The Pursuit of Happiness (Patrick Kane)

|Seventeen|

Patrick

Kayleigh comes over after tonight's game which ended in a win, like it did most times now a days. We finally lost a game in regulation but not after going 21-0-3 and showing the world that this lockout didn't change a thing. This team was here to stay and we weren't going anywhere. There was only a few games left in this short season but I had a good reason to believe that our fun wasn't about to be over any time soon.

Like most nights I was feeling pretty good. Especially cuddled up on the couch surrounded by blankets with popcorn on one side of me and my girl on the other. We find a movie to watch and just hang out. I know our time together wasn't always what we hoped it to be. There's a lot of times we can't be together, but we always find a way.

But it's not that often we hang out this late unless neither of us have a lot of work to do. So almost never. It's the middle of April now and we've been together for over a month. While our time together has been nothing short of amazing, it's not nearly as much as I wished it would be. But she was about to be done with school and this was far from a normal hockey season so I wasn't worried about finding time in the future. It's finding time now that was hard, but I was willing to do whatever it takes to keep her with me.

"Have you always been really good at hockey" she asks randomly not even taking her eyes off the the tv screen. But my eyes stayed on her like they had been the last few minutes as I just admired her.

"I've always been pretty good, but more times than not I have had to prove myself. When I went to the OHL I was drafted 88th overall as a rookie. That was enough motivation for me to work my ass off to become the number one overall NHL draft pick only to be doubted once again. It's like every time I prove myself, there's a "but" right next to it and I have to start all over.

And some of that is my fault. I've done things that if I was anyone else no one would blink a eye at. Professional athletes do dumb stuff all the time but it isn't always news worthy. But everything I've ever done wrong since I was 17 years old was under the spotlight. I didn't get to learn these lessons on my own, I learned them publicly and I got a lot of shit for it.

Don't get me wrong, I love being able to prove myself night in and night out. I worked hard so there was no longer 87 names in front of mine. I love having opportunities to prove myself every day. But at the same time I learned everything in the eye of the public, but was never really allowed to hurt in private. Allowed to heal in private. I'm expected to just get over it and move on. Playing hockey was the one place I couldn't hear all the talks, it was me and the puck and nothing else.

I'm good at hockey because if I'm not... then I don't know who I am" I admit.

"You're a better person than just a hockey player" she insists as she lifts her head off my chest. She stares at me to make sure I believed her.

"I have yet to see it" I argue.

"That's all I see. While I have come to love the game you play and the way you play it, I didn't get to know you as a hockey player. Maybe that's why what we have is different from anything else you know. Because you couldn't use your status and your job to connect with me, you had to be yourself and guess what? That is enough for me" she promises.

I just smile as I pull her in closer, "I am so lucky to have you" I insist as she smiles back.

"You might feel like you have to prove yourself as a player, as a brother or son or friend or teammate. And people might question what they don't know. But I know you Patrick, and before you were my boyfriend you were a friend. And a damn good one who I knew was there for me and I knew wanted to be together. There's no question in my mind that you're a great person who just so happens to be a player. I don't see you for your mistakes or for what you're supposed to be.

I see you Patrick, and that's someone anyone would be proud of" she insists.

I quickly pull her into a kiss as she moves in closer to me. I roll over so I'm laying on my back and she was straddling me on top. I feel her cold fingers reach for my face and for some reason it made me feel warm inside.

She suddenly stops and rests her head on my chest. She wraps her arms around me tightly as she squeezes me tight. "Are you okay" I ask softly.

"Yeah, I just want to be close to you" she claims. "It's not often we can just be together, you know"'she asks.

"Yeah. I get it. I honestly hate it when you leave because I don't really know when I can see you again" I sigh as I run my fingers through her hair.

"I hate leaving you too" she assures me.

"What if you don't leave" I wonder.

She perks her head up as she looks at me. "You want me to spend the night" she asks.

"If you would like" I insist.

"I have my last final in the morning" she reminds me.

"I can drop you off at your place before morning skate and we'll both have plenty of time to figure it out" I assure her.

"I think I would like it a lot" she smiles big and it makes my heart skip a beat.

"Good" I nod.

So we get up off the couch and head to my room. I give her some clothes to change into and she buys a toothbrush from downstairs. She gets ready for bed as I strip down to some shorts. I crawl into bed and she comes in with me. Surprisingly enough I never had a girl in this bed before. Usually the one night stands happen at their place so they don't know where I live or I get a hotel room. So I've always been the only person in this bed since I've moved here two years ago. It was different having someone in here with me, but as I've learned different isn't always bad.

As soon as she gets under the sheets I pull her body against mine. For the first time she wasn't cold to the touch, she as warm and I loved how she felt with her body against mine. She tangled her legs with mine as she lets out a long sigh.

"Are you tired" I ask her.

"Very much so. But I don't want to miss these moments with you" she claims.

"I promise you Moon, we have the rest of our lives to have moments like this" I promise her.

"Can you make promises like that" she questions.

"I've proved myself right so far. I don't plan on stopping any time soon" I say.