Page 121 of Rise Above

“I hate to agree with Zeke, but you came in here

with a huge smile on your face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were in love.” Chris looked me up and down. “Are you? Even after Melody?”

“I don’t think what I felt for Melody was love.”

That was the first time I admitted that out loud. “Whatever

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we had definitely wasn’t love either. I think we were just infatuated with each other.”

“Dude, you didn’t answer the question.” Zeke

sounded frustrated. “Don’t do that avoidance bullshit.”

“We kissed, okay?” I was just as exasperated as

they were, and they wouldn’t learn about me eating her out. “Y’all happy?”

I pushed past the two of them so I could continue

my warm-up. They were like my brothers, which meant they were just as annoying as my biological brothers. What was going on between Aife and me, I wanted to keep that way. There were many reasons my relationship with Melody failed, but one of the key downfalls was all the publicity. I was by no means the most popular sports name, but I’d made headlines for the way I played. My enforcing was out of hand when I was with Melody. I’d caused many injuries. She didn’t cause them, but our relationship turmoil translated to the ice.

Melody constantly brought me down. That’s not

what happened when I was with Aife. She lifted me up, and I hoped I did the same for her. Our relationship was easy. That’s what good relationships were—easy, even when things got difficult. Aife was the person I wanted to spend all my time with, but I didn’t mind being away from her. Was that what love was?

My mind ran down that thread. What qualified as

love? I thought love could be many things, and I was beginning to understand I loved Aife. What I felt for that woman was beyond words and emotions. It felt like she had reached in and touched my soul. Maybe she had. Maybe I 259

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was okay with it. If I could have picked a better woman… I wasn’t sure I could. Aife was quickly becoming my world.

Before I knew it, ice practice was over with. Sweat

poured down my face, and we still had weights—dry land. Coach was pushing us hard. We had to win at least five more games to make playoffs. Five games to prove we were a team to reckon with. Lately, we hadn’t been showing that.

Weights clanged around me as I started my squat

routine. Today was my day to focus on legs and glutes. It felt like every day was leg day in hockey, but we had to have a strong base in order to play this game well. It was tiring… truly. If every day people knew how much hard work went into being a pro, they probably wouldn’t dream about doing it. Everyone thought celebrities and athletes became sensational overnight; that just wasn’t the case.

Everything took time and practice. Just like a doctor

studied years to hone their craft, I did as well. I didn’t become a pro overnight; it took hard work. My body was pushed to the limit on a weekly basis. My job required grit and strength, and injuries were a near constant. Without hard work and dedication, there was no Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, Kobe Lebron, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, Serena Williams, or David Beckham. Each athlete spent countless hours honing their craft; we had to.

My weights clattered against the squat machine. A

burning sensation ran down my quads. My breathing was a little rattled, but I wasn’t ready to stop. Hockey was my life; it always had been. I was just ready to include someone else in it too.

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“Dude, don’t overwork yourself.” Zeke popped up