Eyes on the Ice

When the stands began to clear, Miranda and I hung back so we could miss most of the crazy people traffic trying to get out of the building. As we were leaving, a few players came back onto the ice to do some post-game interviews. Luke was one of the players being interviewed since he scored the second hawks goal of the night. We were too far to hear, but close enough to read his body language. He held his back ram-rod straight and never let his eyes wander from the interviewer. Once the questions were all answered satisfactorily, Luke turned to face us. Luke nodded his head towards the entrance onto the ice. I still couldn't believe that after everything, he didn't tell me. It's not like I ever expected marriage or even a long-term friendship for that matter, but he knew what were some of the most important things to me. Honesty was one of the most important. Sure, I had said that I never wanted to get involved with a Blackhawks fan and him being a player was 10x worse but if he meant enough to me I could get over it. I didn't know his reasons for what he did and I didn't care. At least I tried to convince myself that I didn't as I shook my head and turned around to leave the rink. I wish I could say that I held my head high and never looked back, but that wouldn't be the truth. I looked over my shoulder as I drug Miranda out. Luke hadn't moved from his spot on the ice as he stared at me until we pushed passed the curtain to exit the stands.

————————————————

"What the hell was that!" Miranda yelled as she swung around to face me once we were outside of the arena.

"Not here," was all I told her.

"That was not normal in there, somethings up. I know you." Unfortunately she knew me very well.

"Miranda. Not now, I can't. Please," I begged her, "I can't." She took one look at me and dropped it. She nodded and grabbed my elbow and together we walked down the road to our hotel to change for a night on the town.

My mind wandered between what Miranda was saying and the look on Luke's face as I left. I knew that no amount of time would ever wash away that memory. I'm not an emotional person. Feelings that I have stay locked deep down where they can stay guarded and safe, but Luke broke through the stone walls within a few days. In the back of my mind I knew I shouldn't have pushed him away. I should have listened to him and gave him a chance, but I couldn't listen to that little voice because that would mean that I had just made the biggest mistake of my life.

As our time in Chicago came to a close I knew I had to leave all thoughts of Luke in his town. Unfortunately it was easier said than done.

————————————————

Three weeks went by. Three weeks of acting like my life was how it'd always been. Three weeks of pretending that I hadn't fallen in love with Luke. Three weeks of denying the fact that that I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. Three weeks went by until I finally did something about it.

On one of Luke and I's dates in Chicago we ate lunch with his friend from the fair and his fiancé. From what I had learned on g-day (the game day where I found out who he really was), Kyle played on the team with Luke but at lunch he had introduced him simply as a coworker. While Luke and Kyle had talked about the world series playoffs, the fiancé and I talked about the guys. Kate had been with Kyle for over three years and they were finally getting married. She had told me that with his job he wasn't around as often as she'd like during this time of year, but if she had to deal with a little separation to keep him then she would gladly do it. We talked for over an hour as we ate and got to know each other. I decided ten minuted in that I really liked her. She was kind, smart, and insanely funny. Like me she didn't take shit form any guy, especially not her fiancé. This was why I called her as soon as I had finally admitted that I needed Luke.

I called Kate and instead of her bitching me out for hurting her friend as I had expected, she simply said, "I was getting worried that you wouldn't call."

"You knew I would call?"

"I had hoped, Luke has been nothing but miserable since whatever happened between you too. From how beat up he is, I imagine you must hurt just as bad. No one can be so pitiful from a relationship thats one-sided."

"I need him Kate. I can't keep pretending that I'm okay when I spend each day wishing I hadn't fucked up."

"Not everything that's broken can be fixed you know." Kate offered the golden nugget of advice that I had been worried about for the last three weeks.

"Thats why I need your help."

"I want Luke happy, and I could certainly use another girlfriend around here. It's not easy being a Wild fan in Blackhawks country. A blues fan would definitely make the games interesting. But first you need to tell me what happened with you two." So I told her the entire story. How I hated the Hawks and somehow he had picked up on it. How he lied to me by omitting the truth. How I forgave him because I realized that he thought I wouldn't want to be with him once I found out he played for Chicago. How I needed him to know that I accepted what team he was on, because that was such a big part of who he was and I wanted all of him.

"Do you have any ideas on how you are going to get him back?" She asked me when I was done talking.

"Yes, but I'm going to need your help."

"Anything you need Blake. Just ask and I'm there."

Then I told her my plan.

————————————————

I met Kate at her hotel before the hockey game. At Scott Trade Center, the Blues were hosting the Blackhawks in a game that was certain to be amazing. Normally I would be at home with my ass in front of the TV decked out in my Blues gear, but tonight I'm going to the game thanks to Kate scoring tickets off of her fiancé and there wouldn't be a stitch of blue on me. I felt traitorous, but that was the price I was willing to pay.

Kate led me into her room and led me to the bed where everything that I needed was laid out in front of me.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be to bleed black and red." And we started getting ready for the game.

————————————————

The teams were on the ice warming up before the game when Kate and I arrived. She had scored us kick ass seats courtesy of Kyle and we were right by the bench, close to the ice. My eyes immediately found Luke on the ice. It was impossible not to admire his grace on the ice and the way he played with ease, but there was something off. I mentioned it to Kate and she said that he had been this way since I left three weeks ago. The nerves that I had had about his rejection started to fade when I realized that he had missed me just as much as I had missed him. By the time the game started he still hadn't looked my way, but Kate and I had an idea that he wouldn't be able to miss.

Once the first period ended and the players began to make their way off of the ice, it was finally time to end the plan with a bang. Kyle knew what was going to happen and did his part exactly as Kate requested. Kyle skated up to Luke and Luke shook him off. After trying a few more times, Kyle grabbed Luke by the shoulders and pointed up to the stands. Luke's eyes met mine as he took in my Blackhawks jersey. HIS Blackhawks jersey. Looking in his eyes, I knew the second he realized that I was there for him and I wasn't going anywhere. A huge grin broke out on his face as he mouthed the word "After" and followed the rest of his team into the locker.

When the team filtered back out before the second period began Luke looked up to where I was sitting and put his hand over his heart before pointing at me, sending only one message. His heart was mine. I did the only thing a person who felt as much love as I was would do, I repeated the gesture in what would become part of our pre-game ritual.

Once the period began Luke played with more spirit than he ever had before. He scored two of the four goals in the game, with Kyle scoring the third. The game ended with a final score of 3-1 with the Blackhawks coming out on top. I should have been upset over the lose, and a part of me was, but I couldn't help the pride that I felt in the man that I could call mine. I waited with Kate and the other girlfriends and wives who had made the trip down for the game. They all talked to me and none of them seemed to hold the previous three weeks against me. Half of them said that they were the same in the beginning, too proud to let themselves see what was in front of them.

The hype in Scott Trade Center settled quickly as the place emptied out many disappointed Blues fans went home and celebratory Blackhawks fans flocked to the bars to toast to the victors. I felt him before I heard him behind me. The other girls filtered out in search of their loved ones as Luke made his way towards me.

"I never should have walked away. I should have stayed. We could have figured it out. I am so sorry I did that to you."

Luke lifted his hands and held my face in-between his palms, "Hey, hey," he said softly as he wiped a fallen tear away, "It doesn't matter Blake. It happened. I should have told you the truth and you shouldn't have left. We both hurt each other, but it happened. It's over, but you're here and you're in my arms and that's all I care about. None of the rest matters. None of it matters now that you're here." Luke tilted my head up as his lips met mine with a kiss that held weeks worth of lost emotion. He pulled back slightly and whispered against my lips, "If you leave again, I won't be able to stay behind. I will follow you and I wont let you get very far. I won't do that again. I don't think I can."

"I don't think I could leave this if I could." I took a deep breath to tell him the only thing that my mind could process during the game when he opened his mouth and stole the words. "I love you Blake. No one else, just you. Always." My breath caught as I saw the truth of the statement in his eyes, "I love you too. So much that it hurts." Luke grinned and took control of my mouth, both of us completely giving the deepest part of our soul to the other. A voice cleared behind us and Luke and I turned to see Kyle and Kate smirking down at us.

"About damn time," Kyle said, causing all of us to laugh.

"Yeah, it certainly is." Luke slung his arm around my shoulder and together the four of us walked out and headed to the hotel where we went our separate ways. Luke and I spent the rest of the night, into the early morning, re-learning each others bodies and exploring passions that neither of us had ever know before because it wasn't just sex anymore. It was love, and that was all we needed.

————————————————

*Four Years Later*

"I present your graduating class of 2018!" The cheers erupt at the announcement that we have finally done it. College is over, I have my degree that I have worked so hard for, and I'm moving to Chicago next week where I already have a job waiting for me. After my first semester I changed my major to become an athletic trainer and get my bachelors at my current school. Thanks to several summer classes I was able to finish my degree on time, but I still plan on moving on to getting my Masters degree while working in Chicago. What can I say, I have some pretty great connections in the city.

Now that I am officially graduated, the contract that I signed several weeks before had finally become official. I am the newest member of the athletic training department for the Chicago Blackhawks. I know it sounds like I changed my career for a man, but from the moment I took my first anatomy class I knew that this was the path for me. Luke tried to help me, but this was something I had to do on my own. He wasn't happy about it, but he understood. I needed to succeed, or fail, on my own and to take that away just wouldn't be fair to me. I managed to charm everyone on the staff with not only my humor, but also my ability to work and my love of hockey. On the day of my first interview I wore a blues shirt which Luke had given me shit about. When I walked in, they all made fun of me and asked if knew where I was. I said yes, I just thought they should know what they were getting. A Blues fan. However, after I held up my end of a long hockey debate with the guys on the staff, they accepted me as one of their own.

I look around the gym, thinking about just how lucky I am to be here in my life. I have a job centered around a sport I love and it is all because of that one week in Chicago four years ago. While I'm thinking about how I got here Miranda comes running up to me in her own cap and gown, having transferred to my college three years ago. I hug her back as hard as she squeezes me when I see her boyfriend fighting to get to us, over her shoulder. After getting to know Jason Grant very well through Luke, I knew what I had to do. Him and Miranda were just too perfect for each other and not a day goes by that I'm not proven right. He's as crazy about her as she has always been for him. Two months ago Jason had me help him pick out the perfect engagement ring for her, now it was only a matter of when.

Kate comes up and throws her arms around me, congratulating me over my hard work. Ever sense she helped me get Luke back into my life we have grown into extremely close friends. Kyle gabs me next and gives me a big brotherly hug before wrapping his arms around his pregnant wife. Five months ago when Kate and Kyle announced that they were having a baby, they asked Luke and I to be the godparents. We didn't even need to think about it, they're family.

I feel Luke's smile against my skin as he kisses my neck and wraps his arms around me. With everyone running around, I didn't even felt him come up behind me. "I am so proud of you," he says next to my ear. "You're amazing at what you do and the team is lucky to have you. But I don't want to work with my girlfriend." Shocked, I spin around to face him and when I open my mouth his finger quickly presses against my lips. "I want to work with my wife." Luke pulls a beautiful vintage silver engagement ring out of his pocket and holds it up between us.

"I thought I was living the life that every man dreams of until I met you and saw that I was missing someone I love to share it with. You turned my life upside down in a week and took my heart with you when you left. We've gone through so much since we've met and we've overcome it all. I've respected your need to wait until after college and now you're done and I can't wait a second longer. You are my one, my only, and my forever. So, Blake Vincent, will you marry me?" Luke says softly. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down for an earth-shattering, passionate kiss. "Yes," I whisper against his lips.

"I love you, so much." His mouth moves against mine.

"I love you too, always." Luke kisses me softly one last time before turning us to face our friends and family who surround us with hugs, kisses, and 'Finally!'s. Surrounded by everyone important in my life and next to the man I love with his ring on my finger, I know that there is no place that I would ever want to be.