Long Ago // Connor McDavid

Seven

I logged onto my email for the first time in a few days, extremely nervous. I saw the notification indicating I had two new emails, and with that I let out a sigh of relief, now knowing exactly who they were from.

I had applied to three universities;
The University of Ottawa, Simon Fraser University and University of Edmonton. I heard back from OttawaU and U of E, but not Simon Fraser. I was pleased and it felt as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I always knew I wanted to go to university outside of Erie, and those three universities were my top three preferences for the longest time.

The thing was, the University of Ottawa had a better program that I wanted to specialize in, which was journalism, but the University of Edmonton had more perks, one of them being that Connor and I would hopefully be together if I decided to attend there.

It wasn't news to anyone that Connor was most likely going to go number one at the 2015 NHL draft, and we all knew that Edmonton had won the draft lottery, meaning they had the first pick.

Connor and I hadn't talked too much about what would happen after we graduated high school, I mentioned to him months back that I was really interested in U of E, and he seemed pleased with it.

We also hadn't talked too much about how 'we' would work after high school either. If I hadn't had gotten an offer to U of E, or if Connor doesn't get drafted to Edmonton, than I don't know how we'll make things work.

As I still sat at my desk in my room, staring at the emails on my MacBook, I was drawn out of a deep thought as my phone went off, signialing I had a text, and it was from Connor saying he was outside.

I quickly closed my computer and turned off the lights in my room as I headed down the stairs, grabbing my jean jacket in the process.

I walked down my driveway and towards Connors car, hoping in the passenger seat. He was dressed in his normal game suit and a backwards hat, looking good as usual. I leaned in for a kiss and grabbed his left hand as he kept his right on the steering wheel, pulling out of my driveway.

It was still light out, another thing warning that summer close. Connor turned up the radio and hummed along to some country song I had never heard before.

I kept glancing at him as he did so, he looked so damn attractive driving in his suit. Besides him humming along to the radio as he normally did so, I knew that the car ride would be quiet, as it normally was before a game.

Connor and I normally talked nonstop, but he had a lot of pressure on him to carry the Otters to the playoffs, and he was always quiet before game time, which was fine with me.

As I sat with my two hands still wrapped around his one, I gazed out at the sunset infront of me, thinking back to the emails I had just received. I wanted to tell Connor so bad, but I wasn't too sure how to just go about it. Although I was almost positive I knew which University offer I wanted to expect, I still was nervous, and for some reason felt it would put pressure on Connor, and he wouldn't know how to act.

I decided to think about it more, and I would wait until the right time to tell him, which would be hard, but I stil had to tell my parents and discuss it with them. I felt overwhelmed, but at the same time I was happy for myself, for my future, hopefully Connor and I's future.

Pulling into the arena parking lot, Connor started shaking his leg frantically, another 'pre game' thing he always did. He found a spot and parked in it, taking off his hat and tossing it in the back seat as he did so.

"Hate the hat rule" he mumbled under his breath.

"What hat rule?" I quietly asked as I unbuckled my seatbelt.