Secret Crush

Chapter 1

Katy stared at the computer screen in the newspaper staff classroom, daydreaming about her crush while trying to think of an exciting story idea for this week's edition of the Saint Anne's Chronicle.

Katy was thrilled when she volunteered to be the sports editor at the beginning of her junior year in high school, and she was hoping that this experience would boost her application to attend the acclaimed journalism school at the University of North Carolina. But that was the future. Right now, she had to figure out a way to make the homecoming edition of the paper something special, and the challenge was making her want to pull out strands of her long, strawberry blonde hair.

"Earth to Katy," Emily smiled as she plopped down in the seat next to her best friend. Emily and Katy had known each other since elementary school and could read each other like a book.

"Yeah, I'm here. Just wracking my brain trying to come up with a brilliant story idea," Katy sighed.

"I've told you before what you should do," Emily chimed. "Use those connections and interview a Blades player! It would be the best story the Chronicle has ever published."

Katy knew Emily's idea was good, but she also knew it was never going to happen. Katy's father, Dan, was the coach of the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Blades and had spent most of his life playing or coaching the sport. But Katy's parents were very protective of their only child, and Katy's father had made it clear the second Katy started noticing boys that being around hockey players was out of the question. According to her father, they were nothing but trouble. Talented, yes. But usually cocky, sometimes rude, and always ready to take advantage of the eager girls who swarmed around them constantly.

"Oh, come on. I know your dad has rules. But you're smart. You can find a way around that if you want to, right?" Emily challenged with a devious grin. "Just think about it. You publish this story, and you can put on your UNC application that you interviewed an NHL player! You know that no one else is going to say that."

"That is a good point. I hadn't really thought about it that way," Katy said rubbing her temples. This idea was making her head hurt. "I'll think about it."

The truth was that Katy had been thinking about it for weeks, but every time she envisioned conducting the interview, she felt sick. Getting the interview was not a problem. Their family was close friends with Alice, the long-time secretary for the team's president. Katy could call and ask her to set it up and she was pretty sure Alice would do it. Alice was crazy about Katy. The issue was showing up at the Blades' practice facility and conducting an interview with a hockey player.

Because of her father's "rule," Katy had not spent her life around hockey like most coach's kids. She and her mom went to many of the Blades' home games, but they sat in the Blades' suite far from the ice and were on their way home before Katy's father left the locker room. Katy was at school during most of the Blades' practice sessions, but the one time she asked to go with her father to a Saturday morning skate, he tersely told her no, that her presence would distract him. But she knew the truth: he did not want her anywhere near his hockey team.

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A/N: Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your comments. This is my third Philadelphia hockey romance. The first two stories are Flyers fanfiction. This one started out as a Flyers fanfiction, but I later decided to write it as fiction. There are clues in the story as to which Flyers player the story is based on, so let me know if you figure it out. (Hint: he no longer plays for the Flyers.) Thanks again for reading!