Anyone But The Hockey Boy

-5-

Ria:

The day after I'm still happily floating through life with the sweet memories of one of the best dates of my life. It must be obvious I'm on cloud nine as I arrive to the pool at five AM.

"No one should be smiling this early," Shane groans as I enter the deck. The pool isn't to fancy, six lanes twenty-five meter lanes with nice yellow, white and blue lane lines aspersions them.

"Yeah Ria, tone down the happiness coach might kill us because of it," Colin adds from the ground where he attempts the stretch. I look down at him to see dark rings under his eyes, yes he's normally tired but this is a new level of exhaustion.

"You look like death," I tell him as I light nudge him with my foot. "What time did you go to sleep last night?"

"Midnight," he yawns. To most college students midnight is nothing. But to athletes it's horrible, it leads to only five hours of sleep and entire day of workouts and classes to cover. Last night Hunter had gotten me back around nine so I was sleeping pretty early. "And it's your fault too," he adds.

"Mine?" I scoff, "how so?"

"You went on a date with Hunter last night and since he knows that I know you he spent the night harping me with questions."

"What?" I ask. It's all I can think to say.

"Yeah, he was very curious," he continues. "But more importantly why didn't you tell me you had a date? We tel each other everything Regan."

By now most of the team has started to slowly make their way towards us. As much as I like them all I don't want to discuss my dating life with them all.

"How do you know Hunter?" I drop down onto the tiles so I only have to whisper.

"Uhh," he looks at me confused and dazed, clearly barely awake. "He's my roommate, the hockey player I was telling you about."

My fave drops. All that left over dopamine from the previous night gone. I went on a date with a hockey player.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

I put my face into my palms and let out a loud groan. How did I not know? The first thing I should've asked was what sports he did, if any so I would've had the heads up. Fuck me.

"I told you you'd like him," Colin decided to take this moment to gloat, "from him it sounds like the date went perfectly. I guess not all hockey boys are shit heads," he playfully elbows my side.

"Yeah probably because he faked his way through it," there was no way a normal person was that genuinely nice and considerate. I had assumed that a bit of it was extra charm, like most guys do on dates. But after growing up in Canada, in the city of one of the most famous NHL teams I know better than anyone what the guys are like.

They charm you. Make themselves seem like these athletic stars with a soft spot for you and only you. If your lucky they take you out once or twice. Then when you start to think their better than the other guys you've been with you hook up and leave you behind.

It happened to me when I was a teenager. It happened to Hana and my other friends throught the years. When I was younger I thought they were decent people but as a grew up and got into my later years of elementary and began high school it only solidified my thoughts.

"I mean the guy isn't perfect and I don't know who you do but he's a decent human." Colin pushes up from his place on the ground and goes to put his equipment in a lane. I follow him over and continue to ask my questions.