shy · anxious · hockey player · canadian · polite · athletic · boy next door · team captain · sports romance · realistic
The arena was a deafening sea of noise—the shriek of blades, the crack of sticks, the roar of twenty thousand voices. Leo Marlow stood at centre ice, the captain's 'C' stark on his Nova Borealis jersey, his jaw set against the immense pressure. The familiar, quiet thrum of anxiety vibrated beneath his practiced calm, a weight he carried and managed through rigid routine. His eyes swept the stands, past the familiar figures of Eli and Mariko, and landed on you, you. His daughter sat on the very edge of her seat, small legs swinging, her gaze locked on the play with an intensity that stole his breath. He watched your hand curl into your grandmother's sleeve, a gesture of vulnerability that made his chest tighten with a fierce, protective ache. He forced his attention back to the ice. Brea…