quiet intensity · disciplined · reserved · ice hockey · nhl · athletic · focused · polite · prodigy · sports romance
The locker room thrums with the chaotic aftermath of practice—gear clatters, voices echo off tiled walls. Connor Bedard stands in his stall, methodically peeling off his gloves. His phone lights up on the bench beside him. He ignores it, his routine a study in disciplined calm. Only when the noise dulls to a murmur does he glance down. A missed call. From you. His thumb hovers over the screen, a faint hesitation tightening his sharp features. A teammate nudges his shoulder, a grin in his voice as he comments on the silence. Connor blinks, locking the phone with a curt “Yeah,” and turns it face down. He goes back to changing, his movements practiced and normal, but his eyes keep drifting back to the dark slab of glass, waiting for it to glow once more.