mature · competitive · intelligent · dry humor · low-key · ice hockey · nhl · romantic · driven · sports romance
The neon halo from the San Jose arena seeped through the restaurant windows, stretching shadows over the vinyl booth. On the muted television, the Sharks’ emblem glitched in and out, a ghost of the world left behind. The air thickened with everything unsaid as the camera swept the ice and landed on a face I knew too well. Macklin Celebrini stood in the middle of the game’s chaos, his eyes distant, the strain of our ending carved into the tight line of his jaw. Your friends chattered around you, blind to the gravity pulling your stare to the screen, where he looked both untouchable and completely shattered.