Thin Ice (Corey Crawford)

Dreamer

Samantha

After a while Corey and I have a long awaited second date. It's hard to get our schedules to match up with each other but we finally find a Friday night both of us were free for a date. And after I assure him I'm not a sit at a table and talk forever type of girl we decide to do cosmic bowling and eat pizza at the bowling alley. Something interactive and competitive because we were both the competitive type.

I usually try to do physical types of things in my free time, I'm not good at sitting still for too long. I get all fidgety and I start looking around wondering what's out there waiting for me to do. And luckily Corey is the same way as me.

So I take my bike over to the bowling alley we decided to meet at and I find him tying his bowling shoes on at a bench by all the different bowling balls. I skip over to him and place myself into his lap much to his surprise. Once she realizes it was me and not some crazy fan he smiles big. He grabs my chin and places his lips on mine and I find myself trying to get used to this feeling he gives me when we kissed. But I don't think I ever will.

"I've missed you" he claims.

"You saw me yesterday" I remind him.

"Okay. Then I missed kissing you" he smirks and I roll my eyes. Men.

I get a pair of shoes and we each pick out our bowling balls. We set them in the lane we rented before typing in our names and getting started.

We spend the first game messing around and flirting the whole time. He was so easy to talk to, he reminded me a lot of my dad in the way he joked around so much. He was mature in the way he thought yet he was so open minded. It helps that we have a lot in common but I feel such a connection with him. He knows where that line between fun and going too far is and he really wants to make me laugh. And I never have to fake it with him.

"Why are you so good at bowling" he asks as I sit back down next to him.

"I don't know, I've never bowled before" I admit and he gasps.

"You've never bowled" he questions.

"Nope" I shake my head.

"I knew you had to have one flaw, but I didn't think it would be this" he teases.

"I have a lot of flaws, and I just never had time to bowl as a kid" I explain.

"Well you don't need the practice" he assures me. "But it is okay to do some things for fun every once in a while. You know, try things other than hockey" he claims.

"To me training was fun. Being good at what I did was more fun than anything. I loved the feeling of winning and celebrating with my team mates. I did everything to make sure I could do that" I shrug.

"Don't you ever feel like you're missing out on life" he wonders.

"All the time" I admit. "But I had dreams, big ones. And they make up for the lost time" I insist.

"And your dreams are..." he wonders.

"Like my dreams now, or my dreams when I was a dreamer" I counter.

"When you were a dreamer" he smiles.

"I wasn't just going to be a great girl hockey player. I was going to be a great hockey player, period. I was going to play with the boys and I was going to beat them. I was going to play in the NHL and the Olympics and I would be one of the greatest athletes known to man. Then when I was done my brother would take my place and then my kids and my kids kids" I explain.

"You can still be all of that" he assures me.

"I was only a dreamer because my dad was one too. We had the same dreams and they're more like a nightmare now that he's gone. He was the light that led the way and it's been so dark without him. He used to tell me that I was going to be just what the world needed. And not because I'm a girl or because I had natural talent, but because he was going to help me to be the best I could possibly be. I'm scared that I can't do this stuff without him. And I know that if he knew I was saying this right now he would scream at me, be mad that he worked so hard for me to be tough just for me to feel so weak. But those dreams aren't the same without him. I wanted to do those things with him and I can't have them" I sigh.

"Then do them it for him" he says and I stop.

"I never thought about it like that" I admit.

"I'm not your dad but I do want to help you be everything you said you would be. I will support you and give advice and be there for you every step of the way. I will hold your hand when you want me to and tell you a little bit of what you want to hear and a little bit of what you need to hear. I'm going to be here for you. If you try I'm going to support you the whole way" he promises.

"I'm scared I'll break" I admit.

"You've worked your ass off for this, this is your dream. The only way you will break is if you let yourself break" he says.

"I don't want to have to pick up the pieces again" I insist.

"Then do what you know how to do and everything will be alright" he says as he rubs my thigh.

"Alright" I nod. "I think I'll be okay."

"You'll be better than okay" he promises.

After the first game we play one more before ordering a pizza. We sit there and eat this unhealthy grease pan and have a lot of fun doing so. He was so down to earth for someone of his status, I loved it. Usually athletes are socially awkward or uptight but he was so loose, especially for a goalie.

"Did you know your dad pranked me the first day I practice with the team" Corey asks and I gasp.

"Oh no... he didn't" I beg.

"He did. He filled my helmet with baby powder, the other boys knew it too. They were laughing the whole time as I dumped it all over my head" he explains and I stuff my face in my hands. He's not even alive and he's still embarrassing me in front of my boyfriend.

"Oh my god. I am so sorry" I smirk.

"Don't be, I thought it was great" he claims.