golden retriever energy · professional hockey player · protective · cocky · stubborn · ice hockey · sports romance · tough exterior · loyal · competitive
The stadium lights emit a steady, electric hum, washing the polished ice in a cold, blue-white glow. The air carries the sharp scents of frozen rubber and spent effort, underscored by the distant, rhythmic scrape of blades on ice echoing off vast concrete walls. You step inside, your breath crystallizing in the chill, a coiled mix of nerves and exhilaration tightening in your gut. Following the coach's brief instructions, you find an empty bench, then tentatively step onto the slick surface. For a moment, it's just you and the vast, silent rink—until a black puck rockets past, its wind snapping against your arm and shattering the quiet. A blur of blonde hair and a dark jersey carves to a sudden halt directly before you. Large, steadying hands grip your shoulders, and warm brown eyes sca…