Once Upon a Hockey Game

(A/N – Taylor Swift: Safe and Sound)

I’ve always been a firm believer that you find what you’re looking for when you stop trying. The summer before my sophomore year of college, I had given up on the idea of love. The man I had been seeing that summer had decided that if I wasn’t willing to give him the physical attention he needed, I wasn’t worth dating. It ended in a nasty breakup and my heart had been broken. Going into that school year, I had decided that the best thing to do was to focus on myself and focus on school.

When I woke up on that one magical Friday, I had no idea that my life was about to change. It felt like a normal day. I got out of bed as usual, dressed in my favorite sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, went to my classes and then went back to my dorm. It felt like a normal day, but it was far from that.
“Hey, I brought you something from the bakery.” I handed my roommate, Dana, the brown paper bag as I shut the door and set my backpack down.
“Oooh, yum,” Dana grinned as she pulled out the rice crispy treat smothered in chocolate. “I’ve been craving one of these.”
“I know, you’ve been telling me for days,” I laughed, rolling my eyes. She bit into the treat, turning to her computer. “What are you doing?”
“Ah, nothing. Just messaging my brother.” She proceeded to tell me about the latest shenanigans that her brother had gotten himself into, while I turned away to answer a text. It was my friend, Abbey, asking if I was going to the hockey game with her and the rest of our group tonight. I replied, telling her that I was going and that I couldn’t wait. I loved hockey games. Back home, I would go to games with my family all the time. It was loud and crazy and full of hot guys beating the crap out of each other. How could a girl resist?
“Claire? He-llooooo?” Dana snapped in my direction.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I got distracted.” I muttered. She seemed more than content to launch into her story again while I politely pretended to listen.

One delicious Caesar salad later, it was game time. The group was bigger than usual; we took up a whole aisle. I was surrounded by my two closest girlfriends in the group, June and Ellie. They were both texting away, not even paying attention to the game. I, however, was fully focused.
“This game sucks. Can we go now?” June asked, looking up at Ellie and I. She tossed her long, spiral curled blonde hair over her shoulder.
“We could make a comeback,” I insisted. Although our team was getting brutally slayed, I wanted to stay.
“I’m bored,” Ellie pouted. “We should go back to Stevens. We could go and play Twister or something.” Stevens was the dorm that June and Ellie both lived in. They had single rooms across the hall from each other.
“Let’s at least stay until the end of this quarter. If they don’t make a comeback at the end of it, we can go.” I suggested. They both seemed content at my offer and went back to their texting, propping their feet onto the seats in front of them.

“Okay, let’s go,” June whined. Our team was still sucking and our spirits had been all but crushed. I followed them down the aisle. We made our way to the walkway, which led to the courtyard.
“Let’s go back to Stevens. I’m in the mood for a chick flick.” Another girl from the group, Tia, suggested.
“Yeah, that sounds good!” June chirped.
“I have to go back to my room real quick,” I said. “I left my phone charging.” I had purposely left it in the room so that I wouldn’t be distracted. I had wanted to focus on the game.
“Okay, we’ll meet you back at the dorm,” Ellie nodded. “Text one of us and we’ll let you in.”
“Alright.” The girls went on ahead of me and I turned to follow the flow of students that were headed towards my dorm. As soon as I turned around, though, my jaw just about hit the floor.
To say he was beautiful was an understatement. He was about medium height, with hair that spiked slightly in the front. His eyes were bluish green and captivating. He wore dark jeans and a short sleeved red t-shirt, with the school emblem and “Go Falcons” written on the front. It matched my jersey. Large biceps peeked out from under his t-shirt and I fought the urge to rip the rest of his sleeves off.
“Hey, um, I don’t really know where I’m going,” He said, smiling at me. “Is the rest of the group going back to the dorm? Or are we all splitting up?” I scrambled for words, silently praying that I wasn’t drooling. And then I realized he was a part of my group. How had I not met him before?
“I-I think everyone’s heading back to Stevens.”
“Cool. Thanks. I’m new here and I don’t really know where I’m going.”
“Oh. I’m Claire.” I tried to keep myself calm, but I knew that my cheeks were probably as red as his t-shirt.
“Shane.” He put out his hand and I tried not to stare. Veins stretched from his forearms down to his hands, creating faint lines. I hoped a janitor was nearby to clean up all my drool. Guys with nice arms were my downfall. I put my hand in his and was surprised at how warm his hand was. The warmth seemed to radiate off of him and spread to every part of my body.
Oh, my.
I pointed him in the direction of the dorm and ran at the speed of light to get my phone.

After a quick hair brushing and a touchup of eyeliner, I made it back to Stevens.
“Hey, Claire.” Shane smiled at me. His smile alone was enough to turn my legs into jelly. I liked the way my name sounded on his lips. He was sitting with the rest of the group. Everyone was arguing about what to watch; the guys wanted to watch The Hangover yet again and the girls wanted Bridesmaids.
“Hi, Shane,” I replied. My cheeks were on fire. What was it about him that took my breath away?
The group finally settled on Bridesmaids. The girls were smug and I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t concentrate on the movie with Shane next to me. He seemed so calm, so at ease.
“Hey, um, do you want to take a walk with me?” He asked, whispering in my ear. Chills ran from my neck to my toes.
“Sure,” I managed to whisper.

That night, we walked all around campus and eventually ended up side by side at the couch area, playing with each other’s fingers. I was a ball of nerves and butterflies. Shane asked me questions about myself; what my family was like, what books and movies I liked and what plans I had for the future. He seemed to be genuinely interested in what I had to say and I was surprised. We laughed a lot and soon my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I asked him questions about himself too. I found out a lot about him; he rode motorcycles, was close to his mom and wanted to be a mechanical engineer someday.
“Okay, I have a question,” Shane said thoughtfully. “What’s your biggest dream? I mean, I know you want to be a teacher and possibly an author someday, but is there something else you’ve always wanted to do?”
“’I’ve always wanted to be an actress.” I confessed.
“Why don’t you pursue that?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “It’s not a guaranteed job. You can’t just go tell a Broadway director that you want to be the star and then boom, you get your own show.”
“That’s true. But I think you’d be a great actress.” He smiled.
“Wow. Thank you. Now, I have a question for you.”
“Go for it.”
“A-Are you single?” I managed to stutter.
“Yes. Are you?”
“Yeah.”
“Really? I don’t believe that.” He chuckled.
“Why not?”
“You are way too pretty to be single.”
“Well, thank you. That’s very sweet of you to say that,” My cheeks heated even more, and I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I was actually seeing somebody this summer, but that didn’t end so well.”
“What happened?” He asked.
“It’s not important.”
“Well, it’s his loss. I’m sure he regrets whatever he did every single day.”
“How do you know it was him who did something? How do you know it wasn’t me?” I asked.
He thought about that for a minute.
“Good point,” He nodded. “I like you.”
“Can I ask why?” I blurted out.
“You’re asking me why I like you?”
“Yes.”
“Because you’re not afraid to ask questions like that.” He teased. I laughed and then waited for a real answer. “Well, let’s see. You’re brave, independent, caring, giving, intelligent and on top of that, you’re easy on the eyes.”
“Wow.” I was surprised by his answer and felt my entire body heat. It was about a thousand degrees in here, but somehow I didn’t mind. I was sure the heat was more from the constant blushing. He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, his hand staying cupped around my face. I was frozen in the spot.
“I think….you’re exactly what I need.” He whispered. It was almost a sigh. He leaned in, kissing me very gently. My entire body felt like it was going up in flames, but somehow it felt good. I kissed him back and within seconds, the gentle kiss he had started had flared up into a full on explosion of passion.. His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer as if he couldn’t get enough. My nails raked up and down his back, his muscular arms, his shoulders. Was it possible that this beautiful man, this guy who was everything I had ever dreamed of, wanted me just as badly as I wanted him?
The fact that we were in a public place, which didn’t seem to matter at all seconds ago, hit me hard when he pulled away.
“Oh, my god. I’m so sorry,” He said, eyes wide. I realized I had straddled him, my legs on either side of his hips. And glancing down, I realized that yes, he did want me as badly as I wanted him. I climbed off of him, embarrassed. “I don’t know what happened.”
“Why are you sorry?” I asked. “I’m not. I liked it.”
“I’m not usually so out of control.”
“Me neither.”

We stayed out until about two in the morning. When I came back to the room, I was full of excitement and girlish giggles. Shane and I had made plans to go to the football game together the next day. I didn’t care for football, but any day with him was a day well spent. Could it be possible that I was falling for a guy I had just met?
Shane and I were inseparable after that day. We did everything together; we went to games together, had movie nights and he frequently cooked me dinner at his apartment. I took him out dancing; he was excited to learn. He had told me that he had always wanted to learn to ballroom dance and although I was shocked, I agreed to learn with him. For my birthday, he surprised me by taking me to a romantic ball. I fell more and more in love with him each day.
Although the day before I had met him, my heart was completely closed off to the idea of falling in love, Shane had found a way to open it.

---------------------------

(5 years later)

Waking up in the queen-sized bed all alone was not something I enjoyed, but the reminder that Shane was coming back home soon kept me strong. He had been gone for over a year. Being a military wife was not easy. I worried a lot, hoping that my Marine would come back to me in one piece. He sent me letters every chance he got, saying he would come back soon, safe and sound.
I tried to stay busy, finding things to do around the house to distract myself. I missed my husband very much and my idle time was always spent thinking of him. Our neighborhood was quiet, but lovely. Our house was the one I had always dreamed of-I had found it when my family and I went to the coast and I had fallen in love with it instantly. I called it the “fairy-tale house” because of its cottage-like appearance, surrounding garden and old fashioned vibe. When I had told Shane about it, he vowed that someday he would make my dream of owning the house a reality.
I opened the mailbox, overjoyed when I saw a letter from him. I kept every letter that he had written me in a treasure chest under the bed. As I flipped through the stack of mail, my heart dropped. At the bottom of the pile, under the magazines and bills, there was a letter that looked official and scary. I hurried back to the house, setting the stack on the table.
Shane’s letter was first. I opened the envelope, my hands shaking.

“Dear Claire-de-lune,
If you’re reading this, I’m no longer on this Earth. I hope you never have to read this letter and that I can return to you, safe and sound. I miss you with everything in me, Claire. I hope everything is well at home and that you are taking care of yourself. Thank you very much for the cookies you baked for me. The other guys tried to steal them, but I didn’t let them. They were delicious. I love you very much, Claire. And I miss you. I miss your warm clean scent, I miss the lilies you planted in the front yard, I miss the way your nose crinkles up when you laugh and most of all I miss your hugs. I keep a picture of you in my front pocket, so I hope that you know that you’re always close to my heart. I don’t know if I told you that, but in case I didn’t, now you know. Please don’t cry, Claire. I promise you that I’m in a better place. Someday we’ll be together again. I promise.
Do you remember your twentieth birthday? I took you to that ball and we danced the night away. I think about it all the time. Sometimes, when I miss you, I look up at the sky and the stars remind me of the strings of lights they put across the ceilings. I remember how excited you were when I pulled up to your dorm in a tux and how beautiful you looked in your sparkling blue gown.
I love you, Claire. I love you every single second of every single day. I can’t even tell you how much you mean to me. When we first started dating, I told you that you were exactly what I needed. I was right. I’ve never loved anybody as much as I love you, Claire. You’re the light of my life and everything I’ve ever wanted.
I’ll be looking over you, Claire. I’ll make sure you’re safe and sound. You’ve always been my angel and now it’s my turn to be yours.
Love,
Shane.

I held the letter to my chest, trails of tears falling down my face. My heart suddenly felt cold; my husband couldn’t be dead. It was impossible. He was the strongest man I ever knew. Nothing could bring him down.
The second envelope, the cold, official, formal one, held his dog tags and a small description of his death. He had been shot in the stomach and by the time they had taken out the bullet, he had lost too much blood.
“Shane…” I whispered, my voice cracking. I felt weak and made my way to the bed. My heart had fallen to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. “Shane…I need you.” Blind with tears, I crawled into bed. I wanted to curl up and fall asleep and maybe never wake up again. I wanted my husband. My body was cold with grief and I cried until my eyes could shed no more tears.
I don’t know how long I slept. My eyes opened when I heard a sound. Music? No, I hadn’t left the stereo on.

You'll be alright; no one can hurt you now.
The words drifted out to me, making me sit up and glance around the room.
Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound…
I followed the music into the living room, where the stereo was, indeed, on. My lips formed a small smile as I remembered dancing to this song the very first time I had taken Shane out dancing. I knew that this was his last gift to me, his way of saying that he was there, watching over me.

“Thank you,” I whispered as a tear rolled down my cheek.