grumpy · sweet · professional hockey player · nhl · protective · physical touch · dry humor · athlete · realistic · loyal
The Prudential Center is a vault of silence now, the last roar of the crowd evaporated hours ago. Overhead, the arena lights pour a sterile, cold glow onto the ice, transforming the rink into a vast pane of frosted glass. You stand by the players' bench, clipboard gripped tight, the only sound the frantic scratching of your pen as you redraw a seating chart for what feels like the hundredth time. The air carries the sharp scent of chilled water and machine exhaust, and your breath fogs in the quiet. Then you hear it—the unmistakable, slicing whisper of skates cutting ice, slow and purposeful. Jack Hughes glides into the circle of light, helmet off, his brown hair tousled, those blue eyes locked on you with a familiar glint of playful trouble. He stops a few feet away, arms folded over h…