Unforgettable

Part 11

Casey

My breath heaves as I race around the rink, dodging defenders while I cradle the puck nestled cosily beside my stick. I reach the goal, and use the last bit of my strength to shoot it in. Thankfully, it sails along the ice and straight past the goalie. My teammates pile on me, and I hear a faint "Good job Lloyd" from the coach in the background.

I feel like I'm back, and potentially better than ever.

"Alright, you guys are done, hit the showers!" The coach yells from the side of the rink. My team eventually gets off of me, and I'm being pulled off the ice and onto my feet before I know it. Christian stands, a grin on his face as he slaps me on the back, before we skate over to the side of the rink. Coach also gives me a slap on my shoulder as I make my way down to the change rooms, my shoulders aching for a long, warm shower.

"Good work out there Case!" one of my teammates yells from across the change room. I thank him as I strip off my padding, before I sit down and begin unlacing my skates.

"Yeah, what's got you so good recently Lloyd?" someone else hollers across the room, causing Christian to laugh from beside me.

"It's his girl." he replies for me, to which I can only laugh up at him.

"Who's your girl?" someone asks, my smile widening on my face at the thought of Natalie.

"She's not my girl yet, officially." I reply, chucking my skates into my bag. Christian snorts from beside me, smacking me over the head from where he's standing.

"Sure, keep lying to yourself buddy. Hey, be glad you guys haven't had to sit through a dinner with them, I've never seen Case over here smile so much in his life!" Christian continues, his hand moving to rustle my hair.

"Shut the fuck up Christian." I mutter under my breath, although I'm smiling. Because every word of what he's saying is true, down to the very last detail.

Because I know I play better when she's watching, or when I'm thinking about her. I know I smile more than I ever have when I'm with her. I can't help but want to feel closer to her, she's the best and only person I'd ever want to re-meet, and I'm so glad we did.

Because even in such a little amount of time, she's giving me the purpose to get up in the morning. Because when I get up, I get to see or hear her again, and everything in the world seems right again.

...

I throw my bag into the back of my car like always, and start to head home. My first class isn't until late this afternoon, so I've basically got the whole morning off. I think of calling Natalie, to ask if she maybe wants to hangout, but I chicken out. I don't want to come off as too clingy or desperate, although it's exactly what I'm feeling on the inside.

Oop. Speak of the devil.

I click accept on the Bluetooth screen of my car, hearing the sweet sound of her voice ring through the speakers seconds later.

"Hey Casey... sorry for calling so early." she begins, and I don't know if it's the sleep deprivation but I swear I can practically hear the nerves bouncing off her tongue.

I glance over at my dashboard, seeing the time as 7:23am. And she calls this early?

"It's okay, I just finished training, so I've been up for hours anyway." I reply, rubbing a hand over my tired eyes.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize. You're probably tired, do you want me to call back later?" she ask hastily, but I cut her off before she can actually hang up on me.

"No, no, it's okay, I'm just driving back to my place now, I like the company anyway."

She laughs into the line, her voice bouncing off each empty seat in my car.