Page 4 of A Match Made In Fall

This win is a step in the right direction.

“How about those Bears?” my teammate Rico calls as soon as we enter to the locker room.

The room erupts with cheers and whistles. Our celebrating is interrupted by our coach. He’s ready to give one of his classic post-game lectures that usually takes longer than necessary.

“Here we go,” Nick says, under his breath.

I snort. “Did you expect anything different?”

He shakes his head. “Nope.”

We all pretend to pay attention to Coach Denton while I’m counting the seconds until I can hit the showers. After about fourteen and a half minutes, he wraps it up.

“That wasn’t terrible,” I say.

Nick rolls his eyes. “Yeah, more like a filling instead of a root canal.”

“Now, now—didn’t the wife talk to you about the attitude?”

“Fiancée,” he corrects me. “And yes, she did.”

I laugh. “That’s what I thought. She’s worked wonders with you.”

He scowls. “Joke all you want, but I promise I’ll repay the favor when you finally find a woman.”

“Ouch that hurt,” I reply.

“You know what I mean.”

I know exactly what he means, and he has a point.

I’ve been in a dating slump for a while now, but I think I’m finally realizing I’m ready to find someone I can see a future with, and this realization feels new for me. In the past, I’ve dated some truly amazing women with all the core qualities anyone could want. They were smart, attractive, kind women who checked all the right boxes—but something always felt missing.

I never really experienced that undeniable spark people talk about. Not just chemistry, but that deeper feeling where everything feels natural and exciting. I’ve always wanted the kind of connection where you want to learn everything about the other person and picture building a life together.

For a long time, I wondered if maybe that was unrealistic, but I’ve watched it happen with people in my life. You can see the difference when someone meets the right person by the way they talk about them and how certain things just click into place. I don’t think I’ve had that yet, but I know I won’t settle for anything less. This is probably why dating has left me frustrated recently. Maybe the surface-level chemistry isn’t enough anymore. I’m at a point now where I want something more and I’d rather wait for the right connection.

“Hey, Austin?” Nick says, waving a hand in front of my face.

“Yeah,” I answer, blinking back into focus. “Sorry. Guess I zoned out for a second.”

He studies me, eyebrows raised with amusement. “I can see that.”

I shake my head and lean back against my locker, trying to clear the thoughts that pulled me away from the conversation. “Anyway, good game tonight,” I say quickly, shifting the conversation back to hockey before he can ask questions I don’t feel like answering.

Nick smirks, catching the obvious subject change but letting it slide. “Yeah. Now we just need to play like that another seventy-something times. Easy, right?”

I let out a laugh, the tension easing from my shoulders. “Exactly. No pressure or anything.”

The locker room buzzes around us with the familiar postgame energy. It’s loud with the sounds of equipment dropping onto the floor, showers running, and the guys all talking loud enough for everyone to hear.

Tonight was good. Not perfect, but good. There were fast shifts, smart plays, and the crowd was alive from the first second the puck dropped to the final buzzer. It was the kind of game that reminded me why I fell in love with hockey in the first place.

Nick grabs his bag and slings it over his shoulder. “You ready?”

“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute.”

He nods and heads out to greet the eager crowd. The locker room is getting quieter, and it gives me a few minutes to myself. I take my time gathering up my stuff. This is one of those moments I’m in awe that I’m here.