Trip to Your Heart - A Hockey Fanfiction

Stop Worrying

I bit my lip and tucked my phone into my pockets, not sure if I wanted Robert to follow through with his promise or not. There was no denying that I enjoyed talking to him, but all of the things Sidney had said echoed in my head with annoying clarity. "You should tell him. It's her decision. She has to face the consequences." And his tendencies to try and separate us were weird as well. I knew that we weren't close when I worked in Pittsburgh, but Robert was the only one acting like a good friend now. I frowned at the linoleum floor and scuffed it with the tips my shoes from where I sat perched upon my desk. A knock came from the door and Claude poked his head in the room, "Stella?"

"Hey," I grinned, hopping off the table to go give him a hug, but paused at the frown on his face. "What wrong?"

"We don't knew where Cara or the other trainers went and Brayden just sliced his face open-"

"Jesus Christ, Claude! Why didn't you start with that!" I scrambled to grab my supplies before following him out to the ice.

"I didn't know if you'd be in there or not," he shrugged.

"Well, at least you found me. What happened?" I pulled on a pair of latex gloves.

"He was trying something new, tripped, and fell into Simmonds. Wayne went sprawling and his skate caught Brayden's cheek," Claude explained from behind me as I hurried into the bench where Brayden was trying to keep the blood from dripping onto his practice jersey.

"Hey, Bray, will you please take your helmet off?" I asked, pulling out a clean cloth to wipe the blood off. He did as I asked and I cleaned him up and put a large Band-Aid on his face. "You're all set," I patted his other cheek.

"Thanks, Stella," he grinned and climbed over the boards to get back to practice. 

I looked over at Claude. He was staring at me with what looked like pride in his eyes. I blushed and began cleaning up the area of the bench that I had been using.

"You'd make a good mom," Luke said to me, "You've already got the fixing booboos part down."

"Thanks," I replied, not looking up from my bundle of supplies, my hands shaking.

"No, thank you for fixing my brother," Luke said before skating away.

Once everything was back in place, I tucked my bag under my arm and walked back to my office, trying not to get upset over Luke's harmless compliment. He had meant well, he just didn't understand how I felt about being a mother.

After practice ended, Claude took my hand and led me out to the car. We drove downtown, away from the house, and he parked outside Panera. "What are we doing?" I asked, stepping out of the car and following him down the sidewalk.

"We're going to lunch," he offered a crooked smile. "It's getting colder outside and I know how you like their soup," he opened the door for me and followed me inside. He was right, I did like Panera's broccoli cheddar soup.

After our quiet lunch in the corner of the restaurant, Claude ordered hot chocolate to go, and we walked around downtown. Claude kept his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder. The city was dusted with snow and the lights from buildings and cars glistened off of the frosted surfaces. As we walked, we window shopped with the other pedestrians in the street.

Claude and I turned a corner and saw a young family walking down the street. The parents were close to our age and the father carried a little boy on his shoulders. Their little girl skipped beside her mother and the children's giggles bounced off of the buildings around us. The little girl rushed up to the window and pressed her button nose against it to peer inside at the toys on display. The little boy struggled to get down and his father set him on the ground so that he could follow his sister. They oohed and ahhed at whatever toy had caught their attention. Their parents smiled down at them and exchanged a knowing look. The father said something to them and ruffled the boy's hair before they turned and continued on their way.