#jackcampbell

When the league shut down, we decided to move in together. I was nervous about being with him 24/7 so soon into our relationship but everything just felt so easy with him. We fell into a routine and made the best out of our quarantine. We were so in our own world that we didn't even think about announcing it to the public.

When the league opened up again, we were both ecstatic. We drove to the arena together and immediately were inundated with questions from the team. Some of them, mainly Mitch, were a little upset we didn't tell them but they were all happy for us.

"Why didn't you tell us? We've been rooting for you guys to get together forever!" Mitch yelled, jumping around us.

"Mitchy, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to keep this from you guys." I smiled, feeling bad about keeping this from them. The whole team had turned into a family for me and I shared almost everything with them.

"It's okay." He laughed, whispering "but if anything happens, you tell us and we'll sort him out."

"I don't think we'll have that problem, but thanks."

We weren't necessarily hiding our relationship but we weren't in a hurry to announce our relationship to the masses. Being the only woman in the NHL, I didn't want our relationship to overshadow the game.

Things changed after Jack's 10th straight win. Suspicion started surrounding us after a few comments Jack made in his interview with Shawn McKenzie. The whole ride home, we talked about just taking the plunge and telling the sports world we were together.

"This is your call. I know how hard it is for you in this league already. I don't want to add any more stress."

"Would it be okay if we waited just a little bit longer? Just have a little trial run on how the media is going to treat this?"

"Absolutely. Whatever you need. I hope you know I'm in this for the long run."

"Me too." I smiled, pecking his cheek as he drove us home.

I had been nervous about post-game interviews, but I felt even more nervous knowing that at any point, a question about Jack could pop up and I could let the cat out of the bag. Luckily, there were no questions about him and me, the question focused on the way we were playing instead.

On one of our free nights, we were eating dinner in the living room, watching a movie. I had decided that it was time. I loved this man and I wanted the world to know it. I knew we, mainly me, would get questions about our relationship but it was time.

"I want to tell people about us." I blurted out, keeping my eyes on the television.

"Really?" Jack asked, moving to face me.

"Yeah." I smiled, placing my hand on his cheek. "I don't really care how, I just want the world to know."

"Okay. How are we going to do this?"

"We could post a picture of us? People already think we're together so they can read between the lines."

Going through our pictures together, there was one that Mitch took after a game. Jack and I were hugging in the locker room after one of our best games, Jack coming out with a shutout and I with two assists, both of us earning a star for the game. Once we settled on it, we both posted it with a red heart below.

The next game, our post-game interviews were back to back, Jack going first. Coming out, he winked my way.

"I only got one question at the end. You'll be fine."

"Okay?" I whispered, sliding past him into the room. Like Jack said, all of the questions were about the game and my two assists. When I heard the beautiful words "last question", I took a sigh of relief.

"Most people could tell soon after goalie Jack Campbell was traded to Toronto that there was a spark between the two of you. Jack mentioned that you two have been together for almost a year now. Was there a reason you two kept your relationship a secret for so long?"

"Um, not necessarily in the beginning. I was the one who wanted to keep it a secret for a little longer. I mean, I have a hard enough time being the only woman in the league for now so I was really nervous about telling people we were dating but it's one of those things where we didn't want to hide it anymore. Um, I do want to thank you all for being respectful and keeping the questions about the game. It means a lot."

"Thanks, Y/N. Have a nice night."

"Thanks, everyone." I smiled, getting up and walking out of the room. Jack was standing there talking with Mitch who walked past us when they saw me walk out.

"How was that?"

"It was okay. I only had one question about us too. Even though I could talk about you for hours it was kind of nice to mainly focus on the game."

The next few games went well. Most post-game interviews focused on the games but there were a few here and there where the media had a frenzy about little moments between the two of us. My favourite moment came only a month after we were public.

That day had been not the greatest for either Jack or me. it started with our alarm clock acting up, not waking us up in time. As we scrambled to get ready, we realized that we ran out of milk, meaning no coffee until we were at the rink. We had also run out of bread, and eggs, which was fine as long as we made it in time for team breakfast.

Jack drove us to the arena and when we finally made it through all the checks, we rushed straight to the food and coffee. As Jack fixed us both a plate, I made us both our coffees. As we sat to eat, I looked around to see some of our teammates looking at us funny.

"You look rough," Matthews said as he walked by our table.

"Thanks, Matts. Real nice."

"He didn't mean it like that," Jack said, reaching over and grabbing my hand.

"I'm sorry. Today has been, difficult to say the least."

"No coffee?" He asked as Jack pushed my mug towards me.

"We've had a rough morning." Jack smiled, motioning Auston to continue on. “So? Are you feeling any better?” 

“Yeah. Once the caffeine hits, I’ll feel even better.” 

And I did. Once on the ice, my energy and mood increased greatly. I was joking around and goofing off with everyone during the down times at practice and focused during the drills. 

Just before the game, I enjoyed one more coffee with the crew and sat with the boys. I continued with my pregame routine, enjoying one little moment with Jack just before we went out on the ice. Throughout the game, we battled hard and ended up on top. There were a few instances where the puck ended up going straight down to our end and behind the net. I skated back for the puck, I called out to Jack reminding him of our grocery list.

“We need milk and bread!”

 As I skated away, I glanced back and saw Jack’s smile cover his face, filling me with joy. That joy turned into a goal, causing me to skate straight to the netminder. I slapped his shoulder as I went by and then made my way to the bench. Post-game I was called in first, rushing to make myself as presentable as possible. 

“We saw the joy on both your and Jack’s face on that last goal. We also saw you call out something to him when you picked up the puck. Was it some last-minute motivation?” 

“I was just reminding him of our grocery list. We realized this morning we ran out of milk and bread and I didn’t want to forget so uh, yeah. Nothing crazy.” I laughed, feeling a little ridiculous revealing the mundaneness of our conversation. Soon after, I was released and met up with Jack once again just outside. 

“Were you talking about me?” He whispered, sliding his hands around my waist. 

“Maybe...” 

“All good things?” He asked just as the door flew open again.

“Jack, we’re ready for you.” 

“I’ll be just a sec.” He said, turning back down to me. “We’ll make a grocery run before heading home. I love you.”