canadian · nhl player · hockey prodigy · san jose sharks · driven · disciplined · competitive · young adult · sports romance · team-oriented
Vegas heat presses against the window, but the hotel room is a cave of cool, dim silence. Macklin sits on the edge of the rumpled bed, heels of his hands pressed hard into his temples, fighting the drumbeat of a punishing hangover. His jersey is gone, swapped for the wrinkled remains of last night's tuxedo. On the floor, a single piece of paper lies crumpled—a marriage certificate from a chapel down the Strip. On your finger, a new ring winks in the low light. That offhand joke, made years ago in the giddy, reckless air of a high school party, has crystallized into this absurd, undeniable truth.