Sunflower Love

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Epilogue

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"Come on, Winnie!" Kate called from the living room of my apartment, "We're going to be late and the guys won't appreciate that."

I rolled my eyes, "We still have like almost two hours." I call back as I do one last quick look at myself in the mirror to make sure I look okay before grabbing my phone and wallet. I make my way out of my bedroom and down the hall, glancing inside my office at the bugs hung above my desk. I pause as I feel a new sense of appreciation for them.

She would be proud of me.

I pull my office door closed as I continue to where the rest of the girls are at. "Okay," I heave a sigh as I come into the room, "I'm ready."

Julianna squeals as soon as she sees me, "Look at you! T is gonna flip out when he sees you, Winnie!" She jumps up and pulls me into a hug before she grabs her keys off the table. "Let's go ladies! We're getting a win tonight!"

We cheer with her as we make our way out of my apartment. I was wearing Theo's jersey with a thermal set underneath because I wasn't really sure how cold it got in there and I wasn't about to be freezing for the next few hours.

Julianna was wearing a Stingray's shirt instead of a jersey, but I know there was probably a jersey she wouldn't mind wearing. Sierra had on Lincoln's jersey, apparently the two of them have been best friends since freshman year of college when the two were lab partners. This jersey had a smiley face written on it in sharpie and I was told that Lincoln's jersey has one too, but that it was on the inside. Kate borrowed Knox's jersey from Sierra for the game because she didn't want to feel out of place amongst all the Stingray fans.

As we pulled in, I winced a little at how packed it was already. "It's fine, we have really good seats once we get in." Julianna says as we walk up to the arena, the chill in the air makes me duck my head a little.

Once we finally make it through the line to get in, we split up. Julianna goes with Kate to get food and drinks while I follow Sierra to our seats. Much to my enjoyment, they did get us seats awfully close to one of the goals. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I felt the buzz of energy from the fans surrounding me.

I knew it was a different feeling.

"You two big fans?" Sierra and I hadn't sat down yet, but we turned to see a group of guys sitting behind us. They looked kind of young, maybe early college age, but they all had jerseys on too. Two were Theo, One had Sebastian, and I didn't recognize the other two.

"Kind of." Sierra said sheepishly. "Well I mean I am. I've watched hockey since I was younger, but she's pretty new to it all. She's gonna be a huge fan soon though." She bumps me and we both laugh a little.

"First game?" A guy asked as he leaned in a little, a small smile on his face. I nod, which causes his smile to widen, "If you need any help with terms or keeping up with the puck, I can always help you out."

"Thanks." I had no intentions of actually asking him anything considering I was a bit determined to follow the puck all on my own. I had been practicing at home. I was going to keep up while at this game and every game after if it was the last thing I did.

I hear skates hitting the ice and turn to see players from both teams coming out to warm up a little. "Warmups usually last a little, sweetheart." I slowly take my seat as I search for Theo. "We play for UMICH." I glance at them and tilt my head. "University of Michigan." One of the guys smirks a little. "We're pretty good, I'd say."

I nod, "Well, that's quite impressive. Do you guys plan on going all the way to the NHL?" I ask.

They shrug, "I think every hockey player wants to go to the NHL at some point in their life." One of the guys says and the rest nod in agreement. I smile a little at that, "Well good luck to you guys." They smile back, but then their eyes move to something behind me. I hear a tap on the glass and I turn, my cheeks heat as I see Theo.