Page 50 of Staying Selfless

He nods his head shyly. “I would like to see where you grew up.”

I can’t prevent the grin from overtaking my face. I can tell Eli was nervous to admit he wants to go to the place where I experienced so much hurt, but I don’t view my hometown that way anymore. It’s the place where I was given a blessed childhood. The place where I had my parents. The place where I became strong, and the place that holds a whole lot of great memories.

“Then I’ll take you there.”

Eli’s finger suddenly reaches up and grazes the dimple on my left cheek.

“I missed seeing these,” he says with soft eyes. “I like when you’re smiling.”

His confession does nothing but make my dimples even more prominent. “And I like when you’re smiling,” I tell him before kissing his happy lips.

My eyes catch the maroon fabric that Eli left sitting on my bed. I didn’t notice it in his hand when he walked in, which doesn’t surprise me all that much. It’s hard to keep my eyes off Eli’s face and perfectly sculpted body when he’s in front of me.

“Is this for me?” I pick up his away jersey from the bed.

“Yes, ma’am. No fucking way I’m letting you wear Cam’s last name across your back.”

My hand grazes Eli’s name stitched onto his jersey. “This is the only name I’d wear anyway,” I reassure him, hoping that one day it’ll be my name too.

I haven’t seen him play in almost six weeks, besides at Senior Showcase, and I can’t wait to cheer him on from behind the bench alongside his brother and Ali.

“Good. That name looks too good on you.”

“Do you know that the lady who works at the nacho stand knows me by name now?” Ali joins Marc and me in Eli’s family seats behind Minnesota’s bench. “That’s how often I order nachos at these games. I guess I should be embarrassed, but I’m kind of proud of myself. The nacho lady knows my name. How many people do you think can say that?”

“Quite the accomplishment.” My voice drips with sarcasm as I reach over Marc’s body to steal one of Ali’s nachos.

“I know you guys think I come to support Maddison, but I come for the nachos.” Ali tosses a chip in her mouth. “And the nacho lady.”

“EJ looks good.” Marc motions towards his brother, skating around with a puck during warmups. “He’s moving well.”

“From what Eli has told me and from the stats I’ve seen online, he’s playing the best hockey he’s ever played over the last couple of weeks.”

“Perfect timing,” Marc says. “This is when he needs to be at his best with division finals and college playoffs coming up. Not to mention, hopefully getting pulled up to finish out the NHL season.” He pauses. “Have you guys discussed your plan if EJ leaves?”

“Yeah. Whatever happens, we’ll make it work. I want Eli to succeed more than anything, and if I have to make a sacrifice by being away from him for a year, it’s more than worth it. I can do it.”

Marc nudges me with his shoulder as a proud smile sits across his lips. “You seem good,” he quietly notes.

“I feel really good.”

As soon as warmups, the national anthem, and starting lineup announcements are done, Eli skates back over to the rest of the team. He hops over the boards, makes his way behind the player’s bench, and puts his gloved hand on the glass right in front of me.

This has been his pregame ritual ever since I came to his first game as his girlfriend. It’s just a quick little thing he does, maybe to remind himself that I’m there or to calm himself down, I’m not sure. But whatever the reason, I love it.

I quickly put my hand up on the other side of the glass, offering him a knowing grin, before Eli takes off, hopping over the boards again, and heading towards center ice for the opening puck-drop.

“Fuck. You guys are cute,” Ali states before shoving a few more chips in her mouth.

By the beginning of the third period, Minnesota is up 3-1 over Michigan. Eli scored in the first period and has been playing great. There’s not even a question of how good he is compared to everyone else on the ice.

Cam, on the other hand, has been struggling. Almost every time he has the puck on his stick, he gets hammered into the ice by a player in blue. Michigan’s defensemen are just so much bigger than him, and they’re showing him no mercy.

Sometimes it seems like when other teams get frustrated with how good Eli is, they take out their aggression on Cam. They can’t get away with much on my 6’4” boyfriend, but with number eight, it’s a different story.

Because of it, Cam has been staying towards the boards, afraid to get in the action. Understandably so; he’s been taking a beating all game. But now, Michigan’s defensemen are cheating towards the outside, covering the only lane that Cam feels comfortable taking. They’re not worried about staying towards the center and watching their goal when Cam is around because they know he won’t go near the inside track.

“Cam!” I hit the glass behind the bench to get his attention. As he turns around to face me, Eli comes off the ice, taking a seat next to our friend. “Don’t let them intimidate you. Cut towards the goal. You’re so much faster than them.”

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