Page 52 of Puck Shots
“You are adorable when you’re lost.”
“Thanks, but I like to be prepared.”
“I know. And you’re right. I can still get a contract as a free agent, but it could take me longer.”
“And while you wait, you’d do what?”
“Stay here, play for the NACC.”
“So you’d still be on the ice.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Which means you’d still get to be in your happy place.”
“So what you’re saying is even if I don’t get drafted, I can still be happy?”
I sit up and turn a little to face him better.
“No one knows what will happen in the future. I could have never imagined I’d be here in this bed with you—”
“Actually, we just went over exactly how you imagined us like this.”
“Not what I mean and you know it.”
“Sorry.” He laughs, and I reach over and grab my glasses.
“What I guess I am trying to say is, you can’t plan for everything, but you can work for it, and you work harder thananyone I’ve ever met. There is nothing you can’t do when you set your mind on it. So if playing for the NHT—”
“NHL.”
“It’s a tournament, though.”
“It’s a league.”
“Mine makes more sense, but either way, if that is where you want to be, you’ll find a way to get there, drafted or not.”
“You think?”
“I know,” I say, leaning in and kissing him lightly.
“Well, speaking of going places, have you finished your presentation yet?”
Eli’s been prepping for his class presentation for weeks now, practicing his speech for it, changing his slides over and over again as he continues to make tweaks to his program that he just has to include. He isn’t the most confident when he has to talk to the guys in the house, so I know he’s freaking out over having to get up in front of his whole class to speak, so I’ve told him that I can sneak in and sit up the back, so he can just pretend he’s speaking to me, like he’s been doing when he’s practicing.
“How is that in any way, speaking of places?”
“You’re super smart, and your presentation is like another step on your path to greatness.”
“Okay, let’s pretend that’s in any way a legitimate connection.”
“So, have you finished making changes to it?”
“Yeah. I think so. I’ve been going over my notes, and I changed up the slides again after I made some adjustments for the lacrosse team data. But I’m still nervous.”
“You’ll be amazing. But like I’ve offered a bunch of times, if it helps, I can come watch.”
“Are you sure you really want to?”
