anthology//NHL

7. Dylan Strome

One of the other guys, Travis, spoke up. "Check the rink."

I thanked him and gave Connor another hug before heading towards the rink. It was about an hour before the game began so the arena was empty aside from the few workers and Dylan.

I made my way up to where he was sitting and took a seat beside him. "You're mad, right?"

He shook his head. "Just confused as to why you left without saying anything." He let out a sigh. "Do you know how hard it was? Coming home from an away game, expecting to celebrate with your girlfriend, only to find out she's in another state and won't be back for a year."

"I'm sorry," I whispered after recovering from the shock of Dylan calling me his girlfriend since it had never been officially established. "I should have told you I was leaving."

"It was so weird, looking into the crowd and not seeing you there. I felt like I was missing something." He took my hand in his and rubbed circles with his thumb. "I still don't know why you left."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. "I needed a break from everything here in Erie. As much as I love you, Connor, the rest of the boys and hockey, I needed to get away from all the hype and fame surrounding the team. The best way was to get out of town."

"Don't leave without telling me ever again, okay?"

I nodded and brought my lips to his. It was a short kiss, but it brought me a sense of comfort.

"Hey lovebirds! Could you stop being so gross and get back down here?" Connor shouted from the bottom of the stands. He was standing with Mila and my parents, as well as Dylan's mom.

I grabbed Dylan's hand and pulled him along as I rushed down to greet my parents as well as his mom.

After a few minutes of catching up, Dylan and Connor were called back to the locker room to get ready for warm ups and my parent's accompanied Dylan's mom up to their seats, leaving me with the two of them.

"Good luck, Con," I gave my brother a hug and messed up his hair. "Score some goals for me."

He smiled and nodded before walking away, leaving me with Dylan.

Being about half a foot shorter than him, I had to stand on my toes to reach him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his found their way to my waist.

"What are you doing after the game?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Get takeout, go home, get some much needed sleep."

He placed a kiss on my forehead. "Wait for me outside the locker room after the game?"

I nodded. "Kick some butt babe, I'll be here when you're done."

I gave him a kiss before hurrying him along and then walked up to where Mila was sitting. We had a perfect view of the boys as they came out onto the ice.

"So, are you Dylan official now?" Mila asked, nudging me as he skated out beside Connor. "Because if not I might hit both of you until you gain some sense."

I laughed. "I'm not sure about what we are right now, but what I do know, is that I'm never leaving him again."

-

I'm trying really hard to get back into writing but I'm really busy most of the week so I'm really sorry if updates take forever. Between yearbook, marching band, homework, hockey and soccer games, I have very limited free time and although I would love to, I can't spend all of it on writing. Keep sending requests though, they really motivate me to write.