I unlocked the door to my apartment and flipped the light on. I threw my keys onto the small chest by the door, and kicked off my shoes. It’s been a pretty good night so far. I scored my first NHL goal, got to spend time with Scottie, and now I’m going to relax and watch some TV. It’s well past midnight, but I’m not tired enough for bed. I grabbed a water bottle from my fridge, flipped on the TV, and plopped down on the couch. I channel surfed until I stumbled upon a rerun of a lacrosse game. I honestly had never seen a lacrosse game before. This game was a men’s game, so I don’t know if it’s exactly like what Scottie does. Lacrosse is a lot like hockey. I looked to see who the teams were, Boston Cannons and New York Lizards. The commentators kept mentioning a Paul Rabil, so I pulled out my phone and searched him on the Internet. It looked like he was a pretty stellar player. He plays for the Cannons, but he’s a member of the USA team, and graduating from Johns Hopkins. He seems kind of like the Wayne Gretzky of lacrosse. But then again, what do I know?
I must have dozed off watching the game on the couch because I woke up around five thirty in the morning with some fishing show on. We had an off day, so I didn’t have to be anywhere soon. I turned the TV, and went back to bed in my bedroom.
I woke up around eight-thirty in morning. No matter what I had going on in a day, my body always woke me up fairly early. I don’t mind it though; it gives me time during the day to do things. I hadn’t showered the night before, so I decided to get that taken care of. I turned on some Rolling Stones, and hopped in the shower.
When I was done, I threw on some work out clothes, packed extra in my gym bag, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Thank god my mom taught me how to cook, or I’d go broke from going out for every meal. I scrambled some egg whites, cooked some turkey bacon, and toasted some bread. I had a glass of OJ while I ate and read the newspaper. Front page was our win against Calgary. I read the article and smiled to myself as they mentioned my goal. I replayed the scene in my head, and got excited once more as I remembered the feeling I had last night. Everyone got so excited, and I just remember thinking I had to see Scottie. I focused my attention back on the article and that’s when I noticed the picture. It was I, with my glove raised pointing towards Scottie. We both had the goofiest grins on our faces. I read the caption underneath, “Gould raises his glove to his girlfriend, and daughter of Blackhawks Coach, Scotland Brown”. I forget how publicized our relationship is, and will continue to get.
Around ten in morning, I grabbed my gym bag and car keys, and made my way to the gym. It was a pretty short drive, but I enjoyed it. It gave me a little time to just enjoy the Chicago area. Everyday I pass Scottie’s neighborhood on my way. I wonder if she is still at home. Probably, she doesn’t have to be back at school for a few hours. I parked in my spot, and walked into the gym area of our rink with all my things. I passed some ice skaters and just hoped I wouldn’t pass Hannah. All that was shot to hell when she burst out of the girls’ locker room.
“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Dean Gould. Are you avoiding me, D-Babe?” I cringed as Hannah used the nickname she had for me while we were dating. I hated it then and I hate it even more now.
“I don’t have time for this, Hannah.” I tried to move past her, but she was resilient. Hannah snaked her arms around my neck, and got as close as she could. I left my arms at my side, and stared over her stupid little ballerina bun.
“D-Babe, I miss you! Just talk to me. Come home with me after your practice?” Hannah spoke softly to me.
“Hannah, get off of me.” I glared down at her.
“But, D-Babe—“ I cut her off quickly.
“Do not call me that.”
Hannah started to speak, but was cut off by a booming voice, “Dean, what the hell are you doing?” I whipped my head around to find Bryan Bickell standing behind us, dumbfound, with his arm out to the sides. Hannah jumped of me, and stood their looking guilty as ever.
“Let’s just go to the gym, Bicks.” I turned back around, not making eye contact with Hannah and sped off to the gym. Once in there, I noticed a few of the guys were here too. Derrick, Saader, Andrew Shaw, Jon, and Kaner. I hoped Bryan wouldn’t make a big deal out of what he just saw.
Bryan shot the door open and threw his bag into his locker by the door, “I’ll repeat myself one more time, Dean. What the hell were you doing?” Bryan spoke loudly and sternly, but made sure not to shout. Which was even scarier. Everyone’s heads whipped between him and me, waiting for my answer.
“Okay, I’ll just tell you all the story. Do you guys know who Hannah Parker is? She’s an ice skater here?” A few of them nodded their heads, but majority shook their heads no.
I continued, “Well, we go back. As in she’s my ex girlfriend. We grew up together in Kitchener; dated all through high school, and then I broke up with her before I left for ND. She did not take it well, like crying on her bedroom floor, begging me to try to make it work. I don’t know what got into her because she was never that emotional while we were dating. Anyway, I haven’t talked to her, or seen her, in like three years. Then one day a few months ago, I bumped into her while I was walking out of here. We talked for a minute, and then she tried to worm her way back into my life, and I am so over her it’s not even funny. That same day, Scottie and I started dating. I told Scottie about her, and guess they don’t get along.”
“Scottie hates her, says she gives her a bunch of shit for playing hockey with us. Says Scottie should act more like a girl. You dated that bitch, Dean?” Brandon spoke up.
“Unfortunately, yes. Anyway, she hasn’t given us much trouble except one day. She hasn’t spoken to either of us, until today. Which is what Bryan is all red about. He walked in while Hannah was all over me. I was not doing anything except telling her to get off of me and stop calling me that stupid fucking nickname she had for me while we were dating.” I finished what I was saying and waited for someone to comment.
“Are you gonna tell Scottie?” Derrick asked me.
“Yeah, next time I see, and I don’t know when that will be. But, yeah, I’m gonna tell her.” I had to. Scottie and I are completely honest with one another.
“I’m sorry, Dean. We’re just all so protective over Scott, you know. So, when I saw another girl’s hands all over you, I was about ready to smack down.” Bryan shook my head apologetically.
“Hey, man. It’s all right. Hannah is crazy. I just want her to leave us alone. And you guys gotta know, I don’t think I could ever risk what Scottie and I have. And if I do, I give you all full permission to kick my ass.” I told everyone who was in there, and they all laughed.
“Don’t tempt us, Goldie!” Shaw shouted.
We all continued working out. It might say we have an off day, but that just means no ice time. Almost everyone come to the rink to work out in the gym. My mind kept wandering back to Hannah. Why was she so hell bent on getting me back? Was our relationship in high school really that important to her? When I was finished working out, I sent a quick text to Scottie when I got in my car.
<Hey, got something to tell you. Have you left yet? We can meet up at the park, or whatever you want. I just really gotta talk to you. Love you.
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Full Strength
Fanfiction**PLEASE READ THE LAST ADDED PART** She's the daughter of his coach. He's the new recruit. How could this possibly end up badly? Scotland Brown has grown up around hockey. Her father has been the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks since she was ei...
