Left With Liam

Chapter 1

Liam

I never used to think too much about it- love, romance- those things were always on the back burner, something that could wait for later. For me, the priority was always the game or my friends and family. Romance wasn't high on my list of significance.

For years, I just wanted to focus on my career, making myself the best player I could for my team. So, that's what I did. I hardly dated since college, and that never bothered me. It never got under my skin when the boys would try to rattle my cage about it, either. They could joke and taunt me about it all they wanted, and I never once cracked. I had more important things to worry about.

I watched as the guys around me would pick up girls and screw around. They had fun doing whatever the hell they wanted, but I could see that those kinds of relationships weren't made of substance. They were just a waste of time- nothing I wanted to get myself mixed up in.

Rob and Drew asked me once why I never took advantage of the many girls that threw themselves at us. They acted like I was crazy- like I was missing out on the biggest high of my life. I knew that wasn't the case. I got my high from winning, from playing hard and throwing myself into the game I've always loved. Nothing else compared to that. At least, that's how it used to be. It's what I always told myself.

Now, I'm not so sure.

Over the years, I've seen a few of the guys meet their match. They found the one person that makes them feel better than the game ever could. That's how Dan and Tyler described it to me once.

Dan was already married when I came to the team. He met his wife two years after going pro. They had their ups and downs at first, but now, they're happily married with a couple of kids. His family never misses a home game, and the look he gets when he sees them out in the stands is priceless. It's a look that says he's still winning even if we lose the game.

It's the same for Tyler. He and his new wife are expecting their first child any day now. When he talks about her, he goes off into his own little world. When that happens, I can imagine that nothing in the universe could take away that man's happiness.

When other guys on the team got wifed up, I was happy for them. I still couldn't imagine anything feeling as good as the game made me feel. Back then, the game was still my top priority. And I never felt like anything was missing.

Looking further back, I wonder if I had always felt that way or if I was lying to myself to protect my heart. I dated in college but never thought those relationships were end game. No one I dated had been more important to me than hockey. Going pro was the one thing that mattered to me besides my friends and family, and no girl ever held a candle to the game.

I thought I was just wired differently, and I was okay with that. It would make me a better player. I'd have fewer distractions. One of my best friends messed around a lot back in the day. His antics proved that skirt-chasing could cause problems when games rolled around.

Chase would get distracted or irritable when one of his bunnies started drama. They'd act as though he promised them the world when he was blunt about his intentions. Even when he told them it was only for a night, they'd hear something different, and it would only cause trouble for him. Most of the time, he could put it out of his mind and play his best. Sometimes, though, you could tell that the consequences of his actions far outweighed the reward.

He's still a helluva hockey player, and he kept his mind in the right place enough to make it to the pros with me and our good friend, Justin. These days, even Chase has settled down. He found the love of his life when I introduced him to my sister. Now, they're about to get married and start their future together. I couldn't be happier for them.