Hand over my heart as the National Anthem plays around me, the crowd drowning out the words with their applause and cheering, I try to think about the game but instead I’m worried about Stella. She never answered the phone last night or my texts this morning. It’s not like her. I called my ma to check on her but didn’t hear back from her before the game so now here I stand, shifting in my skates on the ice, getting ready to play the number two team in the league thinking about my pregnant not quite girlfriend instead of the game I’m about to play.

The anthem ends in a flourish and we skate off the blue line and head for the bench. As I pass the Sin Bin I come to a stop, ice spraying out around me. There, in one of the designated seats they use for contest winners, is Stella beaming at me through the plexiglass. She’s wearing a red shirt with a number seven emblazoned on it along with the words ‘Future Hockey Player’ and an arrow pointing at her belly.

“What are you doing here?” I yell to be heard over the crowd. She just shrugs and points at me. The whistle blows and my name is called by the guys on the team. With one last glance at Stella, I skate off. As much as I hate leaving her, I have a game to play. Not that I’m going to be able to keep my head in the game.

As I get into position and wait for the puck drop, I glance once more at Stella over my shoulder. She waves excitedly and sits in her seat to watch.

“Who’s the pregnant chick? She’s a rocket!” one of the Boston players says, making eyes at Stella. “I heard pregnant pussy is the best. Maybe I’ll show her how a real man scores. Eh, Dagger?”

Before he even finishes his sentence my vision has gone red. I throw my stick down and drop my gloves, shaking my hands free and swing before the fucker even sees it coming. I swing and connect two more times before he grabs a hold of my sweater and tries pulling it over my head.

“Wanna talk shit about my woman, Fleddy, you fuck?” I demand as I swing again.

Whistles blow and players are yelling around us, getting in their own scuffles now. When I get him on the ice the refs pull me off him, my teammates encircling me to keep Fleddy from coming at me now that the refs have blown the whistle on the fight. One of the linesman takes my arm and leads me to the penalty box where Stella is standing, pressed against the glass, her face a mask of worry. Stepping into the box and ignoring the seat the linesman points me to I open the little door that separates me from Stella.

“How are you here?” I yell, ignoring everyone around me blowing whistles and shouting at me.

“Levi called in some favors.” She says, eyes roaming my face I can feel bleeding from my fight with Fleddy. “Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine.”

“Dagger, what the fuck are you doing?” Taner, my captain yells and bangs on the glass. My ass is gonna get on so much trouble. But once I saw Stella I didn’t really care.

“Better tell me what you’re doing here before you get me kicked out of here.” I shout near her ear.

“I got the job, here in Chicago!” Stella yells excitedly. “So I was wondering if you wanted a couple roommates?” She bites her lip and looks at me, eyes big and hopeful, face flushed from all the excitement.

“Yeah?” I ask in shock. Never in a million years did I think she would give in. I know that she said she’s here because she got the job, but I’m what really brought her here. She doesn’t have to say it for me to know.

“Yeah!”

“What if I want more than a roommate?” My eyes search her face, looking for the answers that I need.

I get my answers when she launches herself into my arms, tears streaming down her face, as she kisses me, her tears mingling with my sweat. The crowd explodes in cat calls and cheers, drowning out everything else. I pull back to look down into her face and kiss her one last time before putting her back on her feet. My teammates are all beating their sticks against the boards in applause reminding me of where the hell I am.

The ref comes over a look of absolute bemusement on his face, “Can we play the game now, Dagger?”

With a wink at Stella, I plop down on the bench in the penalty box. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“You sure?” He asks bewildered.

Turning my head, eyes locked with Stella’s I nod, my lips sliding into a wicked grin when she blows me a kiss. “I’m sure.”