.We play hard.Switching things up, keeping them guessing.
Then it happens, a clean breakout from our zone.Colby finds McKenna on the rush; they try to charge the rookie, but he chips it back across to me, and that is all I need.
Wrist shot.
Far side.
Top shelf.
The light flares with the goal horn, and the crowd goes wild.
I find her instantly.Tessa’s on her feet, hair loose around her, waving both hands over her head, bursting with excitement.Eli’s high-fiving Kenzie.Mom looks like she might be crying.Dad’s standing, arms crossed but proud.I skate right for her, pointing so she knows that was for her.
The camera pans just in time to catch it, all of it, blasted across the Jumbotron in real-time:Captain Carson’s First of the Seasonand the girl who stole his heart.
The crowd goes wild.
They start chanting my name, but I swear I can only hear one voice,hers.
After the game, the press gauntlet starts.We shower, suit up, and file into the media room.The lights are blinding, the air too warm, the microphones shoved in close.
I smile.Answer everything they throw at me.
About the team.The season.The goal.
Then, because they all know.
The questions shift to her.
Even the questions that aren't directly about my personal life feel coded for her.
She’s become the shorthand for everything good about me.
And I let it happen.
