Page 8

tyler

Halle was curled up on my chest, her head resting on my shoulder and her body curved into mine. She'd passed out half an hour ago while we listened to music in my room. Her fluttering lips were too perfect to disturb. I decided not to wake her.

Pulling my phone out, I found the post from the previous day on Halle's account. I hadn't been on Instagram since the previous morning, so this was the first time I'd seen it. I liked the post, then scrolled to the comments. To my surprise, Kirby had commented on it already.

I liked the comment, laughing internally. I looked at the other comments, reading the thoughts of her friends and even family. Emily's comment made me laugh as well.

I liked that one too. After a moment, I requested to follow Emily. Why not?

Putting my phone back down onto the bed, I focused on Halle's steady inhaling. Her sleeping rhythm was soothing, lulling me to a half asleep state. Despite the relaxing position, I couldn't fall asleep all the way. My thoughts ran rampant with the notion of her. All I could imagine were baby blue eyes that I could get lost in, reminding me of crisp winter mornings and ice on the lake. Soft blonde hair that reminded me of golden bread pulled fresh from the oven. Pink lips that reminded me of summer sunrises and cases of bubblegum. She was everything I could ever need and want. I was completely certain I'd fallen in love at first sight. How else could I describe my instant fascination with her?

She was my girlfriend now. She'd been my girlfriend for twenty four whole hours. It still felt like a dream. I never wanted her to leave, never wanted her to stop cuddling against me. I never wanted her to stop kissing me like I was last person in the world. She'd been a tornado from North Carolina, creating a crazy storm and throwing my life upside down. Like a whirlwind she'd blown in and changed everything I knew. I loved her, and I'd only known her for a few weeks.

Knowing that my sweet little blonde was leaving me the next day was almost impossible to handle. I knew the trip to the airport would be a hard one. I didn't want to think about it. Right now, I had to take advantage of her presence. One more night with her in my arms. One more night to appreciate her soft skin and feathery hair. One more night to stare at her plump lips, slightly open in her sleep. I swallowed heavily.

How were we going to do this? We lived so far apart, with such busy lives. A chance like this wouldn't happen again. I needed to talk to someone on the team who'd dealt with this before. Of course, I knew I should've done that before all this happened. I knew I should've talked to Jon or someone. I knew we shouldn't have rushed this. I couldn't help myself. I couldn't imagine continuing to live without Halle being mine.

Picking my phone back up, I shot a text to Jon.

Again I let my phone drop. I didn't regret anything, but the reality was settling in.

Against my side, Halle shifted. She groaned slightly. Her long lashes lifted to reveal one stunningly blue eye. I grinned down at her.

"Who were you texting?" Her voice was thick and groggy with sleep. As I watched, her mouth split open in a wide yawn.

"Jon. We're gonna work out Monday." She nodded, letting her eyelids droop again. Before she could fall back asleep, I started to move. "Hang on, sleepyhead. Can I get changed?" She whimpered as I pulled away. I would've stayed, but I wanted to get into more comfortable shorts. I hated sleeping in jeans. I left Halle on the bed as headed for my dresser.

I pulled my sweatshirt off out of habit. When I turned around, I found her heavy gaze on me. I smirked, ready to put a tee on.

"No no, leave it off." I shook my head, tossing the shirt in her direction. She caught it with her small hands. Smiling softly, she pulled the fabric to her face.

I came back to the bed, pulling the cover back. Halle crawled under. I followed, settling on my stomach. Halle's fingers found my skin, tracing small patterns across my back.

She always did that. She always traced small things on my skin, setting my insides on fire and making me long for more. Sometimes words, sometimes shapes. I loved every little touch.

When her fingers fell away, I groaned. My complaints immediately stopped when soft lips found my skin. She pressed gentle kisses across my shoulder blade, fluttering down the curve of my back. My heart rate increased rapidly. Her puckered lips dissolved into a smile against me. I groaned.

"You drive me crazy, ya know?"

"Oh I'm aware. It's my goal." Halle pulled away, much to my disappointment. She settled next to me, curling up like she always did. I flipped onto my side so my chest was to her back. With one hand, I grabbed onto her waist gently and pulled her close. Halle let out a content sigh as our bodies pressed together.

"I'm going to miss this." I murmured gently into her hair.

"I know. Me too." Her voice held a note of sadness that tugged at my heart. I buried my face further into her sweet hair.

Eventually I drifted off with thoughts of the beach and running away flowing through my mind.

Soft touches across my face woke me up. I blinked blearily before finding the source of the fleeting caresses. Halle's fingers were tracing the features of my face, lightly curving around my nose, my lips, my eyes. Her eyes went wide when she saw that she'd woken me up.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." I shook my head, disregarding her apology. I was glad she had.

"What time is it?"

"Eight." Her tone was sad. I knew why. Less than three hours and we'd be in a car, heading for the airport. I was dreading the time as much as she was.

"Do you want to do anything until then? Or do you-" She cut me off with a gentle kiss. Her lips pressed against my own in such an antagonizing way.

"Nope. I want to stay here with you for as long as possible." I tried to hide my grin under the covers. I'd been hoping she would say that.

Halle settled back down, laying her head on my chest comfortingly. My rough fingers found her hair, twisting and playing gently with the blonde strands. I tried to soak up every ounce of her presence, to paint an eternal picture in my mind.

I studied her gorgeous features. The curve of her soft cheek, the almost white baby hairs that sprang from her forehead, the way her nose upturned slightly at the tip. Her lips pursed lightly as a thought crossed her mind. Her eyebrows scrunched together slightly, the darker hair forming a formidable line. I wanted this to be my view every morning.

We stayed as close as possible to each other until it was time to pack up her things and leave. My heart ached as she dragged her feet around my room. Each little part of her life that she'd let loose on my room was regathered and shoved into her bag. When she left the room to gather her toiletries, I quickly buried a few of my T-shirts and a pair of sweatpants under the rest of her things. I hoped the little surprise would make her smile when she got home.

Halle's face was crestfallen as I helped her carry the bag down to the door. Kirby was sitting on the couch, watching some show. He stood quickly when he saw her.

"Aw, damn. I was hoping you'd somehow find a way to stay longer." I surprised myself by not being jealous when Kirby enveloped her in a hug.

"I wish I could've." Halle's words were muffled into Kirby's shoulder. When they pulled apart, Kirby tossed me the key fob. I caught it with one hand, the other burdened down by Halle's bag.

I carried it down to the car, the petite blonde following me carefully. If it was warmer I would have talked to her for a bit outside the car, but I could tell she was cold.

Neither of us conversed much over the drive. My heart felt heavy. If I opened my mouth, I knew how thick my voice would be. I cursed how little traffic there was. We arrived at the airport much too quickly.

Before I was fully out of the car, thin arms wrapped around me. I smiled sadly as I dropped my cheek down to the top of her head.

"This isn't going to get any easier, is it?" Her voice was small and muffled.

"I don't think so. I wish you never had to leave."

"Me too."

We stood that way until someone in line behind Kirby's car honked. I pulled back, looking down at her. I was surprised when she reached up on her tip toes and kissed me.

"Goodbye Tyler."

"I'll text and call you as often as I can. I promise. Bye, Halls." Our fingers tried to stay in contact for as long as possible, until finally my arm dropped heavily back to my side. I let out a heavy sigh. Just like that, my angel was gone. How was I going to survive without her?

I blasted my music as loud as possible on the car ride home, not caring about the stares I got. After I'd pulled into the parking spot in front of our apartment, I called Adam. I'm sure he read the gruffness in my voice as I told him he was fine to come back. I didn't care how snarky I was.

Kirby was still sitting where he had been an hour before. I ignored him, heading straight for my room.

This was going to be so much harder than I thought. How were we going to survive without each other?

&&&

Monday morning came early and dragged me from my bed with regret in my chest. Why had I agreed to workout with Jon this early? My captain may be an early rising freak but I sure wasn't.

I pulled into the parking lot of our relatively new practice facility. Already, I knew this would be hell. I hadn't worked out since Thursday morning. I'm sure Jon had been at it every day.

Jon was where I'd expected him to be. Already at it with stretching on a neon green yoga mat. The man was a yoga fiend. I ignored him as I headed for the locker room. My duffel bag banged heavily on my knees as I traversed the hallway.

With shorts and a muscle tank top on, I rejoined Jon in the main gym area. I joined him in stretching, loosening my muscles that had tightened back up from a few days off of work.

"What did you want to talk about?" Jon stood from the mat, heading for the weights. I followed him, trying to gather my words.

"How did you and Lindsey do it?" My question caught him off guard. It was obvious this wasn't the kind of talk he'd been expecting.

"What?"

"How did you deal with being apart? Before she moved here, I mean. I know she hasn't always lived in Chicago."

"Why do you want to know, Tyler?" His words were careful. I knew his eyes were boring into me.

"Because I met a girl."

"And you're already involved with each other?" I nodded, still not looking at him. "Was that smart? You have a lot of future riding on your decisions. It'd be better if you focused solely on your goals." I shook my head. I'd been expecting this.

"I couldn't focus right without her. Trust me, this was a good choice and I won't regret it. But she lives so far away. She's in school, so it's not like I can fly her up every weekend."

Jon didn't say anything. I looked up at him. He was looking off into the distance, deep in thought.

"A lot of guys do this Ty. I think it's harder for younger players, but it's been done. You both have so much time in front of you. All I can really tell you is cherish every second you do get to spend together. I don't have the experience with college. Lindsey and I were both past college age when we met."

"I did cherish it. But I want more." He looked surprised again.

"Has she been up here?" Then a knowing look passed across his face. "Ahh. Was it the girl who we saw in Carolina?" Then even more realization crossed his face. "That's what Kirby and Adam have been so weird about! They knew, didn't they? They suck at keeping secrets. I'd find better people to confide in." I laughed.

"I was impressed they didn't say anything sooner. But yeah, she came up over the weekend. She met Kirby, Adam, and Alex."

"So it's serious then? Are you guys official?" Jon's smirk was aggravating.

"Yes. One of these days I'll bring her around everyone else, but for now she needs to focus on school."

"Where does she go? Some where in North Carolina, I assume?"

"Yep. Duke U. She's super smart."

"Yeah, unlike you, eh?" Our serious conversation broke. With Jon knowing, I felt better. We started to go through our mid-season workout regime. My muscles began to burn from the strength and resistance training.

Sweat dripped down my face in annoying lines. My hair was damp with it. I always sweated more than the physical activity required. The length of my hair was getting annoying as well. Thick wet strands constantly fell onto my forehead. No amount of pushing the dark flow back with my hand worked. It kept falling forward and pressing grossly to my skin. Silently, I cursed Kirby for creating this challenge.

Jon and I worked well together off the ice. Neither of us needed to talk much. We spotted each other without asking and helped set up the different exercises for the other. It wasn't surprising. Jon and I had similar personalities with our lack of emotion. Even more reason I hoped I could become captain in the future.

By the time Jon decided we were done, I felt like I'd been pulling a train behind me. It was a good burn, but I was exhausted. The intense workout also pushed the pain of Halle's absence away. Whether or not Jon had meant for it to help me in other ways, I didn't know. Something told me he knew exactly what he was doing by presenting the difficult tasks. He was attentive to his team. He knew how we worked. It wasn't too far off to assume he'd sensed my fallen spirits.

In the locker room, I changed and showered quickly. With my hair now damp from fresh water instead of sweat, I felt relieved. Before I picked my gym bag up, I checked my phone for texts from Halle. There were none. She was in class right now. I sighed and tossed my phone into the bag. Only one day without her and I felt completely incomplete.

I walked with Jon to our cars. Before we parted ways, my captain grabbed onto my shoulder heavily.

"Don't think about things too much, eh kid? It'll only make things worse. Believe me, you'll miss your freedom in a few years. This is a good test." His grin was joking. I shook my head, letting a smile sneak onto my face.

"I won't. See you tomorrow at practice." Jon saluted as he retreated to his car. I followed his example, tossing my bag into the back seat and settling into the driver's side.

I'd showered for this reason. If Kirby had gotten into his car and it reeked of sweat, I would never drive it again. Even though stench was hardly avoidable on a team of hockey players, Kirby still found a way to freak out about it. There was always one who did.

The streets of Chicago were still relatively empty at eleven on a Monday. The city's occupants were in school or at their jobs. Normally, I'd be at work too. Tomorrow I'd be back at it. For now I had the rest of the day to relax. I missed Halle. If she were here now, I'd take her around to all the places we'd missed on Friday. I'd show her the sports bar the team ate at frequently. I'd show her my favorite quiet parts of the city, where it felt like I was back home. I'd show her the private alleys and backstreets that reminded me of where I'd grown up.

My heart ached at the thought. Remember what Jon said. Don't think about it too much. It was hard to distract myself. The only thing big enough to wipe the worry away was the heavy burden of my career. It wasn't fun to think about.

It was a lot of pressure. The crushing weight of thousands of hockey fans, waiting with heavy breath for me to hit ninety points, then one hundred. 106 was Ovi's number. 132 was Teemu's. Hell, if I wanted to reach Gretzky's unofficial rookie debut I could shoot for an even 140. The thoughts swirled through my head dangerously. I was on a road to life-long fame if I managed that. Did I want that? Did I want Halle to be put through all that attention? I was trying to keep her protected as possible. I was trying not to tell her how many news sources were after me all the time. How many players wanted me out of the game. How big of a target I was as a rookie.

She had no idea about any of it. She had no idea what kind of weight rested on my shoulders. I wasn't sure I wanted her to know. She hadn't known who I was before the Toronto game. At least now she knew who I was and how I played. I just didn't want the stress that I felt every day affecting her. Just because she cared for me didn't mean she had to deal with the mess of my life.

I wanted to keep her safe from all the stress and complications of my crazy career. How could we possibly keep this up without any repercussions? I was scared, and beginning to realize what I'd just done to our lives.