Fire & Ice - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

The rest of our spring break trip home turned out better then the start of it. A peace fell over the house as Mom, Alyssa, Cassie and myself really started to decorate the space. The guys came to construct my desk and had it put together in an hour. After they were gone, I made sure all of the clothes I wasn't bringing back to school were put away into my closet and night stand. Then on the last day we were at home, Cassie and I painted my room. It started out super fun. We both drew funny pictures in the paint on the walls then it turned into a tic-tac-toe battle which Cassie won. After she won four times in a row I had enough and I dipped the paint brush into the paint and ran it over her whole arm. She was not happy about it and then proceeded to paint my back green. I took my shirt off a little while ago because I got paint on it and didn't want to ruin it completely.
That's how mom found us a few minutes later, more paint on us instead of the walls. She yelled at us to get into the shower and clean it all off before it dried on our skin. To make it more awkward mom set up sheets for us to walk from my bedroom into the shower, together. When we got to the bathroom she stood outside and waited for me to hand her our paint covered clothes. The shower took a while with both of us bickering back and forth about who started the paint war. Once all the paint was gone and we dried off we finished painting my room. A little while after we finished my room, I got a text from my mom of pictures of Cassie and I chasing each other around the room covered in paint. They are some of my favorite pictures of us together.
I also managed to cap off the trip with a cute little date at the beach. Cassie loved it. Being from a landlocked state she has only seen the ocean a few times on vacation. She was definitely jealous when I told her the beach was where I spent most of the summer if I wasn't at the rink. The weather was a bit cold, barely in the 40's but being from Wisconsin, Cassie was used to much colder weather. She even took her shoes off and ran up and down the beach a little bit. It was such a beautiful moment it made me want to bring her back to Boston in the summer so we could actually come to beach during the season.
But then my time at home came to an end for now. Travis managed to hop onto the same flight back to Wisconsin with us so we all took the drive to Boston Logan together. I said bye to Dawn and Malcolm first then moved onto Alyssa who I pulled into a tight hug.
"Please take care of mom." I said just to her.
"I will." Alyssa said back before pulling away from me. Next came mom. We walked away from the group a little bit before I pulled her into a hug.
"I already miss you." Mom said as she rested her head on my shoulder.
"I'll be back soon. May isn't that far away and then you are stuck with me for most of the summer." I said.
"I know. Bring that girlfriend home with you will ya? I think she's a keeper." Mom said and pulled away from our hug to look at me.
"You think so?" I asked and we turned back to our little group and saw Cassie in the middle of a hug with Alyssa.
"I know so." Mom said.
"Hey, you got yourself a keeper too there ma." I said trying to deflect the attention from me to her.
"We bought a house together McKenna, of course I know that." Mom said all serious like. I couldn't help but smile and pull her into another hug.
"Good" I said.
With that one final hug and a few I love yous and promises of Cassie taking a vacation here over the summer, we said bye to our parents and made our way through security. Going through security took a bit longer with Cassie's cane but we made it through without issue and walked over to the gate.
The flight home was good and Cassie smiled as she found Chad waiting for us by baggage claim. He took us all back to campus and I was happy to get back into our dorm. I think Cassie felt like too because once we closed the door behind us and sat down on the couch we both sighed in relief, happy to be back in our little bubble.
We both took the day to unpack and get everything sorted our for the final push of the semester that we were both ready for. Once Monday rolled around we were both excited to get back into class. I was just ready to get back into a routine. School picked right back up as I had some work to catch up on from missing the last week due to hockey. It took me that whole week to catch up on everything.
The rest of March and the first half of April was like a sprint. All of my classes had assignments due and there wasn't a light to the end of the tunnel yet. Just as I finished one paper another one would come up and I felt like no matter how hard I tried to get ahead on all of my assignments, there was always one that was left to the last minute.
Cassie was pretty much in the same boat, with school and mock trial. Once she would finish class work she would move right onto mock trial work. There were more then a few nights that she would end up asleep on the couch with a textbook open on her lap, highlighter still in hand and a pen tucked behind her ear. That just made me more grateful for our weekend away in Chicago.
It came up pretty quickly and I was super happy to get away from any and all things school related for the weekend. I was just happy we booked the hotel room back when Cassie got the tickets otherwise we would have completely forgotten to do it. Since we both didn't have class on Friday we decided to add an extra day to trip and we drove down to Chicago on Friday instead of getting there Saturday.
The drive down was under three hours and when we got there, Cassie made me switch with her so she could drive us around. She's been to Chicago a few times and she drove us over to one of her favorite food stops. One of the many. The first stop was for deep dish pizza and after we were finished I felt like I needed a bed and a nap. But that was only the first stop. We stopped off at Millennium Park and we took a few pictures in front of the bean before we went off to check into our hotel for the night.
After we got checked into the hotel room, we relaxed for little bit. When Cassie asked if I wanted something for dinner, all I could think about what eating her. Being busy for the last month, we didn't really have much an opportunity to get some time along together without one of us falling asleep. That first night together was spent naked and making up for all of our lost time.
Saturday was game day. The Boston Bruins were facing the Chicago Blackhawks at a 2pm start at the United Center. Cassie and I woke up late and went for brunch before getting an uber to the game. I wore the jersey she got me for Christmas and when I pulled it over my head in the hotel, Cassie gave me a warm smile. The game turned out to be a real thriller for Boston. They went on a romp and beat the Blackhawks five nothing. After the game was over Cassie and I walked around the streets of Chicago back to our hotel. On our way back, we actually stopped into a local bar called Molly's for dinner. We tried to get drinks but the waitress gave us a stink eye and handed us back our fake IDs before giving us water instead.
On Sunday after we checked out of the hotel Cassie and I stopped off at a few of her favorite food shops to bring some stuff back campus. She also took an order from Chad for a pizza and it made driving home interesting because all I wanted to do was stop and have a slice. Chad was waiting for us when we pulled into the parking lot of our dorm. I barely got the Jeep into park before he pulled open the trunk to get his pizza. He yelled a thank you in our direction before walking off towards the hockey house.
Cassie just rolled her eyes at her brother and we slowly made our way back upstairs to the dorm. I barely got settled when I got a call from Toni asking for me to come to the house to go over some things. Since the end of the season, I've barely seen any of the girls or been over to the house as I've been consumed with school work. I sighed and gave Cassie a kiss before walking over to the house. The only two girls I've seen have been Becca and Stacey. The pair seemed to be going strong still and it made me happy to see them happy together. We've got to talk a bit more about them being my assistant captains and they seemed really excited about it.
When I got to the hockey house, things were quiet. Most of the girls were out getting dinner or studying in their rooms. Toni pulled me into the office and she started to go over the list of our incoming freshman now that it's finalized. Coach Decker and Coach Jackie went after a lot of forwards this year as our defensive core is only losing one starter. After Toni gave me the final list, she walked me through what her and Megan do with the incoming class if I wanted to keep it going. Then came the room assignment list. I polled everyone who will be returning to the house next year to get their opinions on who they wanted to be roomed with. Most of the girls were open to having a freshmen roomed with them but there were a few who didn't want to change roommates.
Toni did let me know that there is one single room for the captain and I smiled. Not that I would have minded sharing with someone, but I wanted to be able to close my door and have some time alone with Cassie. Becca and Stacey wanted to be roomed together even though I didn't think it would be the best idea incase something happens to their relationship. They feel confident it wasn't going to get in the way of playing so I let them be pair together. I ran it by Toni that I wanted to put potential line mates together in rooms so they bond and are able to have that chemistry on the ice. She thought it was a good idea and that's when Megan joined us. Together the three of us came up with the rest of the room assignments and this year our whole team would be in the house. No players would be staying in dorms or at off campus housing.
After we hammered all of that out, we moved onto the hockey awards dinner. The dinner is going to be in two weeks off campus at a local catering hall called the Crest Hallow. We are all invited to bring a guest and they both smiled at me when they said that. I'm looking forward to the night out with the team. This year is going to be a joint dinner between our team and the men's team since both of our teams have bonded so much over the course of the year.
With the final touches on the preparations for the dinner done, I bid Toni and Megan a good night before walking back to the dorm. Cassie was half asleep on the couch when I got back. I just grabbed one of the many blankets we have collected over the course of the semester and draped it over my girl before sitting down on the arm chair.
The next two weeks flew by again as both Cassie and I were consumed with school work and getting prepared for final exams and presentations. I couldn't believe we were here already. The end of my first year of college. Next week is finals week and after finals I'm going home to Boston. My flight is already booked and I have already mailed home a box of stuff I don't need here. The team also took care of mailing home all of my hockey gear which I was grateful for, something I didn't have to thing about. The only thing I have left here are my hockey skates which will just be put into my luggage.
That was one thing I had to buy, two large suitcases for me to pack all of my stuff into in addition to the duffle bag I have, smaller carry-on suitcase and my backpack. Mom isn't going to be making the drive out here again as I can afford the plane fare home. Her and Alyssa both are promising to pick me up at the airport though.
But back to today, well tonight. Tonight is the hockey awards dinner and I actually haven't seen Cassie all day. She is spending the day with Becca getting ready while Stacey and I went over some of the new player profiles for next year. We started making up a few lists of different line make ups and now we have to find someone to replace Toni on our line. Then there is also the possibility of coach wanting to split us up. I didn't even want to entertain the thought of that though.
After we put in enough work, I left Stacey to get ready as most of the hockey house was already doing so and walked back to the dorm. The spring weather was nice and I knew tonight was going to be beautiful out. As I got up to the dorm I unlocked the door and let myself in.
"McKenna! You're early!" Becca yelled and rushed over to me.
"What are you talking about? I need to get ready." I said as Becca pushed me into my room.
"And you can in about ten minutes. Cassie is finishing up in the bathroom and once she is done it's all yours. But until then, stay here." Becca said and pushed me into my bedroom and slammed the door closed behind me.
I just sighed and started to pull out the new suit I bought for this night. The pants are high waisted and are cut a bit above my ankles. The blazer is long and is an open front that is black and matches my pants. Instead of a normal dress button up, I'm wearing a bright red crop thick tank top that shows off my abs. With my outfit settled I pounded on my door.
"Can I shower yet?" I yelled.
"Yes! We are done in the bathroom!" I heard Becca yell. I pulled my door open and went right into the bathroom to shower.
After I was done in the shower I blew out my hair and flat ironed it straight before going back into my room to get dressed. I completely forgot about shoes so I went with a not so dirty pair of black converse to finish off the look. As I opened my bedroom door I pulled up the sleeves of my blazer and they stayed in place right before the crook of my elbow. I heard some motion so I looked up and my jaw actually fell open. Cassie is standing in front of me in a beautiful blue thin strapped jumpsuit that lands just above her ankles. But what really caught my attention is her hair. Her long blonde locks gone, now replaced with buzzed off sides and longer hair in the middle, styled back that looks so natural it takes my breath away.
(the dress)
I'm pretty sure my mouth opened and closed a few times like a gold fish trying to rack my brain to come up with words. Finally my brain and mouth connected on the same wave length long enough for me to get some words out.
"Fuck me" I said in a low whisper. The only way I knew Cassie heard me was the blush that started to spread over her cheeks.
"I like, I have no words. You look amazing, like a goddess." I said and took a few steps forward towards my girl.
"You like my hair?" Cassie asked and ran her hand through locks in the middle.
(Cassie's hair)
"Absolutely. I don't know how to describe it but, that hair style was like made for you babe." I said and wrapped an arm around her waist. That's when I realized her eyes are a few inches higher then mine and I looked down.
"Heals?!" I asked surprised and looked back up.
"Yea, small ones that I can manage in." Cassie said.
"I love it, I love you." I said and leaned in to give her a kiss. It was heated right away but then I felt cold hands on my exposed stomach slowing our kiss.
"You look pretty good yourself lover but we should probably go now before we don't leave this room at all." Cassie said. I nodded and leaned in to give her another kiss before a pounding on the door stopped me.
"Yo horn dogs! The uber is here, we need to leave!" Becca yelled.
"Go down there, we're coming!" I yelled back at Becca as Cassie went to grab her purse and I went to get the gifts for Toni and Megan.
We met Becca downstairs in the waiting uber and it only took us about twenty minutes to get to the catering hall. As we arrived I got out of the car first and held my hand out for Cassie to take. She took it and we waited for Becca to get out of the car behind Cass before we started to walk into the venue. My arm is firmly wrapped around Cassie's waist as we walked into the main gathering area of the catering hall and I quickly found our place cards for the night.
The hall we were in wasn't far from the main entrance and it looks like most of the teams were already here by the time we arrived. So as the doors to the room opened a lot of people turned to look at us. I tried to pay them no mind as I removed my arm from around Cassie's waist for her to interlock her arm with mine. There were a few stairs that led us down to the main floor of the room and normally I wouldn't have done it, but I wanted to give Cassie something extra to hang onto because of the heals.
"Thank you baby." Cassie said and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as we made it down the stairs to our table.
It was no surprise that Becca and Stacey were sitting with us at our table along with Travis and Chad. Neither of the guys brought a plus one for the night which I thought was surprising. It didn't take long for the rest of the tables to fill up with familiar faces and for the ceremony to start. The first hour of the dinner was all about different awards and reconditions that were handed out. I wasn't surprised to be called up to podium a few times during the ceremony for different awards. We also got out championship rings towards the end of our ceremony.
As the ceremony was wrapping up, I had to get up to the podium to give Toni and Megan their outgoing captains gift. Along with giving them the gift, I had to give a speech, one of my least favorite things to do. But finally it was my turn and I chugged my water glass before getting out of my chair and walking up to the podium. Becca and Stacey were coming with me to hold up the gifts and to hand them over to Toni and Megan but both wanted me to give the speech as neither wanted to speak in front of the crowd.
"My freshman season has come to an end and I can safely say it was nothing like I thought it would be. If you would have told me all that would have happened during this year when I committed to Wisconsin, I would have laughed in your face. But I did it. First year down, now three more years to go. This first year would not have been as successful without the leadership of Toni and Megan. The pair was like a one two punch, always picking up right where the other left off. I understand why they were co-captains for the last three years.
"Megan, our star center who was able to win faceoffs against anybody and everyone. I'm not sure if you know this but she has the best faceoff win percentage in school history, men or women's team. I hope that watching and facing off against you enough had rubbed off on me to be able to try and fill your skates next season." I said and gave Megan a smile.
"Now onto my line mate, Toni. Or as I just found out this afternoon name is actually Antoinette." The crowd chuckled and I found Toni sinking in her seat.
"Okay, okay. Back to Toni. Where do I start? We started working together during practice and everything clicked together like a puzzle. As the season went on knowing you were out there on my wing, I always knew I could count on you to be where I needed you too be. This season you lead the team in assists. Our hockey brains just melted together and you couldn't tell where mine ended and yours started. With Becca out there on our other wing we were like a three headed hydra that nobody could figure out all season. I know Becca and I are dreading finding another player to add to our line because nobody will be as good as you out there." I said and gave Toni and smile.
"So tonight we honor you both, co-captains. I know that I have big shoes to step into and I hope I do it justice. From the team we are presenting you guys with your game worn championship jerseys that have been framed with all of your career stats on plaque. Who knows, maybe one day we will all be playing together for the US national team." I said and gestured for Becca and Stacey to get the frames for them. They walked them over to Toni and Megan and gave them their frames as I grabbed the two cards from my jacket pocket and walked over to them. I gave them their cards and a hug before sitting down with Cassie.
The guys team followed up my speech with a speech for one of their assistant captains that is graduating this year. After that was done, dinner was served and I was so happy to get to eat something. The food was actually really good and I enjoyed the meal. When a lot of people were done eating, the DJ opened the dance floor and most of the teams went to dance the night away. While Cassie got dragged onto the floor by her brother and my friends, I stayed back and mingled with our coaches for a little bit.
When I was done chatting with them I grabbed some more water before finally making my way onto the dance floor. One More Time by Daf Punk started to play from speakers and I couldn't help feel my eyes start to water. I'm going to miss playing with both Megan and Toni and all of our senior class. After this dinner most of them are already moving out of the hockey house to return home for the summer, so tonight really is the one last time we are all going to be in the same room together. I found Cassie in the crowd and pulled her into me as I tried to get myself together. If Cassie noticed, then she didn't say anything but just pulled me closer into her.
As One More Time faded out a few more upbeat songs came on as we all danced in circled around each other. Then I watched as Becca went up to the DJ and started talking to him. He nodded a few times and then the song changed to something slower.
"We had a request for this next one. You might want a partner for the next one folks." The DJ said I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack started to play. Most of the dance floor cleared out expect for the few couples in attendance tonight. I looked over at my best friends and saw Stacey crying with a smile on her face as Becca took her hand and wrapped it around her waist.
I turned back to my own girl and held out a hand for her. Cassie took it and I pulled her into me as we started to sway in time with the song.
"I'm really happy I decided to dorm this year." Cassie said as water collected in her blue eyes.
"I am so incredibly grateful to whatever higher power put us in the same dorm together." I answered.
"Well, we would have met eventually, with Chad being on the team and you hanging out at the house." Cassie said.
"I know but it wouldn't have been the same without living with you though. Next year is going to be so different living in separate dorms." I said.
"Hey, that's for after summer to deal with. Right now we still have another week in the dorms together before school ends, so we can make the most of it until then." Cassie said as a tear escaped her eye. I quickly wiped it away and leaned in to give her a kiss. I couldn't let it get out of hand though with the whole team watching.
"I love you Cassie, so much." I said after I pulled away.
"I love you too Mac." Cassie said as the song started to fade away into another upbeat pop song.
Cassie and I took a break after that song and returned to our table. While Cassie rested her leg at the table, I went around to the rest of the seniors and gave them their gifts, which was just a plaque with their career stats on them before returning to her. By the time I got back dessert was being served so I just stayed at the table for the cake and cookies. The rest of the night was spent taking a ton of pictures and videos to forever capture this moment. When it eventually came to an end, I didn't want to leave. But then I took another look at how good Cassie looked and my libido took over.