Lily never expected to fall for a hockey player. She barely understood the rules, except that they involved a lot of skating, yelling, and what appeared to be sanctioned violence. But there she was, sitting rink-side, watching Logan “The Enforcer” Bennett crash into an opponent like a runaway Zamboni.
Logan was the league’s top defenseman, known for checking opponents so hard their ancestors felt it. Off the ice, however, he was surprisingly soft-hearted—like a teddy bear who occasionally body-slammed people for a living.
Lily, a bookish café owner, had met Logan when he wandered into her shop looking for something “that makes me look like a guy who reads books and feels emotions.” She had given him a copy of Pride and Prejudice along with a latte. He had returned the next day, declaring, “Elizabeth Bennet would have been an excellent hockey player. Good balance, lots of sass.”
Since then, he had become her most loyal customer, and somehow, her accidental boyfriend.
Tonight was his championship game. Lily had resisted becoming a full-fledged hockey fan, but she had shown up, armed with a homemade sign that read: “Don’t get punched, I like your face!”
Logan spotted her from the ice, grinned, and then promptly got hip-checked into the boards. He stood back up, shaking off the hit, before dramatically blowing Lily a kiss.
A few tense minutes later, the puck slid toward him, and he took the shot—his slapshot sent the puck flying, straight into the net. The crowd erupted. He skated toward Lily and pointed at her like some kind of victorious gladiator.
“You inspired me!” he shouted.
She laughed, holding up her sign. “Good, but remember—the face!”
That night, Logan hoisted his championship trophy, Lily decided that maybe hockey wasn’t all about yelling and violence, and somewhere, Elizabeth Bennet would have been proud.
The end.
