Lahat ng Kabanata ng Falling For The Hockey Captain: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

AVA'S POVMORNING LIGHTI wake up before he does, sunlight slanting warm through the curtains, and spend a long, indulgent moment just watching him sleep, one arm still loosely draped across my waist, his face relaxed in a way I rarely get to see given how much of our relationship has unfolded under some kind of pressure or another.He stirs eventually, eyes blinking open slowly, and the second he registers me watching him, a lazy, warm smile spreads across his face."Morning," he murmurs, voice rough with sleep, pulling me closer against him. "This is a good way to wake up.""Better than a phone call at six a.m.," I agree, tracing a slow pattern along his chest."Infinitely better," he says, leaning down to kiss me, slow and unhurried, none of the desperate urgency of last night, just easy, comfortable affection."I could get used to this," I admit, when he finally pulls back. "Actually waking up next to you instead of just texting good morning from three states away.""Me too," he sa

AVA'S POVSHOWCASE DAYI wake up to a text from Chase at six in the morning, three hours ahead of me, already at the rink for his final evaluation.Chase: Whatever happens today, thank you for being the steadiest thing in my life this entire summer. Love you. Go crush your last practice before nationals.I read it three times before finally getting out of bed, warmth spreading through my chest despite the early hour and the nervous flutter already building in my stomach. Nationals are only two days away now, my own final practice session scheduled for this afternoon before we fly out tomorrow.Ava: Love you too. Go show them everything Sanderson's been building with you all summer. I'll be checking my phone all day.I spend the morning going through my pre-competition routine, the familiar rhythm of stretching, visualization, careful nutrition, all of it grounding despite the nervous energy building steadily beneath the surface. My mother calls around noon, her own excitement palpable

CHASE'S POVTHE ROAD TRIPThe team leaves for a six-game road trip two weeks after my comeback game, the longest stretch away from Providence since the season started, and I'm still adjusting to the strange rhythm of hotel rooms and bus rides when Ava calls with news that immediately pulls my attention entirely away from unpacking my travel bag."I got invited to the International Selection Camp," she says, and even through the phone I can hear her trying to contain her excitement. "Chase, it's the first real step toward the international circuit. If I make an impression there, we're talking about actual Olympic development track consideration.""Ava, that's incredible," I say, genuine excitement flooding through me even as some small, complicated knot forms in my stomach at the timing. "When is it?""That's the thing," she says, hesitation creeping into her voice. "It's in Switzerland. Two weeks from now. Same week as your road trip's final stretch, actually."The knot in my stomach

CHASE'S POVDEBUTThe NHL locker room is quieter than I expect, less chaotic than the AHL rooms I've grown used to, veteran players moving through their pregame routines with the kind of practiced calm that only comes from having done this hundreds of times before."First game nerves?" the guy in the stall next to mine asks, a steady, quiet veteran named Doyle who I'd only recognized from television until an hour ago."Is it that obvious?" I ask, hands slightly unsteady as I finish taping my stick."You've got the look," Doyle says, not unkindly. "Everyone does, first time out. Just play your game. Don't try to be someone you're not because the jersey's different tonight."I nod, trying to absorb the advice, though the nervous energy coiled tight in my chest doesn't fully release its grip. Coach gathers the team for a brief pregame talk, and when he mentions my name specifically, welcoming me to the lineup, a ripple of genuine, encouraging applause moves through the room that helps se

CHASE'S POVTHE SURPRISEI text Coach Reyes directly, something I've never done before, but three days into hearing Ava's exhausted voice on every call, watching her push through an impossible six-week timeline without a single break, I figure the risk is worth it.Chase: This is Chase. Any chance there's a window in Ava's schedule this weekend? I want to surprise her, but I don't want to throw off her training.Coach Reyes responds within the hour, brisk as always but with an unmistakable warmth underneath it.Coach Reyes: Saturday evening, she's got a full run-through scheduled, first time seeing the new program from start to finish. No audience currently planned. I think she'd want you there. Don't tell her. I'll clear it with facility security.I stare at the message for a long moment, gratitude swelling at Coach Reyes's uncharacteristic sentimentality, before immediately booking a flight, coordinating carefully with my own team's schedule to make sure I'm not needed for anything