~•~
26 year old, Connor Deluca, is a professional Hockey player in the NHL; who just moved into the expensive Citrus Grove Community.
23 year old, Serena Jade, is the recluse famous author known to the public only under her pen name Skylyn Voss, and...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
________________
Serena loved him.
Sitting in the busy locker room, it was filled with noise. The sound of men dressing in padding and uniforms, covered blades stepping into the soft rubber flooring, and the drowned-out thundering of fans in the stands waiting eagerly for this game to begin.
All of this surrounded Connor, and yet the only thing he could manage to hear was the formation of Serena's lips saying those three little words. It filled his head with a symphony of warmth and confusion all at once.
He had gone over to her place yesterday, desperately hoping to hear those words come out of her mouth. He searched her face endlessly for the love she professed on the phone, hoping to find that adoration in the fine lines on her face. But he was almost sure that was all gone now.
They had both plunged daggers deep into the other and drained all that love out.
Before Connor could ponder on it anymore, Coach Stetson walked into the room, and his booming voice snapped him back into game mode.
He didn't have time to think about the video, question what was real. He needed to push all of it to the furthest corner of his mind; he refused to ruin this game. The one that mattered. He owed it to himself and his team to give them everything tonight on the ice.
"Alright, I want everyone's attention as I go over plays. The wolves are walking away with that Stanley Cup this year, and I won't accept anything less." He boomed and walked over to the large whiteboard. He went over plays with their tactics and discussed the weaknesses of The Bullet's star players as the team geared up.
It was nice to focus on Hockey completely. Regardless of what he heard in the Video, Connor felt somewhat at peace. He did everything he could for her despite the acquisition she threw at him. All that he could afford to lose, he had lost. He wasn't going to lose anymore.
Even if Serena did still love him, she hadn't told him. It felt wrong to hear it through a video that was stolen from her, recorded against her will. He wasn't going to sit around while she hid from the world, from him, and from herself.
His chest felt like cinder blocks were being piled on top. He could feel the excruciating ripping as he tore Serena out of his mind. It didn't feel right or natural, but he knew that's what he needed to do to move on from this.
Connor breathed in a solid breath and closed his eyes, forcing the sound of her voice on those three letters out of his mind as the coach ended his pregame speech.
He walked past Connor and cleared his throat, making him look up at him, "Deluca. I need to know I can rely on you tonight. I need to know you're here to win. There can be no distractions."
For the first time since Connor knew Coach Stetson, his words held concern and the sheer weight of tonight's importance.
Connor gave him a firm nod, "No distractions, Coach." He flipped the switch in his head, shut off his heart, and focused on the one thing he knew he did best. Hockey. He promised Honey that he would win for her this morning since he broke their first promise. He would make good on this one.
