Updated Mar 22, 2026 • ~9 min read
Chapter 6: Completely Fucked
POV: Henrik
Henrik – CAN’T STOP THINKING
Henrik realizes he’s completely fucked approximately three days after the pregnancy scare resolves and Rory agrees to dinner, when he volunteers for his fourth media interview of the week despite normally avoiding press like it’s a contagious disease, and his teammate Lucas gives him a look that clearly says “you’ve lost your mind” while the PR coordinator marks him down for yet another scheduled session with the new Tribune journalist who happens to be the woman Henrik can’t stop thinking about no matter how hard he tries.
He’s never been this person—the guy who rearranges his schedule to be near someone, who volunteers for activities he hates just for the chance to see a specific woman, who lies awake at night replaying conversations and analyzing the way she smiled when he said something that made her laugh—but apparently meeting Rory Castillo has fundamentally broken something in his brain that used to prioritize hockey above everything else, and now he’s the idiot who shows up early to practice hoping she’ll be in the press box, who takes extra time answering her interview questions because it means staying near her for five more minutes, who checks his phone obsessively waiting for her to text even though they’ve established they’re keeping things professional at work and personal outside it.
“You’re being obvious,” Lucas says after practice on Wednesday when Henrik has just finished his third interview with Rory in as many days, interviews that definitely don’t require the level of detailed answers he’s providing but he can’t seem to help himself when she asks questions that show she actually understands hockey beyond surface-level statistics. “The whole team knows you’ve got a thing for the journalist.”
“I don’t have a thing,” Henrik lies, badly, while watching Rory across the practice facility talking to the goalie about save percentages, her hair pulled back in a ponytail that makes her look younger and her expression serious in the way it gets when she’s working, and he wants to go over there and interrupt just to see if she’ll smile at him the way she did last night on the phone when he told her about the time he accidentally locked himself in the equipment room as a rookie and had to be rescued by the cleaning staff.
“You absolutely have a thing,” Lucas says, following Henrik’s gaze with an amused expression that suggests he finds this entire situation entertaining instead of the career-complicating disaster it actually is. “You’ve never volunteered for press in your life. Now you’re practically chasing her down for interviews. Either you’ve developed a sudden love of media attention or you’re interested in her specifically.”
“She asks good questions,” Henrik mutters, which is true but also completely beside the point when the real reason he keeps volunteering is because he likes the way her eyes light up when he gives her an answer worth writing about, likes the professional mask slipping occasionally to show genuine interest, likes being the person who makes her forget momentarily that she’s supposed to maintain objective distance from athletes she covers.
“She does ask good questions,” Lucas agrees. “She’s smart, thorough, clearly knows the game. She’s also beautiful in that understated way that probably makes every player on this team want to get her attention. So the question is—are you just interested, or are you actually pursuing something here? Because mixing personal with professional seems like a spectacularly bad idea for both of you.”
Henrik knows Lucas is right—knows that getting involved with Rory is complicated by her job and his career and the fact that they started this entire thing backwards with drunk sex and a pregnancy scare before ever actually dating—but he also knows that he hasn’t felt this interested in someone in years, maybe ever, and walking away from that possibility feels impossible even when logic suggests it’s the smart choice.
“We’re having dinner tomorrow,” Henrik admits, because lying to Lucas seems pointless when they’ve been teammates for three years and Henrik has never successfully hidden anything from him. “Trying the whole dating thing. Seeing if there’s something real beyond the chemistry and the crisis bonding.”
“And the conflict of interest?” Lucas asks carefully. “She covers our team. You’re one of the star players. If anyone finds out you’re dating, her credibility takes a hit and probably yours too.”
“We’re keeping it quiet,” Henrik says, even though the secrecy already feels like a strain when what he actually wants is to tell everyone that Rory agreed to give him a chance, that she’s willing to risk dating an athlete despite her ex-husband apparently destroying her ability to trust hockey players. “Professional at work, personal outside it. Clean boundaries.”
“That’s going to be harder than you think,” Lucas observes. “Especially when you’re looking at her like she’s the only person in the room. Which you’ve been doing for weeks, by the way. Very subtle.”
Henrik forces himself to stop watching Rory and focus on Lucas instead. “Was I this obvious during the pregnancy scare?”
“You mean when you looked like you were going to pass out every time she was nearby?” Lucas says with a laugh. “Yeah, pretty obvious. Though to be fair, most of us thought it was just awkward tension from having slept with her before finding out she’d be covering the team. We didn’t realize you’d actually developed feelings beyond physical attraction until you started volunteering for every interview she requests.”
“I’m in trouble,” Henrik admits, running a hand through his hair in the gesture that Rory once mentioned makes him look like he’s overthinking things. “I can’t stop thinking about her. Not just the sex—though that was incredible—but everything. The way she argues about hockey strategy like she’s coaching instead of just reporting. The way she doesn’t let me get away with non-answers in interviews. The way she looked at me in the doctor’s office like she actually believed I’d stay even though we barely know each other.”
“You really like her,” Lucas says, and it’s not a question.
“Yeah,” Henrik confirms. “I really do. Which is probably stupid considering we’ve known each other for less than a month and most of that time was spent in crisis mode or pretending to be strangers. But she’s brilliant and funny and guarded in ways that make me want to prove I’m trustworthy, and I think if I don’t at least try to see where this could go, I’m going to regret it.”
“Then try,” Lucas says simply. “But be careful. Both of you have a lot to lose if this goes public before you’re ready. And Henrik? Make sure you’re serious about this. From what I can tell, she’s been hurt before. Don’t pursue her unless you’re actually willing to follow through.”
“I’m serious,” Henrik says, and he means it with the same certainty he feels when he’s on the ice executing a play he knows will work. “I don’t do casual. Never have. If I’m pursuing Rory, it’s because I actually want to see if this could be something real. Something lasting.”
Lucas nods approval and heads toward the locker room, leaving Henrik alone with his thoughts and the view of Rory finishing her interview with the goalie, and when she glances up and catches him watching, she smiles—quick and private and just for him—and Henrik feels something settle in his chest that feels dangerously close to certainty that this woman is going to change his life.
He texts her that night after she’s presumably off work and safely home: *Still good for tomorrow? 7 PM?*
*Yes,* she responds immediately. *Though I’m nervous. Haven’t been on an actual date in years. What if I’ve forgotten how dating works?*
*Then we’ll figure it out together,* Henrik sends back. *No pressure. Just dinner and conversation and seeing if we like each other as much in person as we do on the phone.*
*We’ve definitely been in person before,* Rory texts, and he can practically hear the teasing in her message. *Memorably so.*
*That was drunk chemistry,* Henrik responds. *Tomorrow is sober interest. Different thing entirely.*
*You’re saying you might not be interested when sober?* Rory sends, and there’s something almost vulnerable in the question that makes Henrik wish he could see her face, could reassure her in person instead of through text.
*I’m saying I’m already interested,* Henrik texts carefully. *Have been since you called me an asshole in the bar. Sober just means I get to actually remember every detail tomorrow instead of the alcohol-hazed version from that first night.*
*Smooth,* Rory sends back, followed by: *Okay. Tomorrow. 7 PM. Quiet Italian place. I’ll try not to panic about dating a hockey player.*
*I’ll try not to panic about dating a journalist who can write about all my mistakes,* Henrik responds. *We’ll be disasters together.*
*Perfect,* Rory texts. *I’m excellent at disasters.*
Henrik smiles at his phone like an idiot and goes to bed thinking about what to wear tomorrow (casual but nice, showing effort without trying too hard), where exactly to take her (the restaurant in Lincoln Park where the owner’s son plays in the Swedish league and will absolutely give them privacy), how to navigate a first date with someone he’s already slept with and thought he might be having a baby with and has been falling for steadily over phone calls and stolen glances at practice.
He’s nervous in a way he hasn’t been nervous since his first NHL game, and the realization that Rory Castillo makes him feel more anxious than facing professional athletes on ice is probably significant in ways he should examine but instead he just lets himself feel it—the anticipation, the hope, the genuine excitement at the possibility of something real with someone who sees him as more than just the hockey player image he presents to the world.
Tomorrow can’t come fast enough.
🔥
END CHAPTER 6
Reader Reactions