Capturing the Wild: Hockey Romance

Chapter 7: Roster Revelation

Brayden

That girl is going to be the death of me. I am convinced that she knew what she was doing last week when she walked away with a little extra hip movement if you know what I mean. I had to stop thinking about that though. As she said, we are just friends. Well actually I think she even took back that title after the whole Mighty Ducks altercation, so currently we are not even that. If she is willing to forgive me, then I would be more than happy being friends. Preferably friends with benefits. That's the ideal outcome here. I have been dying for a taste of that pussy... that and she has never failed to make me smile over the past few weeks, even though I have been stressed and have barely gotten to see her, when I did I couldn't help but feel something. I don't exactly know what, or how considering I just met this girl, but there was something about her. Something about the way she carried herself, and her angelic voice that was soft like a lullaby. She had this poise and attitude that drew people in. I noticed it the night I met her. Every guy in that bar was watching her, including me.​​ The more I watched her, the more I noticed small things that fascinated me. Like the small dimple that appeared on her left cheek every time she smiled, or how she would brush her fingers through her hair when she was nervous. Everything she did intrigued me, yet I found her so comforting.

Even last week after I embarrassed myself in front of an entire arena full of people cheering me on with that god awful attempt of a penalty shot, she was able to make me forget about it. That is until I stepped into the locker room and had to hear from the guys, to just 'shake it off' and 'move on'. I don't need consoling. I don't want forgiveness, and she did not give it to me. Brooks did not even hesitate to ridicule me and give me that nickname. Most people just call me Riva or Reaves, but no. Brooks needs to call me Bombay every single chance that she gets. Little does she know that Mighty Ducks was one of my favorite movies growing up and I knew exactly what she was talking about. Gordon Bombay and the failed triple-deke. How does she think I learned that move to begin with? I would watch it every winter with my brother and I even had a conway jersey hanging in my bedroom at home. Let's keep that between us though. Can't have her catching me in a lie at the beginning of this 'friendship'. But any attempt to get some alone time with Brooks Ellis, in a non-hockey related setting was definitely worth it. At one point over the past week, as she called me Bombay and snickered as she walked away, I thought I would tell her and kill her satisfaction towards driving me crazy, but I couldn't. I want to give Brooks the satisfaction of watching me discover the reasoning behind that new nicknames of mine, and watching her face light up thinking that she has pulled one over on me. So for now, this secret is going to die with me.

***

Preseason has officially come to an end a few days after my joke of the night. We won our last game, which makes our only loss my fault. Good going Brayden, really did it this time. Fortunately, the coaching staff ended up not really caring about a penalty shot, and they decided that my talents were still needed.

That's right. I am officially a member of the Minnesota Wild! Coach finalized the roster last night, and only 4 of us rookies made the team. Weston Rhett, a 6'7" defenseman from UMass who loved to fight; Rudy McKay, a 6'4" goalie from Alberta who played for the WHL and my personal favorite, Mason Kemp, a 5'11" left winger who made up for his height with his speed, and my best friend. I could not have been happier.

Kempy and I grew up together in Green Bay and have spent our entire lives working to make it to the NHL. After we were both drafted to the Minnesota Wild a few years ago, we knew that our dreams were finally attainable, and we could actually be playing together when our dreams come true. After playing our entire childhood together and being inseparable on and off the ice for all of high school, Mason accepted a DI contract at Princeton and moved to New Jersey for 3 years. It was a miracle that the Minnesota Wild drafted us both. I was getting my brother back. We would be starting our NHL careers together on the third line, playing side by side. Everything was going perfectly.