Ice.

Chapter Twenty-Two.

I pride myself on being a pretty romantic guy, so I want to do take her out tonight. I want to take her places around my hometown and just send time with her. I want her to see where I've come from and just make tonight special, not that the last few days haven't been.

I got to watch the video of Avery, Morgan, and my mom reacting to my Breakaway Relay while I was in the car this morning and I could not stop grinning. It was watching my whole world grin and hug each other enthusiastically, all three of them looking so happy.

My mom and Morgan love Avery, which isn't a surprise but definitely reassuring. I know that Morgan already looks up to her, even though she wouldn't admit it. She subtly asks when she's coming over or if she's going to dinner with us. I'll catch them gossiping when I walk into a room or the two of them will make faces at each other when theres a conversation happening. I love it. I love that she gets along with my family so amazingly.

"You ready, eh?"

My attention snaps to Casey, who is standing there in his padding and uniform, a custom AHL All-Stars jersey on.

Today is game day. For anyone who isn't familiar with NHL or AHL conferences and layouts, here's the rundown:

There are four teams competing today. Atlantic, North, Central, and Pacific. They are composed of the players in those divisions. So for example, I am in the Pacific division, which is made up of the teams on the West Coast. The Atlantic division is made up of the teams on the East Coast. The North are the teams... up north. And the Central are the center of the country. Wild concept, I know.

So our teams jerseys are black, while Atlantic is blue, North is white, and Central is red. The first round of games are Pacific vs. Atlantic and North vs. Central. Then, whoever wins those games plays in the final round and whoever wins that gets $10,000 donated to a charity of our choice.

I like these sweaters a lot. It has the Thunderbirds logo on it, but says Pacific on the shoulder and our names and numbers are etched on the back like usual. Obviously the Thunderbirds logo isn't on everyone's sweater on the Pacific team. Each players official team's logo is on theirs.

We're in the tunnel now, being announced one by one. I'm not like Avery when it comes to this stuff. Avery would absolutely hate the idea of being introduced to thousands of people. For everyone to look at her and only her for a few minutes before they move to the next. But I love it. I love the adrenaline linked to it. I love the atmosphere it brings. If I didn't, I'm not sure I would be able to handle the lifestyle or career I have.

Casey is in front of me, since they're going by divisions and in alphabetical order. He holds his stick in his hand as he turns back to me, "Is my hair okay?"

"As greasy as ever," I smile at him.

"Dick," he laughs. I roll my eyes and answer the stupid question. "Yes, buddy. You look dashing."

"Thank you," he puts his hand on his chest. He laughs. "You're on another one today, Finn."

I shrug but he continues to talk, making his voice higher pitched, "You're like- totally glowing." His voice goes back to normal, "Did Avery put out or something last night?"

I shove him and roll my eyes again. His eyes widen with the grin on his face, "Holy shit! She did!"

"Shut up, eh?"

"My man," he grips my padded shoulder. "Well done."

"Fuck off," I laugh, shaking my head.

"Kalinski, you're up!"

"Don't fall on your face! That's be embarrassing!" I shout to him as he walks towards the entrance. I hear his infamous laugh echo through the tunnel as he puts his glove back on.