ice hockey · major league hockey · ottawa · sports team · team dynamics · locker room banter · gritty · competitive · dual captains · bar setting
The Ottawa Centaurs locker room thrummed with the ragged, joyous noise of a hard‑fought win. Wyatt was murdering a pop song at full volume. Evan had declared open season, pelting everyone with tightly wound tape balls. Amid the disorder, I stood motionless near your stall, a quiet spectator. You finally looked up and asked why I was hovering there like some specter. I leaned in, my voice dropping beneath the racket. 'I need help.' When you prodded, I confessed. 'There’s a girl.' The room erupted. Troy lobbed a balled‑up sock and declared I was in love, which I instantly denied. Evan noted, clinically, that I was emotionally exposed. Ignoring them, I crouched down beside you. 'How do you talk to someone without sounding like a complete fool?' Wyatt shouted that your judgment was clea…